It was the opening night at the Bridewell last night and wouldn’t you know it, it was absolutely torrential rain. If I wasn’t in the exhibition, I probably would have looked outside, shut the door and sat snuggled up to watch the box. Thankfully, not everyone thought the same and we ended up with a surprisingly good turn out.
The work looked really good ( though I say so myself!) Some of the artists had given the venue a lot of thought and had made site specific work. I walked past one artwork several times thinking ‘I don’t remember seeing a stripey bit on the wall last time I was here’, before realising that it was one of the new works! WALKERHILL -Michael Walker and Martyn Hill a collaborative duo. Graduates of the Royal College of Art and Chelsea College of Art respectively, they have exhibited their lo-fi modulations nationally and internationally.
Phill Hopkins had made use of an old glass cabinet, that we were originally going to shove into the corridor. He took the measurement of the cabinet up to Leeds to install a work of the same dimensions, during his residency at the Basement Arts Project. http://www.phill-hopkins.co.uk/gallery_381554.html
Also good to see the work of Stephen White who had painstakingly created a box made entirely from paint for the Swedish exhibition, but had made a more understated work – door mats with text for this exhibition.
I’ll be invigilating Friday afternoon and Sunday, so if anyone wants a chat – please come along!
When I got home from work last night, there was a card off the postman, saying that he had tried to deliver a parcel. I was hoping that it would be the artwork from Sweden…. and indeed it was. I had to pick it up before work, but had no time to open it. Talk about cutting things fine!
Unit 8 is now all set up, with Lydia Catterall already getting people in to talk to her. She had on a loud booming sound piece when I walked in, which caused the residents in the shop next door to complain about the noise. Oh well, what use is an artwork if no one talks about it?
While Bruce is up at Bridewell doing the final touches to the exhibition and Lydia is causing havoc in unit 8, all I can do just now is keep on photocopying and hope that no one notices what I’m printing off.
PV starts in 4 hours and I have no idea what the finished exhibition looks like ……..
Another early-ish start to the day, as I called into the Albert Dock office to sign the licence and show proof of Public Liability insurance ( Thank you a-n!) for unit 8, before I headed on to work.
My job this week entails keeping accounts, and checking money to be banked, so I’m really concerned that I have to keep focussed on the job and not let my mind wander on to the exhibitions too much, in case I start to make mistakes. I had considered taking the next few days off work, but I’d rather see if I can manage without doing that, so that I can save a few days leave at the end of all this ‘mad time’ to keep just myself.
Lydia Catterall arrived this morning, so I took her to the unit to start setting up. She will be doing a mini residency in the unit, her ‘collaborative processes are concerned with audience engagement’ I believe, but I can talk more about that in a later blog (When I actually understand what she is doing! )
Bruce Davies and Phill Hopkins had hired a van in Leeds to bring the rest of the work down to Liverpool to fill both the Bridewell and unit 8. Sooooo – they arrived late afternoon, went to Bridewell, met Jean McEwan there and they started installing, before bringing the rest of the work down the hill to install at Unit 8. Phew. Confused yet? Well, I know that I have a splitting headache while I’m writing this and believe me, there was just a little bit of tension in the air this afternoon!
The really nice thing though, is finally meeting some of these artists in person. For the ‘Stockholm project’ we did a callout for artists to send in their proposals for us to take over there. Several of the artists came across also, but we went to Stockholm mostly as strangers to each other . I still hadn’t met Jean or Phill until today, but after corresponding with each other so much over this project, I felt anyway, that we’d known each other for years.
The problem with working with groups of artists is that you always get one or two who will do things to fit in with themselves, rather than stick to the brief.
No major problems – just the said one or two turning up on the wrong day ( as in today!) to install, when all of us are in work and can’t get access to the gallery!
Luckily, the Bridewell is also a studio complex and there were a few artists about to today to let people in.
Yesterday, we were there for quite a few hours – just me and Julie Dodd there for a while waiting for others to turn up. ( read Julie’s blog here: www.a-n.co.uk/p/648002/ )
Carol Ramsay and Jacqueline F Kerr came later. Both had other commitments ( Carol installing another exhibition elsewhere and Jackie had a children’s birthday party to go to first – such is the life of being a mother and artist ) all were great though just getting on with sorting their own work.
Two (male) artists from Leeds arrived pretty late ( their excuse had something to do with drinking and Greyspace galleries… ho hum) But nevertheless, they did turn up!
Today, I’m in work, so there’s not a lot I can do other than respond to frantic texts – how do we get into the gallery??? And to pass on contact details to others who appear quite calm…. As in the case of Jean McEwan ( who’s blog you can read here: www.a-n.co.uk/p/2382475/ )
So to cut a long story short, all the work we had was installed. Day one was fine ( sort of)
I woke up several times in the night , thinking of things that needed doing. They probably don’t need doing at all, but for some reason, they feel hugely important in the middle of the night. Decided to get up at 6am to ‘fiddle’ with my work that I will be installing tomorrow.
Felt very tired in work. Read two responses to another blog I’m doing about my own work and felt that I should respond with a deep and meaningful reply, but I was too tired to think up the right words. I hope they understand and I will respond within a few days.
Got home and decided I should go out again to buy some wine for the PV night, trying not to tot up what this exhibition is actually costing us all……..
The work from Sweden still hasn’t arrived.
