Show (and tell) time...

A very handy pinboard with 'censored' lengths

I have been quite stressed, somewhat, or rather what comes with being mentally busy. Preparing for hand in today was slightly fraught to say the least. Other things were determined to get in the way but I eventually got there, minus 2 x A2 paintings that strangely have disappeared off the face of the earth, no doubt I shall find them tomorrow. Maybe it was a sign.

Bound to be writing

I have less practical work this time, more thinking and focusing though..and, there is still a way to go; sampling, experimenting, refining (repeating ad infinitum) and only then producing final pieces.

Pantone colour for 2016 :-)

Today I had to present my work, I had a plan but as is usual it went by the wayside once I started rabbiting, as sometimes I am wont to do. I managed to continue to speak for a good 20 minutes and for someone as quiet as me (!) I think that's an achievement, and I only slightly 'filled up' with the emotion of my subject, once.

I said all I had to say, another achievement as usually I'm kicking myself for missing out that all important, crucial word. (Although one will probably come to me later).

Anyway, I feel good.

Worn out. Raised pile

AND I have big idea's. I will tell you more/them next week...Ciao

P.S. I have just remembered... I forgot to mention Auschwitz.

MA Show 2015 Manchester School of Art (2 short reviews)

Jat Biring

MA Textiles for Fashion

Benzie Building

Jat Biring

One stand out, impactual piece tells the million stories of a million individuals. Jat states it is ‘an abstract illustration of fearlessness’. I see fear, but true it lessens as the eye carries upwards, a journey through and then overcoming anxiety perhaps.

The stark, huge, black and white drawing gets to the heart of the matter, an intense portrayal of lines and tension and adrenaline- the knots are very clever.

A 2D response that ‘feels’, with a 3D form, movement and in the solid areas – stillness, just black.

On the curation:
Hung in a window the white space had a reflective positioning, giving a different effect daytime/nightime… however the white space of the piece was not that pristine whilst it felt it should have been. Attention to detail was also slightly lacking at the edge, giving the work an ‘in progress’ working document feel which may have been deliberate I don’t know.
 

Eleanor Mulhearn

MA Animation

Holden Gallery

My ultimate favourite, Eleanor’s work was sooo beautiful. She uses discarded objects and flea market finds (<3) and gives them a new, more interesting life. Each piece was exquisite with it’s own personality, well observed and highly sensitive, beautifully made. I haven’t even seen the animation and I love it already.

Eleanor's statement describes these pieces as a reinterpretation of the miniature and a destabilisation of a once personal object. I appreciate how she has not made them 'perfect' but they are created with chips and crevices so you can see into an empty inside, to me they are intrinsically perfect.

On the curation:

Perfect; on unobtrusive naïve shelves, totally in keeping, against a stark white wall, carefully arranged. From a distance and close up, they just looked right. Stand back and take in the original plaster frieze, ornate and historical and sculptural and they look even better, in juxtaposition (had to put in that word).

Eleanor Mulhearn

 And in other news, or rather images:

Deborah Harrington - MA Photography "What Remains' series

Nicholas Young - MA Graphic Design and Art Direction 'RMBK1000'

Steve Oliver - MA Fine Art 'Tiny Hands'