Into the Wild...

The independent artists’ book HIVE IV is to be released into the wild on Saturday 1st April 2017. The publication of the book will coincide with an exhibition featuring each contributor’s original artwork at The Old Brick Workshop, Wellington, Somerset, throughout the first week of April.

 

The exhibition Private View / Book Launch will take place on Saturday 1st April, 18.00 - 20.30. A limited edition, signed copy of the book will also be auctioned on the  night.

HIVE is an ever-expanding group of artists associated with the occasionally-published artists’ book of the same name. Since 2014 there have been three issues of HIVE, each edited by different artists who have also set the theme for each issue. Past themes include: ‘Track 6’, ‘The Wrong Side of 15 Minutes’ and ‘Out of Line’. The concept of HIVE [that has since inspired the spin-off publication SWARM] was originally initiated by artist/educator Stuart Rosamond and artist Frank Edmunds to promote creativity and give exposure to the work of an eclectic group of artists, photographers and designers based in the South West and beyond. HIVE IV will feature the work of twenty artists;

 

Rico Ajao,  Chris Dart,  Roger Dean,  Frank Edmunds,  Jon England,  Tony Girardot,  Nina Gronw-Lewis,  Kevin Hawker,  Martin Jackson,  James Marsden,  Tim Martin,  Jane Mowat,  Natalie Parsley,  Eileen Rosamond,  Stuart Rosamond,  Ruby Rowswell,  Chris Taylor,  John Watling,  Rob Watts,  Deborah Westmancoat.

 

 and the list of potential contributors to future editions is constantly growing. HIVE IV is edited by graphic designer Rob Watts and will feature artworks responding to the theme of ‘Lost &  Found’.

 

Visitors are invited to celebrate the launch of HIVE IV with the artists at the Private View of the exhibition at The Old Brick Workshop, Wellington, Somerset, on Saturday 1st April, 18.00 - 20.30, where they can view the original artworks from HIVE IV [Lost & Found] created by its twenty contributing artists. This will be the first time that contributors’ works have been publicly exhibited. During the evening there will be a live auction when visitors can bid for a limited edition, signed copy of HIVE IV, as one of 22 copies only ever to be produced; proceeds of which will go towards funding future HIVE publications. The exhibition will remain open to the public to view for free from Monday 3rd April to Saturday 8th April, open 11.00 - 16.30.

 

Graphics and Photo by Rob Watts

 

HIVE IV [Lost & Found] EXHIBITION

The Old Brick Workshop

Higher Poole, Wellington, Somerset TA21 9HW Monday 3rd April - Saturday 8th April 2017 Open 11.00 - 16.30

PRIVATE VIEW / BOOK LAUNCH / HIVE AUCTION Saturday 1st April 2017 18.00 - 20.30

 

For further information please visit www.theoldbrickworkshop.com

 



 

Hi've Arrived!

Hive 3# had two covers, one by myself (pictured) & one by Nina Gronw-Lewis

The Summer Solstice on Monday 20^th June saw the publication of Hive3# visual arts zine; editied and collated by myself and Nina Gronw-Lewis. ‘Hive’, now in its 3^rd outing since the project idea was first conceived by Frank Edmunds and Stuart Rosamond in 2014, continues to grow; this edition of the zine featuring the work of 14 artists. They are; Rico Ajao, Frank Edmunds, Jon England, Nina Gronw-Lewis, Kevin Hawker, James Marsden, Tim Martin, Natalie Parsley, Eileen Rosamond, Stuart Rosamond, Ruby Rowswell, Chris Taylor, Rob Watts and Deborah Westmancoat. 

 

Here’s a reminder of how it all works:

 

“With the ambition of publishing twice throughout the year each issue of ‘Hive’ is guest edited by (a) different artist(s) who sets the theme (previous themes include; ‘Track 6’ and ‘The Wrong Side of 15 Minutes’) for the issue. Every Hive has a different theme set to provide new sources of inspiration and possible outcomes for each individual issue as well as giving artists the opportunity to 'do something different' outside their normal practice if they desire. The editor will also collate the work, bind it and produce the cover plus any supporting content (no mean feat, I can tell you). Each participating artist produces a response to the theme on an A3 sheet of paper/surface in any medium of their choosing, making as many copies as artists taking part + 1 or originals of their work and send to said editor. As a result each participating artist receives a completed copy of ‘Hive’ featuring their page and that of the other artists. Part of the appeal is their limited edition and variation in style created by different editors for each issue. To date Hive has been Spiral bound, encased in its own bespoke box and in Hive 3# it is book bolted with two opposing covers." 

 

Our theme for this latest issue was ‘Out of Line’ and true to its nature the artists were invited to collect their copy in person with Hive 3# being revealed, for the first time, publically (to an audience of semi-bemused on lookers) during the opening evening Private View of ‘The Remarkable Everyday’ exhibition at The Old Brick Workshop in Wellington. Remarkable it was too to have the pleasure of being able to hand so many of them out in person, and made for a very un-everyday special occasion.

 

“We cross an unploughed field (a plane traversed by lines), then thick woods. One of us loses his way, explores, and on one occasion even goes through the motions of a hound following scent.

Lines of the most various kinds, spots, dabs, smooth planes, dotted planes, lined planes, wavy lines, obstructed and articulated movement, counter-movement, plaitings, weavings, bricklike elements, scale-like elements, simple and polyphonic motifs, lines that fade and lines that gain strength (dynamism).” -Klee

Hive 3# 'Out of Line'

 

Hive 2# 'The Wrong Side of 15 Minutes'

 

Hive 1# 'Track 6'

 

Hive will return.... In a fabulous Fourth Issue!

 

 

Previous info of Hive 1# & 2# can be found on the following posts:

http://spannerintheworkz.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/nonsense-is-better-than-no-sense.html  

http://spannerintheworkz.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/here-are-my-bees.html

From The Archives

In 2011 I researched agricultural farming tools with Somerset Heritage Centre in Taunton as part of Somerset Art Weeks. What transpired was a most wonderful, resourceful experience as I had the opportunity to see ‘behind the scenes’ of the Heritage Centre’s storage facility and access some of the artefacts kept there from public sight. Warehouse rooms filled with wall-lined tools, boxes of treasures, taxidermy, clothing, a carriage and bull’s head all amongst the things to discover and be inspired by in addition to the knowledge and story-telling from the generously knowledgeable local curators of the collection.

Tools at The Somerset Heritage Centre (2011)

The work I made as a result was much more concerned with the museum itself, and museum modes of presentation & archiving than that of the actual objects themselves. I still speculate whether this was a missed opportunity on my part (not to have focused on the objects). However there was something fascinating about the processes and decisions used in order to protect, restore and catalogue these items which felt a more intriguing line of enquiry to pursue at the time.

 As you might imagine therefore I had a particularly vested interest in seeing the new exhibition of local artist’s responses to this same collection currently on show at the Museum of Somerset...

Natalie Parsley (Detail) Kaye's Tool Kaleidoscope, 2011

Featuring the work of Jenny Graham (who also brought the exhibiting artists together), Richard Tomlinson, Chris Dunseath, Jacy Wall, Laura Aish and Ralph Hoyte; the exhibition is pleasingly curated so as to look and utilise the experience of ‘the storage’ facility of Somerset Heritage. From the coded letters to signify different storage rooms on the walls, metal shelving and racking to place artefacts on, brown storage cardboard boxes; to clip-boarded ‘title’ lists printed on graph paper. There is a lot of ‘stuff’ in this exhibition and it is fortunate enough to have many of the artefacts the artists ‘used’ or took inspiration from on display alongside the work. The overall ‘feel’ of the exhibition is a good one, busy but not cluttered and does well at recreating that sense of discovery, wonder and unashamed nosiness that I certainly took away from my time at Somerset Heritage.

Richard Tomlinson’s work particularly does this brilliantly; to the right of the room stacked cardboard boxes with viewing holes which reveal hidden photographic anaglyphs inside. The images taken from safe’s, cogs and gears from mechanised objects found in storage. Peaking-in on them in this way recreates that same sense of curiosity and child-like delight from opening presents. Similarly Chris Dunseath’s vessels made from bronze and papier-mâché have hidden constellations and universes inside their shadowy interiors, again work that beckons one to look closer and discover more. These objects also directly relate to Bronze Age axe heads and more of Chris’ sculptures found in the cabinet behind. The objects patina mimicking the corroded ancient greens found on bronze/copper artefacts. Chris is one of the few artists who blurs the line between the museum piece and the art object so that sometimes one isn’t quite sure which is which.

Richard Tomlinson in 'New Dimensions'

A revolving postcard display unit featuring hundreds of curated postcards from Somerset and ‘days of old’ make some entertaining reading and act as inspiration for a sound piece featuring the poems by declamatory poet Ralph Hoyte. It’s good to see a more word-based practice in the show and makes great, often amusing discussion points for many conversations and questions into the origins and people behind the postcards.  

The flaw in this exhibition is that the museum objects tend to outshine most of the artwork. There is an amazing case of butterflies, pressed flowers, a safe, a film camera, tins, old sowing paraphernalia and a split Ash tree as part of some ancient cure for a hernia...! Very often the artefacts are almost intimidating in their effortless intrigue and charm that it feels somewhat futile as an artist to even contemplate competing with it! This is certainly how I felt and perhaps now think I was fortunate not to have the artefacts displayed alongside the work –it then became purely about my interpretation of them. I appreciate how challenging it is to both; select an object, from a source of thousands of things and then find a concept or response to that object which is both relevant and communicates with its source without being too close to it! I also criticise my own work of having conveyed some of the pleasures of depicting and ‘capturing the artefacts I selected but not really having as much dialogue into their unique histories and factors that made them individual.

Chris Dunseath (foreground) in 'New Dimensions'

Hence with the New Dimensions exhibition, there are a few similar opportunities where the work feels unresolved or unimaginative. Jacy Wall’s touchy feely cases of material and hands holding ribbons and thread feel a little lost and contrived compared to her skilfully executed prints (I think they're about challenging the inability of touching the artefacts in museums, but it still feels a little unresolved or too obvious) and Jenny Graham’s commercial butterfly prints similarly leave little to the imagination. Jenny's Victorian style Wunderkammers are better and feature well collated and wonderful objects, but being a big fan of Cabinets of Curiosities I have to be honest and say I've seen other artists (Duncan Cameron) do, in my opinion, better versions that also offer something 'new' rather than just being a collection of objects. I think my expectations were high but the work could have said more or something different in my view.

What is important overall from this exhibition is the commitment to what is hopefully an ongoing dialogue between the Museum of Somerset and artists. New Dimensions has achieved in revealing new aspects of the Heritage Centre’s collection that go relatively unseen and presented them in a visual way rather than purely historical or ‘museum’ way. I believe this opens up the collection and allows for new discovery that curators within Museums should note; sometimes a well chronicled, researched and informed museum exhibition doesn’t appeal to all audiences in the same way as the excitement of a bustling, disorganised antiques or flea market (I honestly think I have learnt more about history from these types of places). The latter is more visual and more inquisitive, promoting independent dialogue based on a genuine curiosity and interaction with objects that I think traditional museum curatorial practices should experiment more with. The testament from this exhibition is a simple but highly important one; let more artists work with museum collections!  

The Exhibition is FREE and I urge you all to go see it whilst you can. It is on until April 16^th 2016.

http://museumofsomerset.org.uk/whats-on/new-dimemsions/

All text and photos copyright Natalie Parsley

The Pineapple of my Blogging Career!

In the age of the email it is sometimes all too easy to forget the simple pleasures of sending or receiving a postcard in the mail. The ‘Wish you Were Here’ exhibition of over 200 artists’ postcards including Carl Andre, Richard Long, Dieter Roth, Bruce Nauman, Joseph Beuys, Yoko Ono, Ben Vautier, Gilbert & George, Susan Hiller, Gavin Turk, Ruth Proctor, Aleksandra Mir, Julie Cockburn and Mark Wallinger amongst many others collected by Jeremy Cooper should inspire even the most prolific instagramer that the humble postcard isn’t dead yet!

 

 

 A poll from 2012 revealed that only a mere

16% of British Holiday makers abroad sent postcards back home  in favour of social media.

Should we be concerned?  I presume environmentally speaking there is less carbon footprint to the electricity and power gone into sending an email than the air miles and transport required to send a postcard?(...It’s an interesting thought that I wouldn’t hazard guess how much it may influence people’s means of communication) Whilst not at the heart of its intentions,  ‘Wish you were here’ at Hestercombe in addition to presenting a showcase of artists’ postcards throughout history may also convince you that there is indeed still a place for both; that there is a skill and an art to postcards that supersedes digital modes of communication.

 

Peter Kennard & Cat Phillips 'Study of a Head XI' 2013

Despite my own interests in writing online I actually still do and enjoy sending postcards to unsuspecting friends as well as receiving them too. I even create my own to send! I think artists and designers have naturally continued and somewhat bias of me to say, but also naturally enjoy the creative challenge of either designing a card or writing on one. A traditionally A5 sized canvas of card or paper to work with, and even less room if one factors out the space for the address and stamp.

Is it possible to convey big ideas, thoughts and messages in such a limited space? You bet it is!

 Their less instantaneousness and time and thought that goes into their creation are in themselves skills that are worthwhile not neglecting. A postcard as Art offers fantastic parameters to make work, to be inventive and communicate. As such they continue to be used and inspire generations of artists today.

 

Such is the breadth of Cooper’s collection, some 200 of which are presented at Hestercombe Gallery as there is so much variety. As a whole it reads as a ‘Who’s Who’ of the art world, an anthropological archive of art history  from Robert Rauschenberg’s postcard featuring artist’s signature on a square of cardboard box, Susan Hiller’s ‘rough sea’ series of postcards of stormy British coastal scenes, Andy Warhol, Rachel Whiteread and Steve Butcher’s collage (pictured below right) mash-up of Piero Della Francesca’s ‘Duke and Dutchess of Urbino. Surely too many for one man to own alone so why not share them with an audience of many in what has been a nationally touring exhibition and book. There are cards here which are satirical, political, painterly, conceptual, minimal, jigsaw and place postcards. Postcards made of lead, toast, glass, with spoon and card crossing the whole art spectrum of media. It is a lot to see and take in! The show as a whole has a lot more to offer than pleasing nostalgia and though small contain some powerful art works that offer insight into broader ideas within a given artist’s practice.

 

Steve Butcher 'Wedding Portrait' 1989

I enjoyed some of the more word-based postcards in the exhibition, such as Graphic Artist Sarah Maxey’s ‘I’m at the Pineapple of my Career’ and many of the political cards such as 'Study for a Head XI' by Pat Kennard and Cat Phillips (pictured above right). Commercially speaking artists' postcards are a great art form to collect as they reproduce well in printed form and are easily portable. My only criticism is that it was hard to see some of the wall mounted framed postcards closely due to a double-hang and that’s not a reflection so much on my own height but the sheer number of postcards in the exhibition. The overall affect however is a joy because due to their familiar format they are artworks in which people can closely relate to. The scale and one-liner nature of many of them also make some of the ideas more graspable, the format is almost within most people’s means to have a go at creating themselves if so desired. I think it has the power to inspire a lot of people and generate an insight into artist’s ideas/practices. Incidentally, I am yet to find an artist who hasn’t at some point created an artist’s postcard so this is a collection that is set to continue growing! 



Currently not in Jeremy Cooper's collection, postcards from 'Routes, River, Rail' public art project in
 Taunton from 2010 in which I invited people to alter postcards of Taunton with what 'they would like to see'.
 (Pictured Tim Martin 'Where's the River?' 2010)

 

‘Wish you were here’ is on at Hestercombe House Gallery until February 28^th 2016

http://www.hestercombe.com/whats-on/events-and-activities/239-exhibition-wish-you-were-here/event_details

Here are my Bees,

brazen blurs on paper,

besotted; buzzwords, dancing

their flawless, airy maps.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

  

Making tracks: words, footsteps, mark-making, mapping, tracing, beats, rhythm, stitching and time. Somewhere in deepest darkest Devon during the twilight hours in which, I am reliably told, any ideas generally worth having are formed, it was conceived by Frank Edmonds and Stuart Rosamond that twelve artists shall be invited to participate in creating an independently edited, inventive art zine to be published in time with the Spring Equinox, March 20th 2015 at 12.57pm and perhaps more consequently of all, this was remembered the following day from which it was written and said twelve artists were invited to participate in what was to be the inaugural issue of ‘Hive’!

 With the ambition of publishing biannually throughout the year each edition of the ‘Hive’ is guest edited by a different artist who collates the work, binds it and produces the cover plus any supporting content (is that all?!). The editor also sets the theme for each issue of which the first has been chosen by Hive’s co-creator, Stuart Rosamond who has set the seemingly cryptic theme of ‘Track 6’. The brief, that each artist produces a response to the theme, in this case ‘track 6’, on an A3 sheet of paper/surface in any medium of their choosing making either  thirteen copies or originals of their work  and sent to said editor. Each artist as a result receives a completed copy of ‘Hive’ featuring their page and that of the eleven other artists. Consequently by being an independently created form of ‘bedroom lit’ it bypasses the editorial rigmarole and red tape allowing for a more uninhibited set of responses from the artists and the creative freedom such set-ups bring. On an individual level it presents an opportunity to produce new work to the challenge/motivation of a deadline/theme and also a way of both owning and discovering the work of other artists. With plans for the artist contributors to increase each time a new issue is printed and develop a digital archive of ‘Hive’ publications it is something that could hopefully grow wings...

 Those who were ‘deliriously wishing to engage’ in the project replied to an emailed invitation and in doing so the Hive’s first  worker bees (a.k.a artists) are as follows; Nina Gronw-Lewis, Jon England, Anna Newland-Hooper, Malcolm Plastow, Frank Edmonds, Eileen Rosamond, Megan Calver,  Kevin Hawker, Stuart Rosamond, Tim Martin, Ruby Petts and me (Natalie Parsley)!

Personally I have wanted to make a publication of art work or a zine for a long time as it feels a natural progression of combining both my love of books (as a bookseller) and commitment/obsession to continue making art. It also presented an incentive to make work and has already opened up a dialogue with other artists and in turn is beginning to quietly influence the work I make for my ‘drawing a week’ project*. That and it is exciting to work on something that feels collaborative but a surprise at the same time, the reward of course seeing how each of the other artists interpreted the theme.

and honey is art.

At present all the pages have been sent off to be bound and be sent to each artist on March  20th. I’ll keep you posted and reveal exactly how I interpreted the theme of ‘track 6’ (there’s a clue in the picture above) plus an insight into the other artists’ work and any links to an online digitised version of ‘Hive’ here on the blog as it unfolds.  

You have bee-n told!

Buzzing throughout this post in italic are lines from the poem ‘The Bees’ by Carol Ann Duffy
* http://spannerintheworkz.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/unimportant-somethings-drawing-day-2014.html

Site for sore eyes!

Teacups, bronze ingots, a huge boulder and a model fountain don’t at first seem to have a lot in common, nor are they necessarily what you may expect to find in an exhibition responding to the majestic and imposing gardens and landscape of Hestercombe in Somerset, but in that and in many other unexpected ways, ‘Second Site’ at the Hestercombe Gallery promises to be something entirely and refreshingly different. The Arcadian landscaping by Copleston Warre Bampfylde and Edwardian gardens designed by Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll at Hestercombe have continued to inspire and delight its owners and public alike since their creation in the 17th century, now visitors have been invited the additional opportunity to experience an alternative perspective in a set of new, surprising and challenging artworks commissioned especially in response to the site and context of Hestercombe House and its gardens....

Jo Lathwood 'Phantoms and Candlesticks' (2015), white cotton and wood

‘Second Site’ opened on the 31^st January 2015 in the newly reopened Hestercombe House turned Gallery. With two previous exhibitions under its belt this is the first exhibition to respond directly to the site and context of the house/gardens themselves, curated by Tim Martin and featuring the work of five artists; Patrick Lowry, Megan Calver, Simon Hitchens, Laura Ellen Bacon and Jo Lathwood who between them have diverse practices with experiences of exhibiting nationally/internationally and all being based locally in Somerset or the South West. You'd be forgiven for expecting something slightly spooky based on the shows title and in many ways the house is a bit of a haunting place perhaps as, Jo Lathwood (having spent a residency in Hestercombe House since it re-opened in May 2014) found out as the exhibition inside the house opens with two ghost-like sheets draped over a mock-up of where previously real candlesticks were placed; a physical reminder of a past life of Hestercombe house.Her responses, like that of many of the other invited artists is both a reaction to the inside and history of the house itself as much as the gardens.

 Generally a lot of the work explores bringing the 'outside', inside with current as well as past histories of the house and its uses providing context for the work; in some cases even providing the material from which it has been made. Do expect to be challenged; confused, delighted and exasperated by most of the works in this exhibition, it is not an easy or obvious ride! In fact I read an article ‘Is art best enjoyed in company?’ this morning that commented, “Art is now what religion used to be; an encounter with a mystery, which no one can fully explain and has no purpose beyond itself,” which I think could be said of this and a significant majority of art being made today. If you are open to a little mystery, a little weirdness then you will be rewarded and possibly, like me even learn something you previously didn’t know about Hestercombe in the process.

Megan Calver (from the work) 'Spill' Art Deco cup and saucer, chipped  

On that note, dotted throughout the exhibition on a series of Perspex shelves is a collection of ceramics dating from 1700’s til today. They range everything from a Chinese blue and white tea bowl to a 1970’s squirrel posy vase. There is no comment of ‘high’ or ‘low’ taste/value here with each item displayed on its own Perspex shelf independently with accompanying pamphlet of information on each piece, treated more like artefact than object. Collectively they make up the piece ‘Spill’, by Megan Calver whereby the recorded sound piece of ceramics smashing is played in the stairway/entrance hall to the house. We learn that the sound was recorded in an event which saw the ceramics dropped from the top of the interior stairwell in the Victorian tower of the house by children from Hestercombe’s Centre for Young Musicians. The event prompted by the story and sound of a cedar tree falling in the gardens right next to the house on Valentine’s day last year. The resulting work is both sensitive, with humour and I’m still undecided as to whether it is either blissfully or frustratingly conceptual as is often the case, I find, with Calver’s work in which its strength is in the storytelling and collaborative participation of its audience both in the making and in the interpreting of the work. I like the fact that she is working with old stories of the tree falling and creating new ones at the same time; the children from the music school will hopefully always remember the day they dropped fine china from the top of the stairway at Hestercombe house, it is a fun image and its story will hopefully live on with a time capsule of the broken ceramics planned to be buried in the gardens at the end of the project. In a separate piece Calver has worked again collaboratively with the Taunton Floral Art Club producing wallpaper of a Salvia seed packet, a bedding plant said to be loathed by the garden designer Gertrude Jekyll for its gaudy colour. Yes, you have to really 'work' to unravel this information which is revealed more in the text that accompanies the work than the work itself but when you do its interesting what you learn and in the case of this exhibition generally, it is often the hidden histories, incidental events and slightly subversive stories that the artists choose to bring to our attention. I for one am glad!  

Megan Calver with Taunton Floral Art Club 'Flame' (2015)

Jo Lathwood’s responses begin with the materials and during her time in residence she explored both the inside and outside stripping 15 kilos of copper wire from defunct electrical cable when the house was used by the council/fire brigade and collecting galls from oak trees in the grounds both of which then underwent alchemic transformations resulting in two separate bodies of work. The oak galls were mixed with gum arabic, water and various salts to make a permanent black ink. This ink was then used to create drawings of windows, their view blacked out. Interestingly their creation ties in with the unnerving story that one of the houses previous owners, the Hon Mrs Portman blocked the view from the house to the gardens so her servants could not look out and enjoy the views of the grounds and gardens. In the same room as the drawings the windows too have been blacked out with the same ink, our view of the gardens disrupted in the same way Mrs Portman denied her staff. Subsequently the copper also underwent a similar transformation being combined with tin from donated tankards from Hestercombe staff/volunteers and forged at Lathwood’s forge in Bristol into three bronze ingots inscribed with their maker/date/origin. This is more than just a recycling of materials and becomes symbolically representative of the importance of Hestercombe in all its parts, both its modern and past histories. In the same way that Calver’s ceramics force you to look at the building as you search for them, Lathwood’s work makes you think about the ‘stuff’ it’s made of, the miles of the buildings wire guts and innards made into something compact, something small, precious. The theme of inside/outside, revealed and concealed is present again in the galls from the gardens oak trees brought inside to become ink then brought outside in a representation of a blackened garden view. As Lathwood herself comments, she uses materials and process as ways of luring and engaging with her audience so that the meaning behind the work can in-turn be revealed. Somewhat agreeably I find the products of this labour are more understated in their ability to shout and excite than the often slightly more fascinating methods of their production.

Jo Lathwood 'According to rules and legend' (2015) bronze

Jo Lathwood's oak gall ink studies and experiments in the workspace she used during her residency. 

  

Also in this exhibition, displayed appropriately above the mantel of the fireplace is a painting by C W Bampfylde, ‘An extensive Italian landscape’ created in 1765 its connection to the exhibition otherwise slightly tenuous until you enter the adjacent room. There, visitors discover a life size replica of the Victorian fountain on the terrace of the gardens below, the ‘outside, inside’ again a reoccurring theme (pictured below). The fountain’s top tiered basin becomes a plateau on which a miniaturised model landscape sits complete with cow, people, trees, assorted plants, a turret, water and boats. Typically I unintentionally navigated the exhibition in the ‘wrong’ order (if it is even possible to do such a thing) missing the Bamfylde painting entirely as I passed it via a different doorway so amusingly it took me a while [completely of my own fault] to realise that this scene was in fact a painstaking recreation of Bampfylde’s painting in the other room (eureka)! A delightful moment of realisation later and I take pleasure in comparing and analysing the two. It is a clever way of drawing attention to an otherwise fairly ‘brown’, typical old painting of the likes I’d never really (rightly or wrongly) give much time to and sentimentally reminds me of a ‘transcriptions’ project I did during college where we did a similar thing. Lowry’s version titled ‘Arcadia’ after the Arcadian style landscaping Bampflyde brought to Hestercombe is playful in its own challenge of modelling of Lowry’s landscape where the scale and time are much more under the artists control than that of Bampfylde’s larger feat of landscaping of the grounds themselves. Funnily the two are not that entirely different acts just on different scales and materials. Out of all the works in the exhibition it is probably one of the more joyous and accessible in its conceptuality although I still do not quite understand why it has been presented on its fountain pedestal as to being installed in situ, one of the houses alcoves/windows for example? Lowry is known for life-like interventions which challenge people’s perception in public environments and whilst the fountain in itself is interesting I personally feel it is a little superfluous to the model itself which doesn’t really need or benefit from it other than being a glorified plinth to view it on.

Patrick Lowry 'Arcadia' (2015), mixed media

If you were thinking, what this exhibition is missing so far is a great big lump of rock then Simon Hitchens provides the answer in the form of an impressively excavated 9ft tall chunk of limestone sourced from Westleigh quarry somewhat slightly arrogantly and confrontationally plonked in the middle of the lawn on the approach to the house; one side left natural the other (facing the house) painted white. I get the fact that the stone is the same as used to build the house and that in its raw state stone can be beautiful and sculptural, but with this piece it feels too ceremonially placed to fit-in and yet too natural and unfinished to really stand out. Hitchens does though often work with dualities so that comment may not be as dismissive as it first sounds with the works twin, inside the house in the form of a cast looking back on its originator from the view through the window it faces. Positive and negative are presented, figure and sarcophagus, man-made – natural etc. The affect is ghost-like as the title of the lawn work suggests and does raise interesting doubts on the origins of the boulder, seeing its trace in the cast we start to wonder if the stone on the lawn is in fact a fabrication by man or naturally mined from the earth. The problem for me is that the sculptural works don’t really do a lot for me, as I feel they are dealing with previously explored ideas in a medium that has possibly reached its limits of potential. The more successful work, in my view, is the video piece ‘Genesis’ where the relationship between man/nature, man/material works connects more readily with the viewer. The film depicts a mountainous landscape scene with a large boulder in the foreground which slowly appears as though to inhale and exhale in timing with the sound of the roaring wind. It made me think about how the wind, the rain naturally sculpts stone by slowly eroding it away as well as the bodily connection rocks can  have to human form in scale/mass, their texture and/or porous surface also sharing bodily-like associations. Maybe the piece on the lawn is saying similar things, but for reasons that may be quite subjective to my own opinion it is definitely not as engaging. 

Simon Hitchens 'Genesis' (2014), HD film, 12 minutes looped

 

Lastly, Laura Ellen Bacon presents ‘Occupied’ a willow woven installation of organic arching, curvaceous forms that appear to cocoon, attach and spread themselves along a wall and towards the windows in one of the rooms. It does indeed, ‘occupy’ the space both inviting the viewer to walk around it, in it and explore. There is a great marriage of craft, skill and artistry at work here, but for me it is disappointingly not as immersive given the opportunity of the space, as a previous commission of Bacon’s seen at Barrington Court last year.

 Second site isn’t what you expect it to be and in doing so uses the element of surprise to its advantage showing its audiences contemporary and new perspectives on the house and gardens of which people who live in Taunton like myself, may have previously been all too familiar. The variety and inquisitive rebelliousness of artists exhibiting ensures there is much history and discovery unearthed in its use of wit and processes that range from storytelling to the sculptural. I’d love to have seen some more 'messy' work, by that I mean something more expressive possibly, as at times it runs the danger of being a bit emotionless, or a bit too cerebral; that saying in context to the abundant flamboyance of the gardens themselves maybe it doesn't need to be.

Second Site is on at Hestercombe Gallery until April 12^th 2015

http://www.hestercombe.com/whats-on/events-and-activities/183-second-site-gallery-exhibition/event_details

Look if you like, but you will have to leap

Creativity requires a leap of faith that is not limited necessarily to the making of art, but also in how we approach it or attempt to engage with it. The sentiment comes from the title of this week’s blog post, a line from the Auden poem of the same name, ‘Leap before you look’. As I understood it, the poem, (in the context of first coming across it during my art degree) is about taking risks, having the courage to move forward, indeed even leap into the unknown. For all this 'leaping' we may be rewarded with progress, innovation, revelation or new understanding.

 

Therefore appropriately titled, ‘Leaping the Fence’ the first exhibition in the newly reopened Hestercombe House acknowledges this same conviction of pushing of boundaries and pioneering exploration undergone in the practices of sixteen selected contemporary artists who have contributed to British art over the past thirty years. Although it is also asking its audiences to do the same in challenging their perceptions of what contemporary art is within the context of Hestercombe House and what are already well-established Georgian and Edwardian gardens that would have been groundbreaking in their own way upon their creation.

On Monday 26^th May, I went to have a look at ‘Leaping the fence’ (never really being one to sit comfortably on it).

(pictured left to right) David Batchelor 'Colour Chart Painting 33 (green)', Steve Johnson 'Binoculars (charm no 9), Adam Chodzco 'Untitled stile (teenage version)'

 

It should come as no surprise to find that there are a significant number of works in the exhibition which are distinctly garden and/or landscape themed. Perhaps the title of the exhibition inspired from Adam Chodzko’s turquoise glossed stile (pictured) that stands proudly, mixture between kitsch piece of aerobics equipment and ‘pimped-up’ take on the familiar countryside hurdle. It is a fence of sorts but sadly, despite the temptation, not for leaping over, at least not literally. The theme continues in what, joy for me, is Gavin Turk’s ‘Desert Island Scenario’ (pictured) a mahogany carved spade. Likened to Duchamp’s similarly conceptual ‘In advance of the broken arm’ whereby the authorship of the object is questioned, Turk takes the debate one step further by crafting his ‘ready-made’.

Gavin Turk 'Desert Island Scenario' (2003) Mahogany, 8 x 103 x 19.5cm.

Another tool-based piece in the exhibition that appealed to me (in the sense that it is probably the one I would most like to draw-and probably will) is Mark Hosking’s ‘Untitled (Lowland Rice) two steel sculptures that appear to be utilitarian pieces of farm machinery in bright red (pictured) and sage green. They appear at first like two abstract Anthony Caro works, their forms reminiscent in my view, of the late artists balancing/minimalist sculptures. In this sense the work operates on two planes, being sculptural for their form, colour and context but in also having a functionality that the artist has created from a United Nations pamphlet on sustainable development and survivalist technology. I’m not entirely sure what these contraptions are actually for, some sort of digging/sowing, I assume but am more interested in their ambiguity. In past discussions about tools and their uses, I’ve often found that the more interesting tools both visually and conceptually are the ones which cannot be easily defined in their use and/or being classified as a tool. The ambiguity of the objects imbues them with more potential than if their exact purpose is known. In Hosking’s work does this duality as art object and functional one help us, as stated by the catalogue, ‘question the clash between contemporary art and reality of life for large parts of the world’s population’?  Perhaps, it goes someway to doing so, but I find it harder to escape its reality as an art object more than its connotation to the wider world of farming/survival. Man’s relationship with the earth is explored deeper (literally) in Tania Kovats sculpture ‘Sunk’ and in Janice Kerbell’s social/scientific digital drawings garden design is determined by the climatic, architectural and functional conditions of a range of indoor environments. In an adjacent room, Marc Quinn presents a series of prints of frozen gardens of plants which would never grow together naturally. 

Mark Hosking 'Untitiled (Lowland Rice)' (1998) Steel and paint, variable.

The exhibition also features painting by Clare Woods, sound installation by Susan Philipsz and film from Spartacus Chetwynd and Mark Wallinger (the Chetwynd film being the stronger of the two for me). Did I mention Tracy Emin is in this show too? Well, her work’s here and maybe lends a certain amount of popularity and recognisability along with the shows’ other five Turner Prize nominated/winning artists, but other than that her neon poems/phrases, like the one featured in this show don’t do a lot for me personally (I think I find them too obvious) however I do not doubt will appeal to some. No stranger to this blog we also see a painting by David Batchelor whose green gloss blob has seemingly inspired a similar green arc filling the top floor of the gallery windows. It’s an impressive sight when you come down the stairs or driveway to the front of the house (pictured) that reaffirms that something new, lively and fun inhabits within. Largely, the exhibition is well placed with the different rooms each giving their own atmosphere/context to the work. It particularly works well in the case of Bill Woodrow’s ‘Clockswarm’, a cast bronze in the shape of a mantel piece clock of a swarm of bees which sits as though it were built for the space on the fireplace opposite Ruth Claxton’s sculpture featuring, possibly what could be a bee-eating bird. Mark Nelson’s installation ‘Taylor’ (pictured) also works well in the building completely filling the room on the ground-floor. A raft of barrels tied (expertly!) together with rope supports a small tent and supplies for a journey. Where is it going? I’m drawing up my own recollections of the recent floods on the levels...Nelson is best known for his labyrinthine installations, ‘Coral Reef’ shown at the Tate in 2000 being among one of the most ambitious, disorientating and filmic pieces I have seen. ‘Taylor’ similarly has filmic connotations referencing the character, George Taylor from ‘Planet of the Apes’ who tries to escape upon a raft in vain. This work was site specific to Liverpool as one of the last centres for the British slave trade and references the political plight of refugees from Haiti and Cuba.

Mike Nelson 'Taylor' (1994) Metal, canvas, wood and mixed media, 250 x 336 x 456cm.

To ‘art tarts’ (so I’ve been told!) like me, then this exhibition will come as a shining example at a time of great losses in contemporary arts in Taunton and is therefore a glimmer of hope for the future. It deserves every success and is a delight to be able to enjoy and see these works on my doorstep. To the unconverted, undoubtedly there will be those who come to Hestercombe with more traditional expectations of painted landscapes, flowers and botany. To those ends you are probably best suited to looking at the gardens, but if are willing to not just look, but to leap into embracing or attempting to understand something new, something challenging, something difficult then you will be rewarded with an experience that is every bit as colourful but in many ways more, joyous and contemplative as the gardens themselves.

It is also a refreshing reminder that regarding creativity, sitting on the fence is a good vantage point but it also stops us from moving forward. This proves that it sometimes pays to do away with the fence altogether and venture into the unknown. Let's hope art at Hestercombe continues to do so. 

 

'Leaping the Fence' is on at Hestercombe Gallery until 14th September 2014.

http://www.hestercombe.com/your-visit/gallery