The Incidental Assembly at South London Gallery October 2019

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.

Nicola Ellis

Nicola Ellis is a British visual artist based in Manchester, who explores the question of who values what—and why—in different contexts. Her work examines how information, tradition, and legacy are passed on and translated through materials, systems, and the people who work within them. Ellis works with materials sourced from places of industry, scientific research, and public institutions; therefore, her sculptures, drawings, and digital artworks often intercept and expand existing material cycles. Her work simultaneously celebrates the connections and distinctions between different contexts at specific points in time. Since 2018, Ellis has developed a long-term relationship with Ritherdon & Co. Ltd, a manufacturer of steel enclosures based in Darwen, Lancashire. The success of this residency led to the two-year Arts Council England-funded placement “Return to Ritherdon,” which resulted in an unprecedented invitation to remain in residence indefinitely. Ellis will continue to observe, participate in, and occasionally disrupt the ecosystem of the factory while working alongside—and in collaboration with—the Ritherdon workforce. Ellis is a member of Para-lab Manchester, a group of artists and material scientists interested in cooperation and collaboration, based in Greater Manchester and Yorkshire. She is also a member of Incidental Unit, the current iteration of the Artist Placement Group. The Incidental Unit draws out key ideas, methods, processes, and rationales for maintaining the independent and critical work of artists and curators, connecting the historical legacy of APG with the complex nature of social practice today. Incidental Unit In recent years, Ellis’s work has been acquired by private and national public collections, including the Government Art Collection and the Arts Council Collection. She is the recipient of a Henry Moore Foundation Artist Award, a Henry Moore Artist Research Fellowship, and several Arts Council England grants to support the development of her work. Most recently, Ellis was awarded Horizon Europe funding by Better Factory to participate in an eighteen-month “Knowledge Transfer Experiment” in collaboration with Ritherdon & Co. Ltd and technology provider Digiotouch. This project developed new technology and infrastructure to support the integration of robotics into a small factory floor, reduce waste, and expand the Ritherdon product portfolio to achieve lot-size-one production of bespoke powder coating finishes.

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