Keeping It Going

Recently, I’ve started working on a couple of vintage woollen blankets – raw material for opening up opportunities for making new work, perhaps – you never quite know. The blankets are both a very distinct pink in colour, dating from the 50/60s. I’m enjoying being reacquainted with them – such evocative items – the blankets’ colours, their feel and the biscuity kind of scent attached to them conjure up all sorts of memories. I’ve always been drawn to the colour of the wool, but the satin trim also appeals.

The last time I used one in my work was a while back – it’d been stored away in a suitcase, protected from moths. I’d been looking for fabric to wrap around a dressing table which needed transporting – the mirror in particular needed protection. I remember hesitating before cutting the blanket – that first cut! – but on the basis that there were plenty more where they came from, I went ahead. The blanket was cut into several pieces, wrapped around the dressing table’s main frame, the drawers and mirror and then tied securely with string. I spent some time doing it, enjoying the process of swaddling the various bits of the dressing table. I wish now that I’d taken photos of the assembled pieces before I loaded them into my car to transport them – it was a startling transformation.

Cut to, seeing a very similar blanket in a local Oxfam shop recently for the grand sum of £50 – one almost identical to the one I’d cut in pieces; they’ve clearly become fashionable and sought after. I find it fascinating how fashion dictates what’s ‘in’ (or out) at any given time. For me, their appeal has been never ending – more than anything, I think, because they evoke such strong childhood memories – the good parts, particularly – those moments of feeling warm and safe and secure and loved.

The blankets take me back to overnight stays in my Nana’s house, from the age of around eight onwards – pre duvet days, when you were tucked up in bed so tightly sometimes that you could barely move, the soft satin trim around the neck, a welcome relief from the itchiness of the all wool blanket. The colour pink has been traditionally associated with love – with kindness and femininity, too.

My hope is that new work might evolve from being reacquainted with them, but it’s fine if it doesn’t – having the blankets around me in the studio again is a joy in itself, calling to mind those overnight stays with my Nana – the one on one attention, the feeling special – the ‘girls’ united in love – a hot water bottle slipped under the blankets for extra warmth and comfort.

I’m amazed that this is my first blog post of 2023, but then I suppose it reflects pretty accurately how much has been going on since the start of this year – life events, mainly – not art-related stuff. It feels like there’s been a shift in focus this past week and so, here I am – back in blog writing mode and also starting to feel back on the proverbial saddle with regards to thinking about and making work …

Perpetuity: the state or quality of lasting forever versus Precariousness: the state of being dangerously likely to fall or collapse

I’ve been looking through recent photographs of objects, taken in a corner of my existing studio. There’s something about the overall sense of shabbiness of this corner that frequently suits the objects I place there for photographing – the light is good, too.

Nobody’s sure of the time scale yet, but the studio building’s about to be redeveloped – knocked down, essentially – my studio with it, alongside those of yet another community of artists, being moved on. The gentrification of Deptford has been evident for quite some time now but it doesn’t seem that long ago that a community of artists was moved on from Cor studios in Creekside. I was a part of that group, too.

Cor studios, when they were there, and currently ArtHub studios, neighbour the APT gallery and studio complex. The ‘P’ in APT stands for perpetuity – the state of lasting forever. What a brilliant investment the APT artists made when they bought the building. How lovely it must be to have the comfort and sense of security of knowing that you’re able to hold onto your studio – forever. In contrast, for many artists, the P so often stands for precariousness.

It looks likely that once planning permission is 100% granted, the entire ArtHub studio building will be knocked down. I’ve been wondering if the new developers would allow me to keep a part of my existing studio – just this small, corner part of it, so that I continue with my ‘From the studio …’ photographs of objects. It’ll probably be far too impractical & complicated to manage – too heavy, probably to take away, but on the basis of nothing ventured, nothing gained, I think I might give it a shot. Or perhaps in time, I’ll look at losing the studio as just another challenge – another step on my journey of letting go, in all senses of the word. Let’s see …

Holiday time reflections …

‘The malt whisky that used to be offered, the crystal wine glasses no longer used, the napkin holders, redundant in a drawer, the placemats infrequently out of their box, the jelly moulds, the cake slice – the cake frills and candles … signs of the times: ageing and a world increasingly shrinking, family gatherings and the paraphernalia associated with them no longer needed – cluttering up the cupboards. ‘I’ve got to get rid of all this stuff – I don’t want the family cursing me when I’m gone …’   (Kate Murdoch, November 2022)                                                              

As someone who’s had these conversations with family members recently, I’ve been left wondering at what point the objects in our home might start to become a burden to us, rather than something to be enjoyed. Such conversations tie in very well, of course, with the ones I so often have with myself in relation to my studio and the amount of stuff I’m continuing to hold onto …

I’m always interested to hear others’ responses to any work I make. On seeing my most recent piece of work, ‘Meat too’ (ii) an artist I know commented on how they would ‘never have recognised this work’  as mine. The word ‘aggressive’ was mentioned and I know what they meant; this second piece of work in the series is undoubtedly so. I’m glad it was picked up on because it’s precisely the feeling underlying the work, echoing not just the overwhelming feelings of anger felt by numerous women who associate themselves with the #metoo movement, but for many others, too.

Nevertheless, the comment about how different this piece was from other work I’ve made, intrigued me. I think ‘Meat too’ (ii) has a definite connection to other pieces – more explicit in this particular piece, perhaps, but it’s there – in ‘Sweet Nothings’ and ‘that’ dress – work that goes back to 2015. It reminds me of the consistent thread running throughout my work – my fascination with the ongoing objectification of women, essentially – the attempts to silence them, as well as the perpetual violence and harm which tragically, continues to be inflicted upon many.

As I said in my last post here, a lot of the work I make addresses the different ways in which women, through the male gaze and objectification, are often judged by how they look and how they behave. Miss World and other beauty pageants spring to mind – the ultimate in meat marketing. In the absence of any real significant change, my interest in the restrictions imposed on women continues – women living their lives under scrutiny, constantly reminded of the importance to look a ‘certain’ way, forced to ‘know their place’ and often unable to exist freely or be their true, authentic selves.

‘Meat too’ (ii), 2022 (as shown above) was included as part of the ‘All Under One Roof’ exhibition, curated by Luke Merryweather at the Art Hub studios in Deptford, London. The work of fourteen artists who live or work in Deptford was included in the show and continued throughout the first weekend of the Deptford X art festival, 2022.

There’s a definite autumnal ‘back to school’ feel in the air which makes me feel like I need to get myself organised. I have a lot coming up in terms of sorting my home & work spaces and so it feels good to take some time to catch up with things on this blog before becoming completely re-immersed in it all.

I’ve been looking back over the summer and thinking about what a great pleasure it was to take part in the group show ‘Always On My Mind’ at the Fitzrovia Gallery in London at the end of July. The show was curated by artist Harry Pye and raised funds for the National Brain Appeal charity. More details about the show and Harry’s thinking behind it can be read here:

http://fitzroviagallery.co.uk/myportfolio/always-on-my-mind-an-exhibition-in-aid-of-the-national-brain-appeal/

The National Brain Appeal raises much-needed funds for The National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery and the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. The National Hospital is one of the world’s leading centres for the diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with a wide range of neurological and neuromuscular conditions including stroke, multiple sclerosis, brain cancer, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, migraine and dementia.

‘Always on my Mind’ included the work of 16 artists:  

Magda Archer, Gordon Beswick, Sasha Bowles, Nick Cave, Billy Childish, Matthew Collings, Alice Herrick, Corin Johnson, James Johnston, Francis Macdonald, Kate Murdoch, Carson Parkin-Fairley, Harry Pye, Elena-Andreea Teleaga, Twinkle Troughton and Tracey Williams.

The work ranged from collage, drawing, installation, photography, painting, prints to sculpture.

The title of the exhibition came from the name of an Elvis Presley song that was number one 50 years ago. As well as the obvious link to the Elvis song, Harry also asked those participating to think about issues that were frequently on their own minds.

Female identity is one of the themes I return to again and again in my work and I submitted two pieces, featuring women, ‘Meat Too’ and ‘Reflection.’ Both pieces refer to ‘good’ women – women compelled to conform to what society expects of them. I wrote this about the work when I was ready to submit it:

‘A lot of the work I make addresses the different ways in which women, through the male gaze and objectification, are often judged by how they look and how they behave. I’m fascinated by the inevitable restrictions this imposes on women – living our lives under scrutiny, constantly reminded of ‘knowing our place’ and often unable to exist freely or be our true authentic selves.

This inequality between the lives of women versus men is something I’ve been acutely aware of from a young age and continues to be an issue I think about a lot. As well as addressing these issues on a personal level, ‘Meat Too’ and ‘Reflection’ open up opportunities for a response from a wider audience and invite further social and political debate around gender and women’s place in society.’

Below are images of the two pieces of work I submitted for the ‘Always on my Mind’ show. For further photos of the opening night, here’s a link to Harry’s Rebel Magazine blog:

http://therebelmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/07/photos-from-opening-party-of-always-on.html

‘Meat Too’ – Kate Murdoch 2022

‘Reflection’ – Kate Murdoch 2022