Dr J Beau & Mr H Haut

Artists Statement for Mr H Haut

The works of Mr Herbert Haut are concerned with the creation of identity and devices individuals use to project their identity to the outside world.

The collages developed from work started in Sheffield prior to moving to Pembrokeshire. In 2006 Sheffield was a scruffy Northern English town with a rich Industrial, political and cultural history and a vibrant artistic community. Artists such as Kev Grey, Kid Acne and Phlegm were starting to gain notoriety. Geographically remote Haut’s photographing and documenting of vinyl stickers, incongruous to rural West Wales , was a way of maintaining a visual connection, if in subject matter only, with these distant practitioners.

Early collections of photographs displayed images of stickers in a relatively formal manner. In later sets presentation of the photograph became a concern, with the shape of the image often referencing the shape of the sticker itself.

In ‘Alibi’ the documenting became an intrinsic part of the work. People, whose identity was hidden, were asked to pose with a piece of ‘vandalism’ in shot and asked to complete the sentence “I come here”. The end product speaks as much about human behaviour as presentation of evidence.

Last week I planned to take 14 framed pieces up to the gallery. 12 big and 2 small pieces. 7 Dr J Beau and 7 Mr H Haut. Before I even got the the front door I had edited it down to 12 pieces. Once they were placed in the gallery itself it was obvious there was still too much work for the small space. After much umming and ahhing I decided on 8 pieces. Less is more.

Martin White, also on show;

http://www.orielqueenshallgallery.org.uk/MartinWhi…

was there to screww the pieces to the wall which left me with a statement to write!!

Artists Statement for Dr Justinian Beau

The landscapes of Dr Justinian Beau were produced after relocating from Sheffield to Pembrokeshire. Inspired by seascapes and sunsets without rival in Yorkshire an idiosyncratic style of landscape painting was developed.

Trained in a conceptual fashion without technical skills, feelings of anxiety, isolation and low confidence all lead to a style which relied upon what were considered to be socially valued skills. Pieces used the mathematics of proportion, repeat patterns, precision, a limited palette of tasteful colours and carefully blended gradients.

The aim was to produce artwork that was not in any way upsetting or challenging but intriguing and calming. Without figures the landscapes place the viewer centre stage in an attempt to recreate the meditative peace one experiences at dusk, evaluating a day gone by and looking forward to another.

Later pieces more angular format echo a busier environment. They become populated by man-made structures, contain more expressive colour and spontaneous brushwork.

Everything is healing nicely and i am happy with the amount of Dr J Beau stuff (for the time being) in frames.

Next Mr Herbert Haut.

Mr Haut’s work has always been hard to frame. Mostly photographs that document evidence the presentation is all important in helping to get the idea across. Some are more successful than others and looking at one imp-articular I made the decision to re-present the photographs.

The more I photographed stickers the more I became aware that this simple act could define me as a possible culprit. Then I began to think that anybody who uses that space could also have been a culprit. So I went about tracking down stickers and possible vandals. At each site willing volunteers where asked to complete the sentence ” I come here” whilst wearing a mask to protect their identity, with the sticker in shot. They were then asked to give there name, or pseudonym, and location. This collection of 20 Polaroids took along to collect. Lots of waiting and by the end of it I had more or less got my banter sorted but still got the occasional rejection.

Anyway before and after.

Vasectomy stops play! Last weeks operation had put a temporary halt on proceedings. Now I am back in the drivers seat (well, a nice, comfy one anyway) and aim to get all five of Blaise’s frames filled with Dr J Beau stuff by the end of the week.

I can then focus on finishing off Mr Herbert Haut’s stuff.

Wow, time is flying. Looked at my diary and realised I am gonna have to stop getting distracted and focus on the exhibition.

I have not been wasting time, just preparing and submitting work for other exhibitions. Today I finished framing three pieces to go in the December open at the Queens Hall and also finished spraying another surfboard.

Back to the exhibition. Last week i collected my frames. I am re framing work i did for the King Street Gallery.

http://www.kingstreetgallery.co.uk/

Whilst there I met lots of exciting artists including Lindy Elliott who paints forest scenes of the Brechfa area. She recommmeded her son-in-law Blaise Hall at Fforest framing as a useful contact.

http://www.fforestframing.co.uk/

Based just outside Abergorlech he is not the closest supplier. On a rainy Saturday with two kids and nothing else to do a nice drive out to his studio, through the colourful autumn leaves, followed by food at The Black Lion was a great way to spend half a day.Distance was irrelevant. Perhaps next time I visit I will pack the bike and go for a spin around the trails at Brechfa!!

Any way now I have five frames that need filling with Dr J Beau stuff. I then want to make the same number of frames available to Mr H Haut.

Thus the exhibition will grow at a balanced rate until I have ran out of time, energy, cash or all of the above.