'THREAD(S)' Exhibition, University Centre Milton Keynes

Yesterday was spent setting up the 'Thread(s)' exhibition, University Centre Milton Keynes, in which I am exhibiting with three fellow artists (Pippa Andrews, Patricia Rozental, Debbie White) and I am just so excited about it! It is currated by Stephanie Dubois organiser of the artist group 'Awful/FANTASTIC' and for this exhibition, we are exploring and responding to time, texture and space. My work comprises three elements: two which were part of my BA Fine Art Practice final major show and one brand new work entitled 'thought pots'. The latter work is a response to the discovery that I am dyslexic and uses words as coded messages. Some undecipherable words represent the negative part of the dyslexia (partly exploring my childhood difficulties as a 'different brain' student), other words, very much recognisable, illustrate the unlocking of my brain enabled by my BA studies. The photos below give you some idea of the work but if you want to see it in details, you will just have to come and see the show.

Recent Exhibition Visit

I had better post my last September excursion before October starts. So here it goes: on 16 September, I went to the 20/21 British Art Fair. It is the only fair specialising exclusively in modern and contemporary British art and takes place at the Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7. It only lasted for a week-end, so unfortunately it has now come and gone (from 15 to 19 September 2010). The fair is open to galleries showing work by a wide range of artists, but it seems that Henry Moore's etchings and drawings were flooding the market. I took this opportunity to discover a few new names such as Fenella Elms (great porcelain sculptures), Annes Desmet(who is an amazing printer), Henri Chopin, painter Jenny Franklin and Paul Feiller (I particularly like his 60s work).
I had the pleasure to see some beautiful prints from Jason Hicklin, his new book of etchings based on the island of Colonsay was being exhibited by The Beardsmore Gallery. Jason was taught by Norman Acroyd but he has now developed his own techniques, and his work really captures the landscapes he sees. A must see!
After the fair, I crossed Hyde Park to go to the Serpentine Gallery and visit the Wolfgang Tillmas exhibition (also finished that week-end His photographic work is really different but my favorite pieces were the creased monocoloured photographic paper presented as sculptures behind acrylic boxes. Full of cold, I decided I would take a break and have a coffee at the red cafe next door; so called because it is all built in red materials by architect Jean Nouvel This building will stay up until 17 October and is well worth a stop, especially for the photographers amongst us. Here are a few shots of the cafe, just to show that art and architecture are most definitely interlinked.

Predecessor's Blog

Looking at my predecessor's blog, she finished by sharing her feelings about the New Decor and Ernesto Neto at the Hayward gallery. So I will start my gallery visit reports with the very same exhibition which I visited on it's penultimate day. I wasn't that impressed with the New Decor exhibition, too many clashes of colour for me and also, I had assumed the Neto exhibition was going to occupy the whole exhibition space. Alas, Neto was only on the upper floor, but a joy to visit and very entertaining for my niece who couldn't imagine that contemporary art could be such fun and so interactive with the public (she could touch, smell and take photos of the artwork!).

Three weeks in the new Post: artist in residence

I see my stay at the school as a first hand resource for the pupils and teachers. They can see how an artist works: where my ideas come from, what my areas of investigations are, which artists I am referring to in my work, which materials I use. All in all, how I go about my daily tasks to come up with a viable scheme for my end of year show. I hope I can inspire and give ideas to all, and I have started working on a few ideas.

I feel very welcome by the staff at the school and have already made myself at home in my working space: it's very quiet there but the building seems to make the strangest noises and seems like a living being.

I think I now understand the way the school works across both sites, but I have yet to visit a few buildings and I am very intrigued by the armory on the Castle site, I hope to get there next week but with an exhibition in Milton Keynes looming, time might be a little at a premium.