Category Archives: art exhibitions

E17 Art Trail 2012

I exhibited for almost the full 16 days of this year’s E17 Art Trail. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that this meant I didn’t get to see a whole lot of other exhibitions on the trail. What I did see, however, was ace. And the few pictures of what I got to see, well, I get to show that to you (with the artists’ permission of course).

Here’s a couple of pictures from the trail, a couple of mentions/links to other blogs and work, and thank-you’s to others.

Undersea Wonders by Anna Shorten
“Partly fish, partly porpoise, partly baby sperm whale. Inspired by the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef project, and a trip to the Great Barrier Reef, crocheted sea creatures from reality and imagination play together in a magical underwater landscape.”

Undersea Wonders by Anna Shorten

Undersea Wonders by Anna Shorten

What Still Lies Beneath by Martin Greaves
“Award-winning underwater photographer Martin Greaves returns with an array of stunning shots from beneath the waves, including shipwrecks, sharks and amazing scenery from such far-flung locations as Iceland, Egypt, Scotland and England. The final weekend of the trail will also feature shots from an expedition to the Southern Red Sea I’m joining in early September. As well as capturing the wonder of life underwater I’ll also endeavour to show what it’s like living on board ship as we voyage between some of the remotest reef systems in the Red Sea.”

Check out more of Martin’s work on his Flickr account.

What Still Lies Beneath by Martin Greaves

What Still Lies Beneath by Martin Greaves

Other exhibitions of note were The Veg Chapel of Love, a marriage of the vegetables of Walthamstow, to promote a love of vegetables and sustainable living (Idea conceived by Simon La Roche, brought to you by Simon and Krystyna La Roche, OrganicLea, Original Army, Marie Louise Plum and Animaux Circus) and Dolores Rocket, a collection of evidence by artist Julia Spicer.

Huge thanks go to Walthamstow Wine, who offered me exhibition space and provided me with gallons of most tantalising wines to help warm up people at my private view. If you’re local to Walthamstow, or ever passing, please do go and check them out. You can follow Walthamstow Wine on Twitter.

Lastly, unending gratitude to Peter Barrett, unofficial manager and organiser of my life, plus great salesman of my art. Thank you!

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Turnaround Mention on Lost and Found in E17.

My recent collaborative exhibition with the Waltham Forest Arts Club, Turnaround 1, got a curious little mention in co-curator Julian Beere’s blog. Please be on your merry way to see what he has to say on his blog about the powerhouse that is Turnaround, 12 exhibitions in 12 weeks (it is slightly obscure!).

Blog link>>

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Going Postal

Pictures from Cut-Click blog.

Cut-Click Mail Art Exhibition

Cut-Click Mail Art Exhibition

Cut-Click magazine have released their exhibition issue and it is great and fun and shiny-looking, stuffed full of interesting work from many illustrators and artists. You can see the downloadable PDF magazine by clicking on the picture below. There is also a slideshow of pictures on their blog.

Cut-Click Mail Art Exhibition

I’m very happy to say I will be exhibiting up North in the New Year. Exciting new illustration ‘zine Cut-Click are holding their second exhibition in January, which I will be part of.

This mail art themed exhibition will be held at The East Coast School Of Art & Design in the adventure-name town of Westward Ho(!). As the work featured will be mail art themed, the packaging is the art work. Postcards, painted jiffy bags, fold out zines, illustrated envelopes and various other packaging.

Since I have collect umpteen packets of envelopes, postcards, and packaging ephemera from the turn of the century to modern times I am pretty excited about this exhibition to say the least.

A letter-themed logo I made for my old website

I’ll keep you updated and perhaps offer you a peep at pieces that don’t make the final cut for the exhibition. All exhibition pieces will be kept top secret so you’ll have to go to see the show yourself.

The exhibition will be held at EastCoast School of Art & Design, Westward Ho, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, DN34 5AQ and will run from 19 Jan – 10 Feb, Mon – Fri (closed weekends)10am -4pm.

My stamp/franking inspired card

Edinburgh Diary: Day 13, COME Collective preparation.

Here is the stuff – still to be finished obviously- that I will be displaying at COME Collective’s gig at Forest Hall. I’ll be contributing artwork to another of these gigs on the 28th. There’s also talk of a solo show for my work. Will keep you all updated.

Here is the largest piece of art I will be displaying. The frame is a recovered piece of wood from an old piano. There is still, in the top left corner of the frame, a packet of tuning cards. Materials used are wood, cardboard, copic markers and brushpens and PITT brush pens.
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Here are the masks I have made especially for this show. The two half masks will be used by the COME dj’s. The full face masks will be accessible and available to try on. It’s always amazing, the effect that wearing a mask has on a person. The little cardboard beasties you can see in the photo are extra little pieces to be stuck up on the walls.
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Edinburgh Diary: Day 5, ‘Famine’ – new works by Peter Howson.

Glasgow again. Celebrated Glaswegian artist Peter Howson has a small exhibition portraying the faces of famine at St. Mungo Museum. It’s a free exhibition. You can find out much more than I could tell you about it on his website.

BBC News have a video and interview with Howson up on their site now.

Online images of new works from Famine

Edinburgh Diary: Day 2, trip to Jupiter Artland aka ‘Cornfield Adventure’.

I felt today really was a success of mixed proportions. It began with a skippy gambol into town, finding many interesting junk and charity shops along the way.

I’d love to get my hair done at this place, perhaps even by Violet herself:

violet

One of the charity shops with a quaint little café as its neepy, brothy nucleus of wholesomeness:

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In the café-shop I found this particularly charming couple discussing Eastern-European politics of the 1960′s. The discussion never came to any conclusion.

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Unfortunately that delightful distraction left me rather behind schedule, and as I soon discovered, quite unprepared for the bus confusion that was to follow.

Missed buses, wrong stops, incorrect change for non-Lothian bus, had a Lothian-only pass…zzz. No matter, I trotted around and found some more good stuff to take photos of, and also a great cemetery in Dalry to make use of for my other blog.

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I eventually boarded the next available bus to Wilkiestone, home of Jupiter Artland. Mmm, tasty picnic on the bus, cruising along to Jupiter, and it’s all going great.

Forty minutes later I arrive in Wilkiestone. At the only bus stop in Wilkieston. Wilkiestone, which seems to contain only a handful of houses and humans yet a lot – A LOT – of corn fields and sheep.

View from the bus stop
roads

Of course I had no idea where I was meant to be going. Far from being the happening centre of arts in Wilkiestone there was not one signpost to it and absolutely no one in the village had even heard of it (funnily enough, people back in London had). Shit.

Bright spark ignites – I remember my phone has a GPRS function on it. On it goes. My saviour. The locator takes me on an uphill, mile long trek, but it all seems to be going so well. No, it wasn’t. The locator ultimately pointed me to a large corn field where the route then dropped out.

There’s no road, not even a dirt track. The GPRS told me I should walk through it but after that I’m on my own. Batter through it more like, the field was thick with corn. Howeber, I wasn’t about to turn round and go back home because I couldn’t navigate through some cornfields and a ditch or two. I ploughed on.

Oh dear…
oh

The corn awaits
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Totally unimpressed with the wind putting a little appearance in.
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A clue! In the distance a clue!
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A good sighting of Marc Quinn’s ‘Lovebomb’ meant I was in business.
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Quite concerned that I hadn’t paid but jumped over a stone wall to get in. I thought these two were security coming to escort me away.
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It was fine, they also looked a bit lost. I suddenly thought this was the best idea ever, make people really hunt to find your Artland. I could tell everybody about the corn and the stone walls and ditches I’d jumped…

to find myself at the top of this…
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The official way in…
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Quite funny considering I had just walked one million plus miles to find the place.
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Yes, I had definitely arrived at Jupiter Artland.

I found the gallery at the top of the official track, passing these lovely creatures on the way…

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…and paid my dues in. Only a fiver, very good! Told the receptionist I had basically dragged my carcass through fields to see this exhibition, and that made it all the more exciting. She looked at me like I was more feral beast than art enthusiast. Never mind.

In and out I went. Nearly all the art at Jupiter is outside in Woodlands beyond the gallery. Here are the highlights of my day. It’s just the photos and artist credits, I am not ever wanting to be an art crit-bag. Hope you enjoy the photos:

‘Weeping Girls’ by Laura Ford
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legs

‘Suck’ by Anish Kapoor
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‘Clay Tree Wall’ by Andy Goldsworthy
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The trundle round Artland took about 2 hours. With installations by Antony Gormley, Andy Goldsworthy, Marc Quinn and Ian Hamilton Finley (amongst others) you really want to take your time and enjoy each installation in its setting. I really found my heaven in Artland stood in this spot here:

“We worship groves and their very silences”
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And it is from this brilliant truckstop café caravan:

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That I bought this unendingly enjoyable homemade beetroot and chocolate cake and Earl Grey tea:

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On the way out I found the entrance. Like that would be any easier to find that being guided by a giant flower installation through fields of corn. Also, to exit this gate took at least 5 minutes of working out. I loved my day at Jupiter Artland.

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gate

A full set of photos can be found on my Flickr stream, or in the ‘Exhibitions’ set.

Spies eyes, art and performance

Thank you very much indeed to the organisers of Artoscopic 2 for arranging such a brilliant couple of hours art and performance in St.Leonard’s Railway Tunnel last week.

Despite apparent concerns from the local council – tipped off by some super vigilant blog snoopers (hello if you are reading this) – there was no reason to be worried. Everyone was super respectful of the space and all tidied up and shipped out on time.

The two uniformed folk who turned up to keep an eye on things were very fair, I think they too enjoyed proceedings. Good stuff. Not quite so sure that the extravagant mobile CCTV unit at the end of the tunnel was really necessary though.

My contribution to the evening is in my most recently uploaded photos to flickr, also in the exhibitions set. Here are some photos from the event:

Artoscopic 2, St. Leonard's Railway Tunnel, Edinburgh

Artoscopic 2, St. Leonard's Railway Tunnel, Edinburgh

Artoscopic 2, St. Leonard's Railway Tunnel, Edinburgh

Artoscopic 2, St. Leonard's Railway Tunnel, Edinburgh

Artoscopic 2, St. Leonard's Railway Tunnel, Edinburgh

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