Back to the Mississippi

With the exhibition at Walcot completed I can now begin to concentrate on my textile exhibition at the American Museum in Bath.  For this exhibition I am creating a representation of the Mississippi River out of bobbin lace.  I hope to include some progress picture on my blog so keep a look out for them but for now I have been creating some designs on a ZSK embroidery machine and am very pleased with the results.

Between the Lines - Private View

The final private view was by Between the Lines and here are some photos.

Esoteric Illusions - Private View

The second private view was by Esoteric Illusions and here are some highlights.

166 bpm - Private View

So all three of this years exhibition private views have taken place so I am now going to show you some highlights, starting with my own private view for 166 bpm.

166 bpm - our group piece

Ella Garrud - Triangle North to Walcot Chapel

Sophie Jillard - Ongoing

Tom Maryniak - Decline and Fall

Vanessa Bowden - In Memory of Memories

Mike Smart - Untitled (Cups)

Mke Smart - Odd One Out

Hannah Wilmshurst - Moorland Road (Laundromat) left

Hannah Wilmshurst - Exposed

Josie Thomson - Through the Wings of a Butterfly

Sophie Cowan - Untitled

Luke Moore - Untitled Studies

Kitty McCarron - Death from Above

A catalogue of our exhibition and the other 2 is available at

www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2067285.

In Memory of Memories

Sorry for the delay I have been terribly busy over the past few weeks preparing for the private view of 166bpm which was held on on 29th March.

Part of my preparation involved completing my piece 'In Memory of Memories' - I have included a picture below but it doesn't really do the piece justice.

Artist Statement

I have always been interested in the history of objects and the trace memories that are invariably left as marks upon them. My current series of work is based on memorial benches and the traces of memories that are burnt into them as evidence of human interaction and temporary ownership.

The placement of such memorial benches prompted me to consider why the bench was put in that particular location and what memories that site holds. Working with these ideas I have created a piece of interactive work influenced by the new wave of street art, looking to place my work within the context of the public space or by drawing influence from it.

The process I use creates juxtaposition between true deep remembrance and fleeting visits exploring the subliminal messages and thoughts that are left all around us as simple marks and wording as well as the weathering of material over time.

Burnt In

I feel that the memories we have are burnt into the items we interact with so began to work with burning graffiti style images on to wood as well as the silhouette of a person sitting on a bench.

These burnt on images are created using a blow torch. 

Memory Graffiti

Ok so it was decided that my photographic images were not as strong as my detailed mini benches but I really wanted to go on and create a life size bench, so it was at this point I went on to think about how our memories are left as traces upon these benches.

Realising that aside from memorial plaques evidence of human interaction is also shown by simple marks and writing on benches in the form of graffiti.  So I went on a hunt for graffiti images to give me an idea of what kind of things are written or drawn and how it is layered.