Middlesex university

‘The human- animal relationship has always been something that has fascinated and confused me simultaneously. I use animals in my work as a catharsis for the conflicting feelings I have around the issue and to make people think about the way in which they view animals. Polly Morgan and Damien Hirst have been big influences for me, Hirst in particular since I was young. The fragility of birds is something I find very beautiful and they are a running theme throughout my work.’

Hannah Stimpson

Heather Casey has been spending her time creating books inspired by portraiture and literature.

Her set of books are filled with self portraits that have all been marked and ‘dirtied’ using print. The printing process the photos undergo is uncontrolled, giving power to chance and highlighting the turbulent nature of life.

Each book title has been inspired by a simple word or phrase from literature that Heather feels ‘speaks volumes’. The ambiguity of a word placed out of the context of its sentence, works well with the manipulation of the images; both mediums have been distorted and are unclear.

Through this experimentation Heather has been able to explore the ideas of readability as well as looking at the relationship between text and image.

www.heathercaseyart.tumblr.com

An exhibition curated by three of our students showcasing work by themselves and fellow students, please come along to the private view or any day that you can and show your support.

“This exhibition investigates the role of artisanal sensibilities within contemporary art practice. The artists involved in the exhibition have a tactile relationship with the materials that they use and this can be seen in the autographic nature of the artworks on display. Each of the outcomes featured in the exhibition are born out of the interdependency of material and process. The artists’ mediation of this dichotomy roots their practice in processes of a truly physical nature. Here, artisanal traditions are re-imagined in a contemporary art context; the artworks that are exhibited all exist as the (occasionally momentary) termination of an action in which something physical is manipulated by the artist.”

StevieRay Latham, curator.

In life we use our five senses to learn more about the world that we live in, such as tasting,listening,seeing,smelling and of course touching.

Through the action of using our hands we begin to ask physical questions and show a physical need to understand a certain problem or situation.

In my work I invite the viewer to become a particpant in my artwork. The role of physical inclusion in my art excites me as everyone will have a unique experience from the said artwork. I feel that we can broaden our minds by the use of inclusion rather than to be a simple bystander.

My work carries a small amount of inspriration from Minimalist values of using a shape with a minimal view of the art to not be so complex but simple enough to be understood. I am very much interested in working with individual units which add up to a bigger concept of building up to the bigger picture.

Here are some more images of Alessandro’s piece titled Parcel, this time in the various locations mentioned in the previous post, emphasisng the concept of waiting.