Return to Ritherdon

I have been editing film, sound and making works on paper during the COVID-19 lockdown. Working from photographs, the drawings/painting has helped me separate out the objects I feel have an additional secret life as sculpture, within the manufacturing environment. Suspending them in clean white backgrounds removes them from the manufacturing context. It becomes possible to temporarily detach them from their functional role in the factory ecosystem. A useful exercise.

Follow the link below to see a few more:

http://www.nicolaellis.com/2019/recent-works-on-paper/

As part of my investigations into the manufacturing environment, I have called upon my good friend and now collaborator Manoli Moriaty to help carry out some sound recordings. The initial intention was to produce sound documentation of the factory floor which doubled up as base material to be developed into sound works. Manoli also suggested other forms of technical wizardry which involved strapping a modified Wii remote onto a willing Rhys, in order to monitor his arm movements along with the vibrations of tools and steel during grinding and polishing processes.

After Manoli’s first visit to he factory, we settled on the idea of our first (undoubtedly of many!) collaboration being the production of an audio ‘walk-around’ of the factory. Keeping our first collaboration modest and achievable in the remaining timeline of Return to Ritherdon, this work will function as a documentary style track, giving a kind of remote sound experience of the factory when played in external venues. It also gives us the opportunity to spend time weedling out and celebrating all the glorious and somewhat more gentle sounds that contribute to the regular factory soundscape.  More on this to come!

Take a look at Manoli’s website for further information about his projects, research and teaching to date:

https://manolimoriaty.com/

Pew Pew! Manoli shooting the shotgun mic at the Trumpf

I attended Incidental Futures: Artist Placement Study Day and Incidental Assembly on the weekend of 13/14 September 2019. The two day even held at South London Gallery marked the culmination of the Incidental Futures programme. Find more information about this and Incidental Unit (IU) in general, here:

https://incidentalunit.org/incidental-futures

Artist Placement Study Day

The study day consisted of presentations relating to Artist Placement Group (APG) history delivered by members of the IU along with formal and informal descriptions of recent or current projects/experiences relating to APG methods. I was fortunate enough to wangle a 10 minute presentation slot to introduce the Return to Ritherdon project to an inquisitive audience including of Barbara Steveni, the co-founder and director of APG and its preceding iterations since 1966. Barbara very sadly passed away recently, which has created a pioneer-shaped-hole in the lives of all that admire her gusto, perseverance and wisdom. I am so honoured to have meet her briefly and discussed the RTR project. I will continue to find inspiration in her words and actions, in relation to this project and beyond.

Incidental Assembly

On Saturday 14 September, a curated assembly convened contemporary practices inspired Artist Placement Group. Activated by their artist practitioners, each instance will highlight the long-term impact of the Artist Placement Group on cultural production across the UK. (description taken from Incidental Futures text)

Artists: Michele Allen, Johann Arens, Charles Danby and Rob Smith, Corinna Dean, KALEIDOWORKS, Nicola Ellis, Simon Farid, Rob Flint, Amanda Loomes and Laura Purseglove.

My offering for the Incidental Assembly was: Assemble something

‘Assemble something’ involves inviting members of the IU and gallery visitors to assemble various Ritherdon products, following the in-house factory assembly instructions. Each assembly job will have a standard factory ‘job sheet’, stating any necessary components to fetch from the ‘stores’ area –  also set up in the gallery – and listing a time-frame in which the assembly should be completed. Products can be broken down and re-assembled multiple times according to demand.

If consent is given, some assemblies will be filmed. The Ritherdon Assembly would like to watch the footage to review how the plans –  which are usually given to new staff- are used

Parts to be assembled into complete products will be packed on a pallet for transportation, as per factory protocol.

More evaluation and measuring of processes/environments is a stated aim for the Ritherdon business over the coming year. This proposed activity will help implement this by creating a situation in which the assembly team reflect on their building processes and knowledge, by helping to prepare for an off-site assembly activity.

Ultimately the activity is a celebration of the knowledgeable assembly team’s role in the factory, along with an opportunity for those attending the Incidental Assembly to follow assembly guides and experience a process which usually takes place behind factory walls.