Artist In Residence programme bought designers Muller and McCaul in to the studio spaces at Tashkeel. Muller, printing specialist, aided Mobius Design studio & Swiss design collective Weltformat in production of their collaborative exhibition WeltformatDXB at Dubai Design District during design week. With the aid of studio assistants she printed all the large format posters for the Dubai section of the show. McCaul was in residence for three months and provided workshops and talks while working in the studio.Fay McCaul:Specialising in knitted and fused textiles using wood, wire and plastics. Most of her work was transparent, luminous or structured in a way to enhance, move or shield light in internal spaces. The repeats were beautiful and called out to be caressed, thankfully something that was not frowned upon in the exhibition.Christine Muller:After the emmense and intense paper printing of Weltformat DXB Muller produced her own works, inspired by the islamic patterns she encountered here in Dubai, on silk flags whose construction was outsourced. Most of the pieces had the format of flags local to the Gulf nations, and the use of fine silks gave a luminous subtly to the prints. The audience was encouraged to move through the flags, so that they would float and swirl in the gallery space. The colour palette really felt indicative of the region, the luscious golds, sky blues and rusty sand colours.The exhibition made me question my production or lack thereof. What am I afraid of? What am I trying to stop and why? Why am I restricting my production to small scale pieces? Is it space? of lack of vision?
art event
17/12/2017 - Exhibition - Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival, Sharjah Art Museum
An international line up of artistsQuestion whether its decorative arts or fine arts and does it matter? Are they raising questions regarding political, or social views or creating art for arts sake and pushing the boundaries of technique and artist descriptions?Below are some of the pieces that really stood out for me at the exhibition. I was pressed for time and but was fortunate enough to speak to a couple of the artist that were in the space.
Sara Ouhaddou - France - R3 - 2017, natural ceramic enamelled, dimensions variable.
Above is an image of Sara Ouhaddou's ceramic tiles, the spaces had a variation of these in different coloured glazes. These unglazed installation stood out for me, the lack of colour focused the viewer on to the patterns and the fragmentation, which I am always drawn to in artwork. It felt like a jigsaw I was itching to put together, I am actually tempted to print this image out and reorganise it to find a repeat as I don't think there is one, so it alludes to a broken pattern but actually one doesn't exist.
Timo Nasseri - Germany - Epistrophe #8, 2017, stainless steel and styrofoam, 217 x 217 x 80 cm.
This piece blew my mind. I had seen it on social media, photos from friends etc and of course been to his solo show at Maraya Art Centre a few days before. I did not realise that the piece was actually concave! It recesses in to the wall 80cm meaning that for installation a false wall has to be installed to hold the piece and bring the illusion to life. Due to the nature of the material it is almost impossible to photograph an capture the recess.
Zeinab Alhashemi - UAE - Metalmorphosis, 2017, steel, mirror, 200 x 200 cm
Alhashemi is a local designer, it's always wonderful to see local artist and designers being included in diverse international shows. The material is familiar if you are living in the UAE as its a common building material that is often discarded in piles around construction sites, it was intriguing to see it in a familiar placement but have it exposed by its reflection as a islamic pattern design. distorting our perception of what we assume we are seeing.
Toy Studio - UK - In Bloom, 2017, aluminium, 200 x 200 x 200 cm
This piece, In Bloom, created excited shadows and light casts around the space. The byproducts of the artwork were more inspiring that the form itself to me as a viewer. I wanted to trace them, and capture their forms on the surrounding blank walls.
Elisa Strozyk - Germany - Wooden Textile: Transparent Maple, Transforming Red Reflecting Black, 2017, wood and textile, 350 x 120 cm
The wooden textiles pictured above were both beautiful to look at and frustrating to be around as I desired to play with them, folding the forms and experiment with the shapes and formations they promised to create. I also took the opportunity of the secluded exhibition space to move around the back of the pieces and experience the light shining through the textiles. It occurred to me that this is definitely an important factor to me, something I also use in my own work so need to make this more of a feature or thinking point.
Natalie Fisher (Artweave Originals) - Australia - Hassan, wool on needlepoint canvas; Fes Cool, wool on needlepoint canvas
Natalie Fisher (Artweave Originals) - Australia - Casablanca, 2015, wool on needlepoint canvas, 950 x 1500 cm
Natalie Fisher (Artweave Originals) - Australia - wool on needlepoint canvas; roving on wire frame.
Natalie Fisher was jumping on to one of her pieces as I turned in to her exhibition space, it was a geometric design made from needlepoint floor cushions, her camera was set up on a tripod with the timer ticking down. We chatted for ages, she was an absolute delight. We discussed process, time and the fact that 10yrs+ of work was hanging on the wall due to the labour intensive nature of embroidery and needlepoint, and how the art scene worked in the UAE. It was her first visit to the region so I gave her some tips on what to see. The half cross-stitch works were expansive, intricate and absorbing, you could capture the mediative aspect of creating simply by viewing the work. I ask the question of my work, and how I can be as dense in practice as these needlepoint pieces but remain transparent?
Leonardo Ulian - Italy - Technological Mandalas, 2017, mixed media, 280 x 700 x 500 cm
Ulian's installation again bought up the question of transparency, intricacy and sensuality. I wanted to 'ping' the taut wires, brush the diodes with my fingers but at the same time protect its delicacy. Literally fusing technology with ancient geometrics.
John Foster - USA - Truth Ore, 2017, dichro-acrylic, gypsum cement, gold leaf pigment, 90 x 157 x 81 cm
I've seen John Foster's work before; I've been lusting after a furniture piece he created, a table that emerges from these iridescent forms. The allude to the capturing of bubbles, that moment of sparkling wonder until 'pop' it disappears, only with Foster's works they remain in their luminescent glory.
Ben Johnson - UK - The Facade, Sala de la Barca, 2015, acrylic on canvas, 153 x 191 cm (detail)
Ben Johnson - UK - Dome of the Rock, Niche I, 2016, acrylic on polyester linen, 200 x 154 cm; Dome of the Rock, Facade, 2017, acrylic on polyester linen, 220 x 220 cm; Dome of the Rock, Niche II, 2016, acrylic on polyester linen, 200 x 154 cm.
Johnson's work was spell binding, the accuracy and technical craftsmanship in these paintings is a sight to behold. I initially thought, as most audience members do, that they were enlarge photographs of architectural facades, but no, they are photorealistic paintings completed by Johnson. I'm not sure on as to what they bring to the table, copying craftsmanship on to canvas, other than to show of Johnson's technical ability. Perhaps the viewer should be questioning the original crafts people, the ones who created the tile formations, the patterns that Johnson so loving recreates?
Matthew Shlian - USA - RLLR, 2017, paper, 26" x 26" x 1", RLRR, 2017, paper, 26" x 26 " x 1"; Ara 301, 2017, paper, 26" x 26" x 1"
Matthew Shlian - USA - Ara 150, 2015, paper, 26" x 40" x 2"
What Shlian can do with paper is a feat of engineering, again I was familiar with his works before encountering them in the gallery space, they are beautiful, especially Ara 150, a geometric grid structure created from cut paper. By creating these geometries in 3D paper sculptures Shlian changes the way light interacts with the patterns and moves the patterns in to tangible spaces from their usual flat perspectives.
Romina Khanom - UK - Untitled, 2017, laser cut rugs, dimensions variable.
Pattens: layered, cut, fragmented and hung, to be experienced from different angles as you move through the space. Traditional Persian rugs with the atypical floral motifs sliced through with the harsh, clinical geometries from islamic architectural features. It would not be unusual for these two features to be in the same place but not so inter-related as this. Is the rug still functional as a rug after being cut? Does it now have another function? window dressing? screen/divider, art piece?
Gabby O'Connor - Australia - All the Colours, All the Light, 2017, steel and plexiglass, dimensions variable.
Gabby O'Connor is an artist/researcher, working with scientists in the Antarctic. Why she was included in the Islamic Art Festival I do not know. Thats not to say her work wasn't beautiful or captivating to it's audience but the simple use of geometric shapes, in my opinion, dos not preclude automatic inclusion, this troubled me. I am grateful that she was included as I think her research in the Antarctic is fascinating and her light pieces are very inspiring to me as someone obsessed with pattern and transparency.
Hitoshi Kuriyama - Japan - 0=1 - Reflections, 2017, mirrored glass, fluorescent light, 240 x 240 x 260 cm.
Kuriyama is inspired by infinity.. and apparently the arabesque patterns in the domes of mosques, however I find no other record of this islamic connection in any writing on his work or the artists own website. Does that mean it was manipulated for inclusion? Does that matter? I'm not sure how the artists were selected for the exhibition, whether it was open call or invite but I do question what artists working with Islamic inspired art pieces were overlooked.
17/12/2017 - Exhibition - Hassan Sharif: I Am The Single Work Artist, Sharjah Art Foundation
http://sharjahart.org/sharjah-art-foundation/exhibitions/hassan-sharif-a-retrospectiveDue to time constraints I revisited Sharjah to complete my visit to the Hassan Sharif exhibition at Sharjah Art Foundation. Al Mureijah Square is a collection of buildings that have been renovated and specifically built as exhibition spaces. The retrospective is divided and the viewer is guided through the spaces in a specific order, the gaze is controlled, ordered.Gallery 6 - Hassan's Atelier- an uncomfortable space, it felt like an intrusion to be inside without his express permission. It is clearly staged, presented in the way it was set up in his home but clearly out of context. (Links to the Brian O'Doherty Text 'Studio & Cube', must finish reading.) My question was why? Why did they feel the need to place a representation of his working space inside the gallery, did it provide validation? Proving that he was, in fact, an artist? It questions whether we need to see or know of an artists process to validate the work, is the research more important or the time taken to create? The time taken to consume the art is also variable and does or should the time things are created in impact the time it is consumed in? Can you dictate how long people take to consume the work?
Hassan's Atelier
Email, 2009, Mixed media, variable dimensions, Homage to Jos Clevers.
Email (2009) stuck me due to the contrast of the print plates, displayed as works in themselves, and the black prints in the perspex display box. The texture and colour variations of the copper, creating depth and mood; the sterile nature of the prints, somewhat reminiscent of the virtual mail they are named after. Perhaps harking back to the time of hand written letters, the mood and personable aspects of mail penned, sorted and delivered by hand.Gallery 5 - I'm an object maker
Visible from right to left: Spoons, 2015, copper tube, cable and spoons, 210 x 47 x 62 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Harp, 2014, bicycle wheel and iron wire, 105 x 58 x 62 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Hammer, 2014, hammer and wire, 115 x 58 x 30 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Artificial Leg, 2014, crutch and wire, 152 x 56 x 48 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Buffet, 2014, stainless steel and copper wire, 104 x 56 x 25 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate (located on the floor). Spare parts, 2016, spare parts, copper wire and stainless steel wire, 210 x 325 x 20 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Copper, 2016, copper wire, 132 x 165 x 14 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate (on facing wall opposite Spare Parts). Praylady 555, 2007, stainless steel and copper, dimensions variable, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Simmer Ring, 2015, simmer rings and wire, 220 x 120 x 88 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate (located in centre on photo on rear wall). Broom, 2016, broom and copper wire, 1070 x 315 x 10 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. 555, 2016, aluminium plates and copper wire, 320 x 320 x 240 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate (partial view).
Visible from right to left: 555, 2016, aluminium plates and copper wire, 320 x 320 x 240 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Broom, 2016, broom and copper wire, 1070 x 315 x 10 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Video: Cotton, 2013, single channel HD video, colour, no sound, 8min 26 sec, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Jelly Fish, 2011, iron, papier-mâché, acrylic and glue, dimensions variable, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Ladies and Gentlemen, 2014, ready-made sandals and shoes, rubber cable, cotton rope, papier-mâché and acrylic paint, 275 x 460 x 45 cm, courtesy of Alexander Gray Associates, New York. Printer No. 1, 2015, wooden plinth, printer, cotton rope and photocopied paper, 475 x 190 x 200 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate (hanging in centre).
Installations of repetitive artefacts bound, collated, ordered and arranged.I felt like they were maps of time, labour was intrinsic in the materials that are used and the process of construction. Sharif utilises the everyday object and subverts it in to art, reclaiming or perhaps simply claiming, the mundane in to the fine art.
Jute, 2016, jute and cotton rope, 170 x 240 x 30 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate.
Jute (2016), this mass of knots drew me in to it. It feels intense, like time captured in a format. The repetition of knotting and binding, and also the visuality of space taken alongside the time.In terms inspiration this work moves me to a place of making, I want to bind and tie, to build a geometry from fibres that are not conducive to rigidity and linear forms. I want to physically create the sensual layers that ask to be touched and allow for movement in the sense that persons move around the city in the cyclic elements of routine. To embody the routine in a bound sensual way, to experience the touch of routine in the way that routine seems to touch us in the ethereal sense.Gallery 4 - Performance is goodThis gallery has images of performance, photographs, scripts and texts, so you are struck by the monumentality of the paper and yarn/string structure that hangs in the corner: Dictionary (2015). Pages from Arabic/English dictionary, taken and bound. So much of Sharif work involves binding together, in a messy, overwhelm, engulfing the spaces and the forms that originate.
Dictionary, 2015, glue, dictionary pages and cotton rope, 385 x 170 x 65 cm, courtesy of gb Agency.
The Mail, 1983, ink and pin holes on tracing paper on cardboard; pen and pencil on paper mounted on cardboard, 56 x 38 cm each, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate.
Then I stepped around the quiet gallery, to be confronted by a wall of framed subtle pieces that depict lines, drawn or scratched from mail opened: The Mail (1983). The pieces are so reminiscent of the fractures I create in my sketchbooks, I try to photograph them but my reflection in the work hinders my collecting, metaphorically implanting myself in the work that I have just jumped in to. The repetition of the routine activity, opening letters, that create marks from the tools that are used to complete the task.
Trees - Walham Grow Road - London, 1983, paper, photographs, ink and pencil mounted on cardboard, 90.3 x 66cm, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi collection, artist copy.
Finally as I round the end of the exhibition in this gallery space I encounter photographs of London taken by Sharif, as a pieces, documenting activity. The date is my 1st birthday, I would have been a short drive away from this spot, across London. The images (Trees-Walham Grow Road-London, 1983) are familiar as I have similar ones in the albums at my parents house, they are unframed, composition is not addressed, they are taken as record not as art or for display, simply to record and account of a happening. They are filled with nostalgia for me personally, of childhood and times past in a location that is familiar but no longer has that familiarity.Gallery 3 - I'm loyal to colour
Image 1, right to left: Slippers and Wire, 2009, slippers and copper wire, dimensions variable, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Zip Fastener No 2, 2016, zippers and cotton rope, 245 x 322 x 12 com, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Electrical Cable, 2016, electrical cable and cotton rope, 1200 x 65 x 25 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Cable No 3, 2015, cable and cotton rope, 181 x 70 x 8 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate.
Image 2, right to left: Playfulness No. 1, 2015, toys, papier-mâché, wire, cardboard and acrylic paint, dimensions variable, courtesy of gb Agency, Paris. Colours, 2016, cotton rope, acrylic paint and copper wire, 240 x 535 x 10 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Slippers and Wire, 2009, slippers and copper wire, dimensions variable, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Zip Fastener No 2, 2016, zippers and cotton rope, 245 x 322 x 12 com, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate.
Image 3, right to left: Zip Fastener No 2, 2016, zippers and cotton rope, 245 x 322 x 12 com, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate (partial view). Electrical Cable, 2016, electrical cable and cotton rope, 1200 x 65 x 25 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Cable No 3, 2015, cable and cotton rope, 181 x 70 x 8 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Slippers and Wire, 2009, slippers and copper wire, dimensions variable, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Combs, 2016, ready-made plastic combs and copper wire, 275 x 200 x 70 cm, courtesy of Alexander Gray Associates, New York (partial view). Rug 6, 2014, rug, tempera, glue and copper wire, 304 x 195 x 32 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate.
Image 4, right to left: Plastic Cups and Coir, 1999, plastic and coir, 170 x 150 x 80 cm, courtesy of gb Agency, Paris. Slippers and Wire, 2009, slippers and copper wire, dimensions variable, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Playfulness No. 1, 2015, toys, papier-mâché, wire, cardboard and acrylic paint, dimensions variable, courtesy of gb Agency, Paris.
Images on Tracing Paper, 2015, tracing paper, cotton thread and cardboard, 7 x 86 x 33 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate.
Combs, 2016, ready-made plastic combs and copper wire, 275 x 200 x 70 cm, courtesy of Alexander Gray Associates, New York (detail)
Upon entering the gallery aptly named 'loyal to colour' you are confronted with masses of accumulated goods, curated in to large mass sculptural forms filling the spaces. Interesting that the colours evident in the pieces are actually quite restricted, whether this is a conscious decision made by the artist I'm not sure, but the effect is quite affronting. Perhaps it is simply a reflection on the limited dyes available for plastic manufacturing in the region - but it remarkably creates a unified presentation of apparently single work pieces.Gallery 2 - My little tiny boxThe smallest of the galleries, filled with what felt like trinket works, experiments that perhaps never expanded in to larger pieces or due to the ethics of the artist were held back in to single works.
Left: Cotton Rope No 6, 2012, cotton rope and notebook, 43 x 59 x 10 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Right: Book of Dresses, 2016, dresses and cotton thread, 16 x 48 x 30 cm (closed), 13 x 78 x 30 cm (open), courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate.
The knots and materials, binding books, physically containing the information, the way words bind narratives in to archives.
Left: Sewing Notebook No 1, 1983-2006, notebook and jute rope, 22 x 16 x 10, Sharjah Art Foundation Collection. Right: Sewing Notebook No 2, 1983/2006, notebook and jute rope, 22 x 15.5 x 10 cm, Sharjah Art Foundation Collection.
Sandpaper, Pencil, Sharpener, 1982/2007, photographs mounted on cardboard, 59.5 x 42.5 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Sandpaper, Pencil, Sharpener, 1982/2007, plastic bags containing sand paper, pencil shaving, pencils and steel sharpeners; cardboard, cloth, glue, jute rope, cotton thread, cotton rope and marker, 130 x 60 x 8cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate.
Art Map, 2012, cardboard and varnish, dimensions variable, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate.
The books are all closed, containing the contents, if there is any, from the viewer, alluding to the journals of teenagers, or secret files of governments.Gallery 1 - ...so I created a semi systemThe last gallery felt like the most overwhelming. Monochrome works filling the walls, they look like the inner workings of an designers brain, pages from a sketchbook. Repetitive designs for geometries that were pushed through in to motifs created in to wooden structures or, my personal favourite, woven in to rugs
Iching, undated, ink and pencil on paper, 59.5 x 42 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate.
January 2013, 2013, ink and pencil on paper; acrylic on canvas, 59.5 x 42 cm each; 60 x 30 x 4 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate (partial view).
The shear volume of work was impressive and a visual reference to the dedication Sharif put in to amassing his work.
Squares No. 1, 2014, carpet, 188 x 68 x 1 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate.
Image 1: Rhomboid Forms, 2012, ink and pencil on paper, 59.5 x 42 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Image 2: Movement of Square's Side, 1985, ink and pencil on paper, 32.5 x 49.9 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate.
Eight Points Angular Lines - Part 2, 2013, pencil on paper; wood, glue and nails, 59.5 x 42 cm; 90 x 58.5 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate.
Lines, 2010, ink and pencil on paper, 59.5 x 42 cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate. Lines No. 2, 2014, carpet, 234 x 66 x 1cm, courtesy of Hassan Sharif Estate.
The translation from fragmented forms in to clean woven rugs. The technical construction done by commissioned parties, some of the linear aspects of the geometries are lost to the fluidity of the fibres.The scale of this retrospective is intense, Sharif is a 'Local Legend' and it feels right to have this exhibition here in Sharjah, I do wonder how far his reach will go though, I hope he won't be lost to the larger names in the global art scene.
14/12/2018 - Exhibition - Timo Nasseri: All the Letters in All the Stars, Maraya Art Centre
Text taken from website:Timo Nasseri: All the Letters in All the StarsCurated by Laura Metzler14 December, 2017 – 23 February, 2018 (extended until April 2018)VENUE: Maraya Art Centre, Al Qasba, Block (E), Third Floor (Maraya Art Gallery)Maraya Art Centre is collaborating with Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival to present "Timo Nasseri: All the Letters in All the Stars". The show will be the artist's first solo show in the U.A.E. and its starting point is his take on the story of Ibn Muqla, a 10th century calligrapher who claimed to have found four missing letters in the Arabic language. The works are a combination of new and older pieces, which highlight the different mediums of his practice while putting them all into a larger conversation between fragmentation and order, in the pursuit of the infinite.http://maraya.ae/index.php?r=exhibitions/view&id=67
One and One #26, 2011, Ink on paper, 104 x 148 cm, courtesy of Barjeel Art Foundation
These pieces are hand drawn on black paper using white ink, like a blueprint. I later found out at a talk given by the artist in discussion with the arts writer Kevin Jones that that is exactly what they are, blueprints of the sculptural pieces made from mirrors. The equations for the angles of the triangles were written on for reference but the artist realised that there was an elegance to the pieces themselves. Only four types of triangle are actually used in the pieces and the circles are guidelines for the points of each piece.I am envious at the repetition, I myself want to recreate them, in the way I like to colour in books of pattern, borrowing the meditation from the person that originally created it. Wallowing in their soothing predictability.
Detail of One and One series - One and One #38, 2014, Ink on paper, 108 x 108 cm, Courtesy of the collection of Butheina Kazim & Mishaal Al Gergawi, Dubai (I think thats the correct label, it could also be #39)
Wall detailing research by artist on geometries.
In the talk mentioned above, the artist explained that he researches extensively on the origin of the geometries. The image above shows images of the complex and mesmerising architectural geometries of ceiling vaults he encountered in Iran. Beginning with the simplest of elements, every step of the process is one that the artist himself has calculated.
Florenz - Baghdad, 2016, Acrylic mirror and wood, dimension variable.
Florenz-Baghdad is an installation piece, it has been shown on a flat wall previously but installed in Maraya Art Centre as a room within the exhibition space. Using the same 4 types of triangle that are evident in his drawings, Nasseri constructs a space that reflects everything and nothing, fracturing the surroundings infinitely.The space left me in a contemplative awe of finding myself reflected in the artists work both physically and metaphorically. It's rare that I would find an artists work that leaves me with envy and inspiration as well as the want to simply replicate to gain access to the feelings that generating the work promises.The chaotic patterns of the light reflected on the floor were a work in themselves, I pondered how many people stepped over their surplus beauty while trying to claim the perfect Selfie in the fractured infinite.
I Saw all the Letters, 2017, Ink on paper, 59 x 84 cam each (54 pieces)
It was the methodological repetition of creating that really inspired me in the exhibition. The felling of producing, but with context deeply embedded. Enough research had been done that the work could be organic.
Unknown Letters, 2015, wood on steel table, 162 x 162 x 42 cm (4 pieces)
Unknown letters - these caused confusion, I overheard conversations at the exhibition and it came up at the talk as well. These are fictitious, created by ht e artist, a proposition of sorts, a 'what if'. In look at the way language is created and translated, the elements of 'missing' letters that appear in one language but can not be created in another and also the research of star maps to create shapes, the artist has 'found' letters. He doesn't actually give them names, or sounds but due to the way it is explained some audience members have read them as actual letters he wants to add to the alphabet.Notes for my work:Considering breaking the work down in a scientific aspect: angles, lengths, reoccurrence - separating the work down to angles, movement or instructions of creations - 1cm vertical diagonal line, from top of page measuring 9 cm long at an angle of 12degrees - in a room of 27degrees C facing NW 217 etc.Considering protocol, bodies relationship to the gesture of doing, the politics of making/creating/ownership, - control, dictatorship, offering of work for others to createsemiotics, intervention, signs, symbols.Nasseri, T, Lepton, 2017, steel, wood, latex strings, 17.5 x 90 x 28 cm, inspiration for installation or construction.
26/09/2017 - 101 Talk - Art in BITS
26/09/2017 18:30-19:30
101 Talk – Art in BITS
Public talk – Hosted by ArteVue – The Art Ecosystem and Alserkal Avenue – the hub for arts & creativity @ Nadi Al Quoz, Alserkal Avenue.
Text from FB event:
Social media and e-commerce platforms are changing the way we view and purchase art. Technology is changing behaviour of each of the players involved - from Artist to Collector - and further challenging the industry business model.
In this 101 Talk, Shohidul Ahad-Choudhury, Founder of ArteVue and ArtePrize, and Peter Goodwin, Founder of Mestaria, will explore the impact of technology in the world of Art in conversation with Reshma Mehra, Director of Communications, Alserkal Avenue.
Reproduced from 101 Talk – Art in BITS Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/
Quick notes:
Invisibility of digital tech in art industry, still very traditional in communication use. Art Collectors & technology, surprise at lack of integration
- notice that audience are using tech during talk, woman in front on laptop looking at FB messenger – others taking photos for instagram and posting live, is it social proof?
Instagram stats: 700m monthly users – 400m daily users, 1 in 19 use instagram. # usage, 40bn posts on Insta, 95m a day, 90% photos, 50% of art collector using insta 2x daily,
Art specific social media accounts that aren't instagram: Content Provider: E-Flux, Art Attack; Market Place: Paddle8, Saatchi Art, Art Stack, A, Artsy, Christies; Professional Services: PV (private View), Art Binder, ArtNet; Social: Instagram
Does having 'apps' or sites specific to the art market perpetuate the elitism of access to the arts or does it make it more accessible? I did not know of all these website... because I'm not a collector?
All this data regarding art and social media, feeds in to my practice of who has access to social media, is it class divided? is social media actually uniting class by bringing together bodies of people online that would not normally integrate their daily lives?
Gaming does this also, digital technologies are removing boundaries of race, location, class etc. or are they reenforcing them?
The Art Ecosystem –
Traditional – artist – gallery –collector – buyer
Enthusiast
The future – Artist interconnected – traditional will still exist.
allows the enthusiast to inform and immerse to become a collector
easier access via Instagram – allows access
are the galleries ready for it?
Is Instagram the answer? – no – simply. Namely social, #’s – shadow bans? – Love is top #, Follow, Instagood – most popular, Art = no17 – 287.4m
70% posts go unnoticed, Average engagement 1.1%, 10% of accounts are fake, algorithm dictates discovery page – must like art to see art on feed, Mainly advertising platform now – also used for fashion, music, etc. in their opinion - 70% go unnoticed... who is being overlooked? why do they still post. is it one person repetitively being over looked... imagine a person sitting and doing nothing but instagraming and going unseen
issues with curation and quality
no filter as any artist can upload
not for citation or circulation
23/09/2017 - Exhibition Notes - Sand @Grey Noise
Exhibition Opening: Sand,
Daniel Gustav Cramer & Joana Escoval,
23 Sep – 28 Oct 2017. Grey Noise, Alserkal Avenue.
JE – Medium: metals
DGC – Medium: photos, text, paper, marble, metals
Information from FB event profile:
“Sand is an exhibition featuring a group of selected works carrying autonomous languages yet reflecting the dialogue between the artists’ practices. The works showcased at the gallery are particular in their materiality, their conceptual discreteness and narrative dimension. Two motives occur throughout the exhibition. The properties of the works shown embody a sense of liquidity, a movement directed by gravity. At the same time there is the omnipresent yet faint motive of the mirror. The materials reflect their surroundings, other works literally mirror each other and despite the abstraction of what is present, all works involve the self of the viewer.
The artists declare, that the title itself, Sand, is the first work of the show. It exists only as a word made of four letters, setting a context and mood, it creates a first image, sets a scene. Sand is shaped by its environment, by wind and gravity, matter ground into minute particles. It also is the place where Fata Morganas might occur, mirroring and distorting absent objects.
Cramer and Escoval's fieldwork and slowly crafted works gather and enable transformation, conduction and participation of subjects and substances in the visual world. The physical links between photography, text and sculpture generate new readings may it be through dichotomy, extension, integration or complementarity.
In collaboration with Galeria Vera Cortês, Lisbon.”
Reproduced from Grey Noise Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/812603635571243/?active_tab=about
Why a collab? – further research needed in to the artists. Where are they from? Does that matter? The lack of a biography removes the identity politics aspect.
1st piece of the exhibition is the title, this is declared in the content for the exhibition statement.
As you enter the modest, L-shaped white walled gallery, housed within an expansive warehouse the show doesn’t strike you. In fact its barely there. Elegant minimal sculptures are positioned around the space, adorning the floor as well as the walls. On the floor, opposite the entrance is a large but subtle metal sculpture, it’s guarded to stop any unwitting gallery-goers from stepping on it.
This is the piece numbered 3 and titled Their beliefs were passed down orally, and thus they could not direct one to written documentations, created by JE. Precious metals – adding value but discarded on the floor, Silver, large chain pieces, 1 foot long, almost perfectly round rings at the end of each, perfectly sealed shut, enclosing the ring from the next piece. Spread across the floor haphazardly in the middle with no discernable end or beginning. Very subtle, elegant, quite beautiful to inspect closely and take in the almost perfect circle. There was a tension and next to its subtly creates an impact. A change of communication perhaps? A chain of ancestral stories holding a group together? Regarding the title, the links are the bonds of communication, the flowing of history, beliefs etc., passed down, the positions of the chain & the messy configuration of communications lacks & problems its twisting & manipulations etc.
DGC Pieces 2, 6 & 12, three different images of the same crater, using, what appears to be the ‘rule of thirds’ a mysterious blue hazy image, a feeling of nostalgia, slight invisibility and perhaps a questions of truth of existence.
JE ‘Healthy forests provide clean water’ copper, brass, gold, didn’t see the material differences, it was high up, suspended from a wall mount, creating an asymmetric arc, reminiscent of a sand dune, or a wave, the diagram of the water cycle, a rainbow, the canopy of a forest. An Elegance.
JE ‘Clean water provides healthy forests’ circles, complete with angles or wire hanging. Shadows from her work are interesting, whether that is intended or not.
DGC ‘Untitled’ stack of A4 paper with printed lines. Allows for own narrative, invitation to participate? A prelude to work.
DGC ‘Cap Formentor, Mallorca, Spain, July 1986’ – 2 stacks of A4 texts. Written from the views of each person in the narrative, does not allude to age, could be children, adolescences or adults – feels intimate could be full of innocence or allows for tarnished mind to allude to other thoughts – artist explains in exhibition pamphlet that it is child. To create a narrative a stage direction, the piece visually paints the scene with the use of language. Does the media remove innocence? Questions how acts of companionship or intimacy are ‘stolen’ from us by other peoples view pints/opinions. Enjoyed the aspect of text as art, I love to write.
JE ‘Rain’ four bits of wire, silver, one mounted on the wall, mounts not visible, 1 foot from the floor, 2 parallel at eye level, 1 mid level and further away. Due to angle and placement felt like the rain carried by the wind, or droplets traversing a windowpane as they fall. Felt dynamic, sense of motion. It captured a heartbeat for a moment, instantly conjuring my personal experience, memories of childhood. DGC’s work dissected it, adding another dimension, the passage continued regardless of the obstacle.
DGC ‘Owl’ found photos, completely lost on me, out of place. Although looking back there was an aspect of evoking memory and reproducing them.
DGC – La Bibliotheque de Pascale #1 – artists books, some were blank with title, some had and item such as a receipt or photo slotted inside, others were photo books, narratives or stage directions for a scene. I loved them. They moved something inside me. I’ve been making books for a few years and its important to me. I get excited & enjoy consuming other peoples work ins book format.
VL1 talks of envy & using it as motivation showing you where you want to be.
not for citation or circulation