London Zine Symposium

On Saturday [DoR] took the trip to Shoreditch to visit the 6th Annual London Zine Symposium. It was busy.

The particular reason for our attendance was to sit in on Creating Our Own Culture, a discussion ran by Melanie Maddison, (Colouring Outside The Lines zine) and included input from Patrick Staff, (Ricochet! Ricochet! zine), Em Ledger, (The World's A Mess & You're My Only Cure zine) and Debi Withers, (Self-Publishing and Empowerment zine).

The discussion outlined the reasons and motivation for independent culture creation. Many reason behind this include the ability to allow personal interests to be fulfilled, working outside the mainstream of social interaction. Creating events and cultural social situations gives the ability to fill specific gaps of interest that do not exist and that are necessary. Cultural creation allows complete self expression and representation and the freedom to fulfill what it is you desire.

Patrick Staff - Old Mayfair Carpet Gallery

http://www.omcg.org/

Patrick co-founded a temporary gallery space and artists studios as well as writing zines in the past. The reasons Patrick finds it increasingly important to be independent include the freedom to set and work by your own rules to achieve your own goals, which has the benefit of not having to answer to anybody. Also the potential to teach yourself new skills and personal development.

Em Ledger - Sister Spit : Next Generation

http://www.radarproductions.org/

Em was asked to organise the Sister Spit european spoken word tour as well as writing many zines, putting on gigs and events. Her interest in DIY culture was sparked from the lack of positive female role models during her childhood and feeling increasingly isolated with lack of interest fulfillment.

Debi Withers - Hammer On Press

http://www.hammeronpress.net/

Debi has been extensively involved in DIY culture including nights such as Fag Club and Pussy Whipped. She has also founded a publishing company through which she has published her own book, Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory. Debi spoke of independently created culture as an active space that you cannot leave, once you have come across the DIY community you feel this is what it is you have been looking for. She declared that capitalism dictates socialism and the way to divert this is to be pro active about self socialism.

Debi gave valuable advice as to how to realise independent culture, including the way you conduct yourself, always act, look and behave professionally, even if you don't feel like you are. This concept was adopted by most of the panel, always market yourself as a capitalist venture and have conviction about what it is you are doing.

Other topics that were discussed included -

Self Sufficiency

Mutual Aid

Skill Exchange

Community Engagement

http://www.londonzinesymposium.org.uk/

[Eloise P. Jones]

UPDATE ON LOOT:

Loot and Everything Else opens on the June 2010 at an undisclosed location in Homerton.

Due to privacy reasons we will be unable to publish the location, however everyone is welcome and you can book an appointment by contacting either Eloise or myself at detailsonrequest@hotmail.com

We will look forward to hearing from you....

The exhibition looks at collecting and collectors and our need to surround ourselves with objects.  We have gathered together the collections of people to see how the objects reflect the collector:

The On-line Shop:  The collection of Supermarket Sarah

www.supermarketsarah.com

The Design Agency: The Image library of SEA design

www.seadesign.co.uk

The Frame Conservator: The Preservation of the MOMART Christmas Card Collection 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momart 

The Musician: The Mixtape of Mark from Pope Joan

www.myspace.com/popejoan

The Squatter: Photographs taken by Lou Marcellin

loumarcellin.tumblr.com

The Artist: The Book of Not Knowing by Laura Kennedy

laurakennedyarts.tumblr.com

ROAMING ROOMS [2]

A tour South of the River with the Director of Room Gallery, Sandie MacRae and Aideen Morgan.

Woodmill Studios:

www.bluecurry.com

Tyre by Blue Curry

www.thorbjornandersen.com

www.melissabugarella.com

I am a Waterfall by Melisa Bugarella

Bearspace:

www.bearspace.co.uk

From the exhibition 'The Assistant', video by Kate Pickering, in response to Director Maria Fusco. 

www.se8.org.uk

The SE8 Gallery has been turned into a publishing house for the duration of this exhibition, which will culminate in a publication.  The Mulberry Tree Press will be holding events throughout until the 11 July 2010.  The exhibition and invention of the publishing house looks at the links and correlation between the object and text, how the content of books is formed in advance of its creation.  During the two months of the exhibition the content will be created meaning that its outcome cannot be planned in advance.

www.gallop.co.uk

Where we had an arguement/heated discussion on the differences between art and design, where they join and where they clash.  It was interesting to meet designers coming from an art background- how the way in which they have studied affects and forms the work that they produce.

More about Roaming Rooms at:

http://www.contemporaryarttours.co.uk 

 

Exquisite Corpse at the Core Gallery

I should have said something about this a while ago.  A couple of weeks ago I went to the Launch Exhibition of a new gallery space in Deptford with the Curator Matt Roberts.  He had been invited to group curate the opening exhibition Exquisite Corpse by Nick Kaplony.  11 curators had to select a piece of work for the exhibition based on the piece chosen by the previous curator, making a chain of works.

Like [DoR]'s earlier exhibition Construction Line, the exhibition was like a game of consequences.

Rosalind Davis

http://www.rosalinddavis.co.uk/section394037.html

Wilderness, Core's current exhibition runs until the 4th June 2010.

Showing work by Rosalind Davis, Enver Gursev and Neil Kelly..... 

"Davis, Gursev & Kelly’s works each interpret notions of seemingly abandoned spaces. The results depict urban and dystopianscenes, as if in the wake of apocalypse. Brought together, these artists each interpret wilderness as a mindstate, a physical place, and - most importantly - a melancholic and poetic space ripe with creativity. Wilderness is a show not to be missed, with new works on display from each of the artists."

www.coregallery.co.uk

[Amber S. V. Ablett]

Tudor House Antiques

[Details on Request] were lucky enough to escape to the country for a few days last week. On a day trip to Henley on Thames we came across this tiny cavernous antique shop.

The old tudor house was crammed with curious objects - tins, baskets, books, lamps, all placed together with there own kind to create vast collections. We could have spent all afternoon exploring the assortment of things.

[DoR]'s next exhibition, Loot and Everything Else looks at our urge to collect material and inanimate objects. As well as exploring the notion of collections, the exhibition will demonstrate the bizarre and outlandish obsessive nature of why collectors collect.

Private View - Thursday 3rd June

Exhibition - Friday 4th June - Sunday 6th June

No Soul for Sale- TATE 2

At No Soul for Sale there were some beautiful publications on display and for purchase and used within pieces of work:

A small, green printed catalogue of books published by the Norwegian Torpedo Press.

The second installment of a newspaper style periodical (the first was printed in June 2006) by the Turkish group PiST/// looking at what it means to be an independent space and whether it is possible to be called, or infact be, independent.  On the back page is a Test to see whether you are independent or dependent.  I got 8 points!!

A collection of quotes called Speaking of Destruction... with quotes from art world figures collected by Gianni Jetzer and Chris Sharp and given away by the Swiss Institute.

A whole table of publications laid out by 2nd Cannons, an LA publishing house.

The tiled floor is actually booklets.  I asked if I could take one and the man said no, although it certainly looks like other people have helped themselves...

No Soul For Sale- TATE

A Saturday afternoon spent in the Tate Modern's Turnbine Hall showed [DoR] where we are aiming for.  The festival gathered together over 70 independent, artist-led, not-for-profit groups and projects.

The work on show was truely exciting and innovative.  Like a business conference, the festival was an opportunity for different groups to find out what each other is doing and also for the public to be presented with a vast array of projects en masse.

The hall really did have a festival feel, lots of people and lots of interactive works involving everyone.

Of particular note to me was:

Oregon Painting Society (and friends of our friends at Under the Dust) doing things with plants and electrical circuits and sound...

 www.oregonpaintingsociety.org

Leeds based group, Black Dog made a recreated pub...

  www.black-dogs.org

I added some small blue lines to this piece...

because these people told me to (Post Museum)...
 www.post-museum.org

Hekla Dogg Jonsdottir's Tower of Now(but mainly because it reminded me of Victoria Karlsson's In Passing)

 this.is/klingandbang

REPORT ON FRIDAYS PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION LINE

The three artists for the evening, Maria Lopez, Alex Perryman and Necole Schmitz, are situated in a sparse and cold warehouse, each with a simple desk and chair to work on with a bright light bulb hanging above their desks.

Their workstations are situated one behind the other all facing the manager’s desk at the front of the room that holds the timer, that dominates their workflow, and the radio that blares out ‘timeless classics’.

A clock above the manager’s table serves as a constant reminder of the minute’s left before their shift is over.

The artists arrive shortly before 6pm and begin to set up their materials on their tables.

Maria brings an exiting array of materials; twigs and pieces of wood, ceramic amulets, patterned paper and glitter glue.

Alex is a graphic designer and has a laptop and printer, whilst Necole works mostly with oil paints and presents an assortment of paints and tools for their application.

Necole admits to me that she is nervous about the event, explaining that she is used to working in private and as she is not much of a performer, she is unsure how she will perform under the watchful eye of the exhibition attendees.

Maria begins by gluing square and triangular pieces of word together whilst Necole paints a reclining figure onto a small canvas.  Alex’s place within the construction line takes on an interesting form when it becomes apparent that his printer is not going to work meaning he is left to work with the only tools available to him; A4 plain white paper, a pen and some blue-tack. 

Far from hindering the performance this only adds to the spontaneity of the proceedings and heightens the pressure felt by Alex to produce art within a short space of time.

At the end of the first half hour Alex hands some pieces of paper to Necole, sat behind him with words stating the printers error messages reflecting his frustrations in a humorous tone.

Within the 2 hours that the artists have at work, each piece grows organically as each artist adds a layer to, or draws inspiration from it.

It is interesting to watch how the artists work in isolation but also as a forced collaboration.  They are not given much time to consider and develop their ideas and must work from another artist’s starting point which forces them to confront the other artist’s thought processes as well. The work that they do has strict boundaries of time and materials they have brought with them.

The pieces created take on many shapes and forms during the proceedings and the audience take delight at watching the flow of creativity move along the production line.

Each artist finishes with the piece they started on, meaning see the work through the whole cycle.  They can see how the other artists have developed and read their original ideas.

Many of the pieces are unrecognisable from their starting point and much of the merit can be attributed to the process involved in their creation rather than the finished pieces themselves, something that the curators appear to favour in the exhibitions they organise. 

Watching the way in which the artists worked and drew their ideas from what was placed on their desk captivated the audience.  Excitement was felt by all in wondering what shape the piece was going to take next and what the finished product may be. 

Ablett and Jones have created a unique concept where the attention is focused on the production of work rather than the completed piece.  The performance can be seen as an exploration into forced creativity and collaboration.  What makes the concept all the more interesting is the fact the space in itself was once used as a sweatshop, thus creating a juxtaposition between this illegal practice and contemporary artistic practices.

by Helen Buckley, Exhibition Co-ordinator.

Construction Line Private View

Construction Line opened on the 7th May 2010 with a live performance of three artists forced to create artworks on a production line:

The artists begin work, each has half an hour to work on a piece before having to pass it on to the next artist in the line.

The 'factory receptionist' watches over the employees and is in charge of alerting the artists to the end of each half hour interval.

Artist Necole Schmitz begins work on the piece given to her by graphic designer Alex Perryman.

The desk of Maria Lopez.

Unfortunately Alex Perryman's printer will not work so he has to re-think the way in which he will work for the exhibition.

Construction Line Live Exhibition

[Details on Request] invite you to the Private View of their forth-coming exhibition

Construction Line

At 18 Sidworth Street, London Fields, E8 3SD

On the 7^th May 2010 6pm – 9pm

 

The Private View will take the form of a Live Performance mimicking an industrial sweatshop.

 

Construction Line is a sweatshop of artisans forced to churn out creative talent by the hour.   In the traditional understanding of an exhibition we are presented with a final outcome that the artist has chosen to display to us.  Construction Line seeks to highlight the research and conceptual process that precedes this. The exhibition puts the emphasis on the creation of the work rather than the outcome. 

 

Construction Line is a collaborative project that brings together artists working in a variety of different media, giving them the chance to inform their own practice through working together.  Each piece of work produced during the exhibition will show the hand of a number of different artists, bringing to mind the question of ownership of artwork.

 

Construction Line takes the form of a factory.  At the beginning of the shift each employee clocks in and takes their place in the production line.  At their workstation they have an hour to manufacture their own work, presenting it in whatever format they choose.  As the bell tolls to mark the end of the hour, they give their creation to the next employee in the production line, where they develop and interpret the work in their own way.  This process is repeated every hour and only once a piece of work has passed down the length of the production line do we concentrate our attention on the final object.

 

The exhibition brings together artists and creatives from across the country to encourage interaction and collaboration, each artisan working with what another has given them as work is passed along the production line.  The process of handing over work for someone else to interpret encourages the artists to yield power to chance and embrace the unexpected.  The exhibition celebrates the originality of art and the value of the bespoke.

 

Construction Line continues over the weekend.

 

On Saturday the 8^th May 2010, there will be another opportunity to see the Live Exhibition taking place and on from Sunday 9^th May ‘til Tuesday the 11^th May the products from the exhibition will be on display.

 

There will be a sale of products produced on Sunday the 16^th May 2010.

 

Private View/ Live Exhibition: Friday, 7^th May 2010, 6pm -9pm

Live Exhibition: Saturday, 8^th May 2010, 11am – 5pm

Showcase Exhibition: Sunday, 9^th – Tuesday, 11^th May 2010, 12pm -5pm