Breaking Ground

Here are three of the polaroids I found on the allotment – three different tables.

Arrived home from the studio to a lovely surprise: a parcel from my friend Val Murrary – a copy of Low Tide – Writings on Artists’ Collaborations written by Jeni Walwin. Last week Val and I met in London to see some exhibitions and each other. I talked to her about this new collaboration with Judith.

Val is part of TEA, a collaborative group of artists who have worked together since 1987. She was full of praise for the benefits and pleasures of collaborative practice. Low Tide includes a chapter on TEA. Although published in 1997, this book offers much of interest to a pair of new collaborators.

In the Foreword, Paula Brown speaks of the collaborative art documented: “This is cunningly mercurial work where art forms merge or collide or metamorphose into something else altogether; where artists experiment with new partners, practices and identities. This is work which offers spectators new ways not just of seeing but of participating.”

www.teaweb.org

I went to London today to visit The Princes Drawing School during it’s Open Day. Also went to the Jerwood Space where I saw the work of
Williams-Suggitt, another collaborative duo who are new to me. In their video piece, "Perched", currently showing in the Jerwood Cafe, Williams and Suggitt, dressed in colourful bird costumes, spend time "perched" on stools in the cafe, exploring ideas around identity as they experiment with how it is to be "other". Made me think of Roz’s exploration of similar issues. http://www.myspace.com/williamssuggitt

Roz and I have also talked briefly this week about spending a one-off pilot day at the allotment, just to see what we might want to do together over a longer period of a residency. I’m very keen to visit the allotment anyway, and Roz wants me to film her burying her typewriter there. The weather has been glorious and Roz was busy at the allotment last weekend actually cultivating it.

As part of our research into the collaborative process, we’ve begun to build up quite a list of collaborative partnerships whose work we’d like to look at, some of whom, if possible, we’d like to meet and talk to.

Recently we came across Jen Hamilton and Jen Southern during their exhibition “Running Stitch” at Fabrica (http://www.theportable.tv/runningstitch/index.html) and Roz went to see “Lone Twin” (see 4th March post) at The Gardner Centre. We’ve both encountered the work of Nina Pope and Karen Guthrie and, now that we’re looking, we’re beginning to come across more and more partnerships whose work we want to find out more about.

We’ll definitely be researching Anne Eggebert & Polly Gould’s work, including their projects “Transplantation” and “Nature and Nation”. Today Roz has discovered a project called “Kitchen Antics and Appliances” by three-way partnership Barbara Dean, Ann Rapstoff and Hilary Kneale and we’re hoping to make contact with these artists soon. (http://www.kitchenanticsandappliances.com/)

Roz already has experience of collaboration with Isabel Albiol which resulted in a piece of work entitled “Rabbit Hole”, shown at the Hockney Gallery, RCA in 2005. (http://www.roz2.co.uk/rab01.html) I have less experience of collaboration, having only dipped my toe into collaborative working on a casual and experimental basis.

As I’m beginning to research these and other projects, questions about the nature and variety of collaboration are raised. Some collaborations are specific – partners come together because they have something they can offer each other – specific skills or attributes. Others are speculative – an opportunity to pool resources and see what happens.

FAMOUS COLLABORATIONS

Gilbert and George

Warhol and Basquiat

Elton John and Kiki Dee

Sarah Lucas and Tracey Emin

We have been invited to give a short presentation at the next a-n AIR Open Dialogue at Fabrica in Brighton on Thursday 29 March. Judith and I will speak about our new collaboration and key issues for our practice now and in the future. Two other artists will present, followed by discussion and a glass of wine. AIR stands for Artists’ Interaction and Representation. This event is for AIR members only.