It amuses me how many artists will turn up their noses at certain exhibition spaces. Obviously, we would all like a nice big white space, but its not often they come up really do they? I’m thinking about this at the moment, because I’m also ‘working’ for the Liverpool Independents Biennial and have recently offered 3 fairly good spaces out to artists. One is in a listed building and would cost the artist £350 per week in rates and utility bills ( at business rates) so I can understand the reticence in taking that up. The second is an empty shop unit, which has a good size open front window and has a lot of passing trade. This is free to artists.
The third is a very large empty shop unit, a bit run down, but again with good passing trade. This is £150 a month.
I’ve had a few enquiries, but there’s always some excuse – oh I would have to invigilate? I can’t screw anything into that wall? I would have to paint it first? Why isn’t it free?
Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t help feeling that some artists are a little naïve when it comes to exhibiting work.
Using a very good lesson in how not to do things, I’ve spent the morning coating some of my paper objects in resin in the hope that it will strengthen them.
I hadn’t used the resin since last summer and the lid had sealed tightly shut. Absolutely nothing would budge it, so I had to resort to gauging a hole in the lid using a screwdriver. I then had to wait half an hour for the liquid to drip out… painfully slowly. Of course, I didn’t use gloves, so spent a further half hour trying to clean my hands. Note to self – if all else fails, use selotape!
I’m doing such a botched job because I can’t be bothered working. I want to spend my days off from work doing what normal people do, but I can’t.
I now have 260 paper planes for the Albert Dock exhibition ( 30 completed this morning, before I had even got dressed!) …… and 20 paper cones ( covered in resin!) ready for Bridewell . Three and a half weeks to go……..
It’s kind of funny when you think you have moved on from a body of work, only to find it in the ‘limelight’ a couple of years later.
For the 2010 Independents Biennial, I was using plastics and other recycled materials in my work. I did enjoy using the medium, but found it impractical as certain carrier bags for example, break down – which they should (!) …but for longevity…well, it speaks for itself. Sooo…I moved on and started working with paper.
While the work was on show though 2 years ago, I uploaded a few images to Saatchi online. There’s no selection process for this – anyone can do it. I got bored with it though and didn’t upload any more as I was a bit disappointed with the quality of work that was being published .
Anyway….two years later and this suddenly appeared: http://www.saatchionline.com/art-collection/Installation/100-Curators-Collection/348727/22255/view
I don’t think it means anything, but it was nice to see old work being viewed again.
In the meantime….. I will have to move away from the PC so that I can use my only day off to work on the two installations planned for #Indies2012 !!
If anyone is in Leeds – please try to get to see BOUND at Leeds Library!
I think getting away from my work for a few days ( well, being forced to get away from work so I can earn some money!) has helped me with a new plan of action for the Bridewell exhibition.
I had a complete mental block and was getting stuck and almost panicky with the obsession to use objects that I had put aside a while ago, but couldn’t think how to put them together. I wanted to use item A and stick it to Item B so that it looked really ‘interesting’. Of course it wouldn’t have done – it would have looked like a desperate attempt to use up items that had been lying around.
So…Plan B is in action with a call out on Facebook for a new object to be used …and the hope that I can pull it all together within 6 weeks!
Had quite a nice day off today and although I’ve spent a lot of my time making paper planes, I did it while sitting in the garden, so it didn’t feel so much of a chore. By the end of the day, I would probably have made 40 of them. I haven’t counted them all yet, but I’d guess there are over 200. Realistically, I need 500 to fill the space. Five weeks to go, so I should do it.
Had an email off Louise Atkinson today about the Bound exhibition. I knew it was touring to Bristol after the Leeds showing, but she thinks she has confirmed a Liverpool venue as well. If it comes together, I will be in FIVE exhibitions during the Independents. Quite a scary thought.
I know what I am doing for the empty shop … the paper planes., and I know what I am doing for the Soup collective exhibition at Tate Liverpool – I’m being lazy and doing a variation of the paper houses again. But for the Bridewell exhibition, I’m struggling a bit. The theme is ‘Inhospitable’ and I have several ideas running around my head somewhere, but I just can’t get them to the making stage. I just hope I can unblock those thoughts in the next week or so or I will be in trouble : /
Its always this dilemma around the Liverpool Biennial time… I feel I can either do one exhibition and feel comfortable about it… or I can do, in this case, FIVE and be tearing my hair out. What do you do though? Isn’t it best to make the most of any publicity and jump on the bandwagon?
Links to exhibitions.
Bound : http://abcarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/bound_8.html
Host: http://www.independentsbiennial.org/2012/08/07/host-by-soup-collective/
Inhospitable: http://www.independentsbiennial.org/2012/08/03/inhospitable-scibase-at-the-bridewell/
