Rebuilding and Refocusing

The last couple of weeks have seen things move along steadily. My research has taken me in to some strange places recently, interestingly to the meaning of the tower in tarot cards. It’s meanings seemed to strike a chord with my ideas, and links in with the Babelesque themes that are all ready running through my work, whilst also giving a nod to the 2012 Mayan prophecies. Anyway, the card stands for sudden and intense events, signalling an end of one era and a beginning of another, whether one is ready for this or not. Whereas a fantastic, magnificent tower is seen as a sign of arogance, a broken tower is seen as a sign of clarity, with the foundations of truth being all that remain. This was reflected in a proposal I had been working on for a new piece of work called Awakening. I proposed a new sculptural installation that would look physically similar to my previous work that I have included in this application. The new work will be large scale and precarious, evoking a feeling that something has gone terribly wrong. I plan to build a tower piece that will stand with a pronounced lean, with the top portion to be broken off and left smashed on the floor nearby. The key ideas behind this work relate to false structures, false institutions and false beliefs that are all going to come tumbling down.

The e-flyer for Hijack that I am involved with in Bristol in March is now being circulated, and is the image to the right. I am pretty much sorted on my ideas for the work, at least the new built tower. I am now thinking about the large paper based works. My main idea is to explore inverted towers for this show. The main idea for this exhibition is to have a series of sculptural objects that when grouped together create a sense of invasion. The curators aim is for the work to have a strong presence with a sense of monumentality, (or anti-monumentality), evidencing a sense of scale and ambition to dominate or inversely, stealthily infiltrating the spaces. I will continue to post on this as my work develops and particularly during the installation of the show. In the meantime, here are some details:

Opening Friday 9th March, from 7 – 9pm

Exhibition continues Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th March 12 – 5pm

Stapleton Road Tavern, 1 -3 Stapleton Road, Bristol, BS5 0QR

http://stapletonroadtavern.blogspot.com/

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a collective in Bristol and invited to take part in an exhibition in March. It was nice to be invited to exhibit rather than to apply. They found my work on Axis. After recieving the exhibition proposal from the curator, I went to visit the space to see how my large drawings would work and to meet the other artists. The space looks interesting and there will be 8 of us showing work that has a sci-fi-esque and invasive feel. I think the selection of artists’ work will work strongly together making for an interesting exhibition. Whilst visiting the space, I came across a damaged ceiling in a back room, I immediately thought of another new piece of work, in the form of a site responsive tower that makes use of this neglected space. The repeating exposed slats of wood were what immediately stood out for me. I have a pretty solid idea of what I will make for this space, following on from my previous tower pieces. I am more interested in the idea of an inverted tower now, as if the tower is descending into the space from a higher place.

I have also been busy writing proposals, which is really helping me to develop my ideas for future work. Some have been quite ambitious. An interesting one that I am working on is for a proposed exhibition of work by myself and four other artists, we have already approached a number of venues on this one, and now it is being re-edited for a few others. We’ll keep pushing on with it and see how it goes.

Last week a number of my friends from my MA met for the 1st post MA Salon critique that was held at Acme Studios in Deptford. Although I couldn’t make it due to other commitments, it was good that this happened, and the next is scheduled for March, where I hope to show some new work and get some critical feedback, and hopefully make a good contribution.

All in all, January was a positive month after a difficult end to 2011. I have began to write down all the positive things that happen each month, as they happen, for me to look back over if I begin to get stressed out or annoyed with myself. It has so far worked quite well and has kept me focusing on the positives.