Tiny space blog:
I have just got back from doing the Showreel project in Milan and it has given me much to think about.
http://www.showreelproject.com/
Aside from the joy of amazing food and sunshine, the whole experience was a pleasure. The curator, Paola Caravati, has worked on Showreel for at least 18 months alongside her job at Francesca Minini Gallery in Milan. I was the last artist to exhibit out of five, the first four being Teresa Gillespie, Alice Channer, Sinta Werner and Adam Thompson. The work was displayed in a tiny shop window, with a photographer’s studio across the street used as an area to display a slideshow of works along with copies of a commissioned interview and in my case, some artists books.
My interview with curator Ciara Ennis:
http://www.moussemagazine.it/extraContents.mm
This interview was done via email as Ciara is based in L.A. and I really enojyed the whole process. She asked some difficult questions that I don’t normally have to deal with, so I appreciated the chance to get into some issues in my work.
It may have been the way I was treated in Milan, the fact that all the costs were covered, or just the long conversation involved in realising the project that made it such a valuable experience. Paola’s approach was to use the event as an introduction to the artist (rather than a straightforward exhibition), so the opening was mainly peopled by curators and gallery owners. Interestingly there was no alcohol and it was still a busy and engaged evening!
The space used was the window of a workshop in the Isola area of the city (an equivalent to Soho or something I guess), where incredibly intricate baroque parchment roses were made:
http://www.parchmentroses.com/en_catalog.htm
The owner, Elena, lived and worked in the space, with this incredibly economic use of space, but also with everything she could need. Her handmade tools and workspace were really inspiring and I am very glad I could see inside it.
The walls in her workshop (the front room that faced onto the street) were clad in marble. A lot of things in Italy are, given that it’s a local material. But this got me thinking about the quality of things, and how investing in better materials often makes more economic sense. Same with the exhibitions, and in retrospect I can see it was far more worthwhile taking so long to make a piece for a space not much bigger than a square metre than many other projects I have done recently. I still haven’t got to the point where I am saying no to things that I know in my gut are probably best avoided. I think this basically boils down to vanity, or insecurity, I’m not sure which, but it is to do with being flattered that people are interested in my work.
Already I have had an email from another curator I met in Milan, about taking part in an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Lausanne in December so I am excited to see how this develops. But generally, I am thankful to Paola for making me so welcome and all her hard work on the project. This is also proof that an Axis profile can bring good things, as this is where Paola came across my work.
