https://theremark.co.uk the remark Thu, 05 May 2022 21:09:01 +0000 https://theremark.co.uk en https://theremark.co.uk/Home Fri, 19 Nov 2021 13:19:27 +0000 the remark https://theremark.co.uk/Home <img width="2338" height="1315" width_o="2338" height_o="1315" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c6bf8f67f6a2a1a295df24f943cf73f7f1431835c6ed231aa0af8d1850201cc0/Remark-Header.png" data-mid="136749193" border="0" data-scale="63" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c6bf8f67f6a2a1a295df24f943cf73f7f1431835c6ed231aa0af8d1850201cc0/Remark-Header.png" /> POPULAR TAGS exhibition, performance, interview, event, online,&nbsp;film, public art, collective, book,&nbsp;by issue, see all reviews, by writers Sign up for our free monthly newsletter About &nbsp;Submissions &nbsp; &nbsp;Instagram https://theremark.co.uk/Words-with-Saad-Eddine-Said Fri, 01 Apr 2022 09:22:41 +0000 the remark https://theremark.co.uk/Words-with-Saad-Eddine-Said Words with: Saad Eddine Said Rachel Willcocks interviews Saad Eddine Said, new CEO and Artistic Director of New Art Exchange, Nottingham <img width="1600" height="1067" width_o="1600" height_o="1067" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f0c0c203cc7563207fcdf686be3f2d1424256707e2d00c389bffb91de1d3cff1/Saad-October-2021-credit-Studio-Anicca-Charlotte-Jopling-086.jpg" data-mid="141787466" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f0c0c203cc7563207fcdf686be3f2d1424256707e2d00c389bffb91de1d3cff1/Saad-October-2021-credit-Studio-Anicca-Charlotte-Jopling-086.jpg" />Saad Eddine Said, October 2021, Photographer: Studio-Anicca-Charlotte-Jopling The history of Nottingham’s contemporary art space New Art Exchange (NAE) dates back to 2003. The partnership between APNA Arts (focused on South Asian arts) and EMACA Visual Arts (East Midlands African-Caribbean Arts) brought about the gallery. Located in an unusual locality, in a suburban working-class area, nestled between the local library, community centre, and a block of high residential flats, its galvanised national and international acclaim. Earning its status in the art world whilst maintaining its home in the local community. As the organisation approaches twenty years since the joining forces which led to its opening, another chapter with the arrival of new CEO and Artistic Director, Saad Eddine Said begins. Starting the position in September last year - not long after the many turbulent months of lockdowns, BLM protests and industry-wide arts cuts, we asked Saad about his plans. How he will navigate, co-exist and co-create in polarised times. <img width="1333" height="750" width_o="1333" height_o="750" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/328d3eaf5752fa7dcdafdffb9c4e11bedd857182f61ab6752be9213c38973e72/NAE-Hassan-Hajjaj-.JPG" data-mid="141787464" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/328d3eaf5752fa7dcdafdffb9c4e11bedd857182f61ab6752be9213c38973e72/NAE-Hassan-Hajjaj-.JPG" />Hassan Hajjaj Exhibition (Launch Event), The Path Photographer,&nbsp;April 2019. Photographer Tom Morley.&nbsp; Rachel Willcocks: As a filmmaker, musician and environmentalist, what inspires you the most about the arts; how and why did you become interested and involved in creative communities?&nbsp; &nbsp; Saad Eddine Said:&nbsp;As a Curator and Practitioner, I have had the opportunity to explore many art forms. From music, filmmaking, and theatre to contemporary visual art, I have always been interested in the power of the Arts to tell universal and timely stories that help us as human beings understand the experiences where we converge and the ones where we diverge. Every concert, screening, show or exhibition captures the story of society and recounts its complexity in the purest and most reflective ways. As an environmentalist, I am aware that now more than ever, whoever we are, wherever we are, our destiny is interconnected, It’s under this lens that I see the work we do with creative communities and within our galleries, museums, cinemas, theatres and so on, as an effort to shift the narrative of separation and segregation to one of unity built around creativity and innovation. We have key global challenges to tackle during the next decade. This goes from food poverty to the climate crisis. I believe that Creative Communities around the world will play a key role in unlocking our collective potential to solve these issues. <img width="1935" height="1291" width_o="1935" height_o="1291" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1e66870ff607a4cb31584cc55c9056905bb019d3899e4b45facca79d14f5c5b0/New-Art-Exchange.jpg" data-mid="141787465" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1e66870ff607a4cb31584cc55c9056905bb019d3899e4b45facca79d14f5c5b0/New-Art-Exchange.jpg" /> New Art Exchange, 2022 RW: Previously you were the director at Home in Slough, do you draw comparisons between Nottingham and Slough, what legacy did you leave there and wish to carry through to Notts? &nbsp; SES: Slough and Nottingham have a lot in common. From the diversity of the local population to the incredible and widespread talent and creativity in all of its aspects. I am not sure what legacy I left behind me in Slough but for sure the place and its people left an incredible impact on me. The sheer amount of bravery, resilience, creativity and innovation that I witnessed during Covid and within communities that didn’t have access to many resources was breath-taking. If there is one learning I would like to take with me is that a Community of Creative Citizens has the potential to turn the impossible into reality and the venue can play an important role in facilitating this. I can see the same thing in Hyson Green (the community surrounding New Art Exchange) which is a fantastic and vibrant neighbourhood that is filled with incredibly inspiring individuals and collectives.&nbsp; <img width="1223" height="816" width_o="1223" height_o="816" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fbae49e4fd08232dcea361ea3b0e842a9895933a05606046015f6b6fdcf5a7f3/28-01-2022---Hetain-Patel---The-Jump-1025---NAE-LOW-14.JPG" data-mid="141787462" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fbae49e4fd08232dcea361ea3b0e842a9895933a05606046015f6b6fdcf5a7f3/28-01-2022---Hetain-Patel---The-Jump-1025---NAE-LOW-14.JPG" /> Hetain Patel, The Jump, 2015, Film. All photos courtesy New Art Exchange RW: On previous projects, you’ve used intercultural exchange as a tool in order to break cultural barriers. NAE too, has long been a place that breaks down those barriers through art, so how valuable do you think the exploration of international arts is to NAE’s future, and why? &nbsp; SES: Hyson Green is a mix of languages, cultures, recipes and melodies. It doesn’t take more than a 15-minute walk in the neighbourhood to see that ‘Hyson Green is in the world and the world is within Hyson Green’. NAE will continue its commitment to breaking cultural barriers and to building bridges between communities locally and globally. It will also continue linking the richness of our neighbourhood to places around the world where there are opportunities for exchanges, collaborations and shared learning. &nbsp; RW: How much change and scope for change can we expect for NAE under your leadership and in the current political and economic climate? &nbsp; SES: Change is not about replacing, but altering or modifying instead, it is about being in a continuous position of deep listening and a constant state of reimagining what we deliver to stay true to who we are and why we were founded.&nbsp; New Art Exchange is about stimulating new perspectives on the value of diversity in art and society. A key agenda for NAE is to build a better foundation for the next generation of Global Majority leadership. We are conscious that despite the rich and diverse multiculturalism within our society, there is a huge lack of cultural diversity within the creative sector and especially within contemporary visual art. We aim to change that landscape and we know that to achieve this, we need to start building a more representative leadership. The top of the ladder is where the real change starts and that’s something we are keen to support. http://www.nae.org.uk By Rachel Wilcocks 05 May 2022 https://theremark.co.uk/Turntable-Gallery-A-Welcome-Disruption-copy Thu, 05 May 2022 21:09:01 +0000 the remark https://theremark.co.uk/Turntable-Gallery-A-Welcome-Disruption-copy Turntable Gallery: A Welcome Disruption Two Lincolnshire-based artists have come together to open a new art gallery in the port town of Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire. Oliver Ventress talks to Darren Neave and Dale Wells about the engagement of a high-street audience, the practicalities of funding a contemporary art space and Turntable’s aspirations for the&nbsp; future. <img width="1500" height="1000" width_o="1500" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6e57bdef333466b72ffc9b953ff5ffba244d417ada9c0a26236b8f20504c45ca/friesgagoral-2021.jpg" data-mid="141787142" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/6e57bdef333466b72ffc9b953ff5ffba244d417ada9c0a26236b8f20504c45ca/friesgagoral-2021.jpg" /> Darren Neave,&nbsp;Friesgagoral, 2021 Situated on Grimsby’s Victoria Street, Turntable Gallery launched with the opening show Perineum/Perineum, an array of works produced and curated by the gallery’s co-founders. The reiteration of the title plays on the artists’ echolalia, a neurodiverse condition whereby speech patterns are characterised by repetition. The perinium itself, situated at the bottom of the pelvis, represents a region of the body that is both sensual and functional. Through sculpture, object and installation, the opening show is an eccentric take on sensualities of the body, as the artists explore the nuances of psychosexual geography. <img width="4800" height="3600" width_o="4800" height_o="3600" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/694fe8e36b6e7d492d822f5c5aca69d1fdd4a67fdb81d4e2a5ced5066cb5868e/Darren-Neave---Savouredsaviours.jpg" data-mid="141787145" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/694fe8e36b6e7d492d822f5c5aca69d1fdd4a67fdb81d4e2a5ced5066cb5868e/Darren-Neave---Savouredsaviours.jpg" />Darren Neave, Savouredsaviours, 2021 The gallerists explained how fundamentally, the shop-style frontage offers the ability to disrupt the high street and provoke the voyeuristic impulses of the passer-by, both by the nature of the work shown and as a break from the surrounding budget stores and betting shops. Turntable seeks to brush aside many of the typical barriers experienced by a public otherwise keen to access local art spaces.&nbsp; <img width="4032" height="3024" width_o="4032" height_o="3024" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7eab437fb3a9f161aee3f5a85bdf89f8c93412ccfbecf77852ca01d381dfa311/turntable-gallery-outside.jpg" data-mid="141787146" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/7eab437fb3a9f161aee3f5a85bdf89f8c93412ccfbecf77852ca01d381dfa311/turntable-gallery-outside.jpg" /> Turntable Gallery, Grimsby, photo, 2022 Oliver Ventress:  Turntable Gallery is placed on a central street in Grimsby amongst discount stores and empty units - what inhabited the building before and how were you able to occupy it as an art space? Darren Neave: Before we took the space on, it had been temporarily used as a pop-up window space, for a couple of arts projects, using the headline: Blip. Before that, it was a dress shop called Rachel’s and further back still, a hardware store. When we got the keys the shelving system was still in place, so we were keen to de-retail it, and develop a space that could be modular, and multi-functional.&nbsp; OV: Grimsby has historically struggled with post-industrial decline and a lack of opportunities. What do you think Turntable Gallery can offer the town and how would gauge public response to the space so far?  DN: We are both incredibly keen to engage with the public - ultimately, our practices rely on that interface, that dialogue, that encounter. There are so few cultural spaces - particularly arts-based - within Lincolnshire, and so there is little investiture in local, creative talent, especially sculpture, installation and media-based work. Turntable seeks to change that. With street-level access and an ever changing, eye-catching window feature, we understand that people may not want to brave the threshold, but the view to the interior space may be enough to entice them in - it plays with the vernacular of the high street.&nbsp; People can, and should decide for themselves, about what they want to see or engage with. The town has been in decline, but we feel there is a civic duty, carried by all of us; a responsibility to seek and to question people, without being patronising. No one ever asks what is needed, they have always simply presumed. We both have local connections and this allows us to tap in to what is missing or perhaps what makes people more engaged with these types of endeavours. OV: I think it is often assumed that to open an art space, you have to have been awarded large sums of funding through Arts Council England, local councils or ultimately private funding. How do you foresee supporting the gallery over the year and beyond? Dale Wells: We have found that many local projects are gate-kept, by cultural partnerships relying on funding that requires responses to proposals. As is unfortunately the case, they invariably invoke box-ticking, hours of online interfacing and prescriptive pigeon-holing. We got our space through showing our commitment face-to-face, our agility and our sincerity. The charity we work with, Skippko, quickly identified our passion and our creativity within the space of our initial meeting. They have been brilliant and we are willing to take the risk, by believing in our energy and our vision. Through them, we have been fortunate enough to side-step the usual funding methods, which can often present an insurmountable barrier, especially to those with a neurodivergence.&nbsp; OV: What kind of projects and shows are you hoping to produce over the course of the year?  DN: We have been assisting with a local project based on Grim and Havelock, a beloved local sculpture (legend states the name Grimsby derives from Grim, a 9th Century Danish fisherman) which was removed from a nearby site after vandalism and undue care. By having the space, and the facility to show the removed statue, we are proposing that there be a re-investiture of interest in the piece, around this lost work of art. Luckily, our cheekiness seems to have cut through a lot of the bureaucracy which often surrounds a public work such as this. We have also been in discussion with a well-known British Artist, who is allowing us to show collected and donated works within the gallery. This is really going to put the town on the map. <img width="3024" height="4032" width_o="3024" height_o="4032" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/95454aac4539a6a77317708a2e59299b5fa463d6dcf058a070fa98661913b779/Dale-Wells---L.O.R.d.jpg" data-mid="141787147" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/95454aac4539a6a77317708a2e59299b5fa463d6dcf058a070fa98661913b779/Dale-Wells---L.O.R.d.jpg" /> Dale Wells, L.O.R.{d}, 2022 All images courtesy Turntable Gallery, Grimsby Opening with a show which exposes vulnerabilities of the body, matters of queer sexuality and the display of items which - at first glance - appear phallic, has gained the gallery some attention. Speaking with Dale Wells, he expressed that there is no link between the identity of the space, its former use, or the current show, as the site offers complete flexibility to be what it needs to be for any exhibition context. Operating away from traditional funding routes has allowed this freedom, to turn heads and make impressions without having to assess, evaluate or prove itself to external bodies. Darren and Dale have written a schedule of exhibitions for Turntable for the year, including You Will Find Me Under the Heaviest of Blankets - a show by Abigail Jouanides, which is a tender, but visceral opening into the experience and impact of a late autism diagnosis. As neurodiverse artists themselves, it is clear to see the impact that having ownership of the space has made, and it definitely makes for a refreshing change. &nbsp; Turntable Gallery is at 8 Victoria Street, Freshney Place, Grimsby DN31 1DP, open 11am – 4pm Wednesday to Saturday.&nbsp; Perineum/Perineum is showing until 16th April 2022. You Will Find Me Under the Heaviest of Blankets is opening 23rd April and will be showing until 21st May 2022. www.turntablegallery.uk By Oliver Ventress 15 April 2022 https://theremark.co.uk/Derby-Artist-Research-Project-A-Practice-in-Living-Communally-copy Fri, 15 Apr 2022 08:17:03 +0000 the remark https://theremark.co.uk/Derby-Artist-Research-Project-A-Practice-in-Living-Communally-copy Derbyshire Artist Resident Project: A Practice in Living Communally Alex Stubbs is invited to Derbyshire Artist Resident Project, an artistic community of social practice <img width="6000" height="4000" width_o="6000" height_o="4000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1c26960a994a63e3f6b7ebe249ac518c1d8a80cd5f01a04f68b63318e9855d4a/edit-02555.jpg" data-mid="139701525" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1c26960a994a63e3f6b7ebe249ac518c1d8a80cd5f01a04f68b63318e9855d4a/edit-02555.jpg" /> Samm Shackleton (DARP resident)&nbsp;from a durational performance of&nbsp;Survival-Kit at Playground, ArtCore Gallery, Derby, 2021 Photographer Francis Ana, courtesy Artcore Gallery, Derby Self-described as a sociocratic open system of living, Derbyshire Artist Resident Project (DARP) teeters on the edge of function and chaos. Located at Michael House, an old Steiner school in Heanor, Derbyshire, DARP bridges the gap between community and art, a place to eat, sleep, and make.&nbsp; <img width="3000" height="2000" width_o="3000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fa76a66de0617630fabb943ab49207efc3acf015d5220aa04157919f20a1a732/DARP-Group-Photo.jpg" data-mid="139701520" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fa76a66de0617630fabb943ab49207efc3acf015d5220aa04157919f20a1a732/DARP-Group-Photo.jpg" /> DARP residents (left to right) Paula Erstmann, Lisa Klosterkoetter, Solomon Berrio-Allen, Coleman Stewart, Sean Roy Parker, Jo Dodd, Adam Grainger, Sonia Odedra, Ella Fleck and Buster Cassin (who is not a resident, but a visiting friend) Photographer Adam Grainger Two strikes from a gong - spill out of a small speaker in the old school theatre, a vast space at the end of the building where a dozen or so bicycles sit against one wall alongside crash mats, sofas, and various paraphernalia. I’m lying on my back having just finished a session of dynamic meditation. Like much of what happens at DARP, it was an opportunity to pause, reflect, and refresh. Rejecting any suggestion of performativity, the meditation is wrapped in sincerity; clothed in a desire to enact something meaningful. That it happened in the theatre only added to the theatrics.&nbsp; The theatre, much like the rest of the building, is a hub for all kinds of action and experiments. Only a few months ago it was cleared to make way for a riotous-looking monster sculpture, hellmouth, a collaborative effort between Sonia Odedra and Ella Yollande. Made for the End of the World party, hellmouth contained within it the play and performance that circles around DARP. One moment the theatre is a quiet sanctuary; the next, a raucous place, filled with creatively-charged energy where people gather to talk, dance, and make.&nbsp; At DARP there is no outright objection to ideas, simply a model of consent; a system that allows for unadulterated freedom of expression. People come and go all the time, each of them shaping the dimensions of the community and building on lived experiences, desires, hopes and a willingness to invest one’s entire self into the shared community. Ideas are thought out around the dinner table; food is a social ritual. Temporary guests mingle with long-time residents, yet there isn’t a feeling of hierarchy, nor superiority. Everybody is there for the same reason; to escape the everyday and to exist as part of a community.&nbsp; <img width="3000" height="2000" width_o="3000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/84a417869975f0f12d856ccc779642e3cf59a6eeaf43490b9011ddb579586273/DARP-Miscellany-17.jpg" data-mid="139701522" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/84a417869975f0f12d856ccc779642e3cf59a6eeaf43490b9011ddb579586273/DARP-Miscellany-17.jpg" /> Paula Erstmann, Maggie Campbell, Jo Dodd and Ella Fleck, Bread Sculpture, using traditional Ukrainian bread sculpture techniques, 2022 Photographer Adam Grainger Ella Fleck (DARP’s co-founder), shows me around. The old classroom walls of the school still retain their lazure pink hue - a style of painting aligned with Steiner teachings - replete with swirling patterns and blackboards. Science labs remain intact, wooden countertops sitting patiently, waiting for experiments to unfold, tinted with the marginalia of past student doodles.&nbsp; Whilst the remains of the school's past are still visible, DARP has its own personality. Classrooms are now a mix of bedrooms and studios, often combined into one. Outside in the playground, tables remain from alfresco dinners in the summer whilst outbuildings have been commandeered for costume-making and dance studios. Old furniture has been repurposed, and leftover materials reused. An altar sits at the end of one of the corridors: a table filled with hand-made candles and reclaimed thistles from the gardens. Amidst all of the quirks and idiosyncrasies lies a real belief in celebrating autonomy, an encouragement to think of something and just do it.&nbsp; Last year they put on Playground, an exhibition at Artcore, Derby consisting of flags and tapestries made together in their communal studio. They’ve also opened their doors to the public, inviting those who once attended the Steiner school to bear witness to the objects and ephemera scattered around the building. By taking DARP outside of the school, a desire to connect with the world outside is clearly there, reaffirming their shared belief in community and togetherness.&nbsp; <img width="5413" height="3609" width_o="5413" height_o="3609" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d60da2585f52930b06a98c2310bab3d7055d2d637a7d6a16722227d1f9047ca8/edit-2444-.jpg" data-mid="139701524" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d60da2585f52930b06a98c2310bab3d7055d2d637a7d6a16722227d1f9047ca8/edit-2444-.jpg" /> Ella Yolande, Fibi Cowley and Ella Fleck,&nbsp;Flags commissioned by Artcore Gallery, Derby Photographer Francis Ana, courtesy Artcore Gallery, Derby As for incentive, there doesn’t appear to be one beyond just seeing what is possible. Ella tells me that DARP offers a list of services, from group hugs to shovelling snow to queuing. They’ve had a couple of offers already, including cheering and booing for a Twitch-streamer as he goes live to his online audience. Performativity is simply an artistic pursuit, an individual character or the group as a whole take on a way of sticking two fingers up at the world and saying deal with it.&nbsp; There can be a bleed, though - a word Ella borrows from Live Action Role Play culture, signifying the moment when the emotions of the character blur with those of the person - between DARP and the outside world. Inside there exists a living alternative vision of how a community can function, and sometimes that spills into the outside world, for better or worse.&nbsp; Inside, practice merges with living, so that whatever walls are erected slowly erode, resulting in the harmonious arrangement of art and life. As my time at DARP nears an end, it finally occurs to me. DARP isn’t about art. It never really was. The social practice - the shared meals, the spontaneous doings, the conversations - is the important thing here.&nbsp; &nbsp; https://www.darp.media By Alex Stubbs&nbsp; &nbsp;1 April 2022&nbsp; https://theremark.co.uk/Ten-Years-of-Two-Queens Fri, 25 Mar 2022 10:10:59 +0000 the remark https://theremark.co.uk/Ten-Years-of-Two-Queens Ten Years of Two Queens 2022 marks the ten-year anniversary for Two Queens in Leicester. Amrit Doll speaks to Daniel Sean Kelly and Gino Attwood about the highs and lows of running an artist-led gallery and studio space. <img width="872" height="579" width_o="872" height_o="579" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/03fd5933785be6c6a7bc94440a1a48a035c92a234b36c3ea99f819cabc876c7f/Benedict-Drew--The-Onesie-Cycle--2013.png" data-mid="137526590" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/872/i/03fd5933785be6c6a7bc94440a1a48a035c92a234b36c3ea99f819cabc876c7f/Benedict-Drew--The-Onesie-Cycle--2013.png" /> Benedict Drew, The Onesie Cycle, 2013 Courtesy Two Queens, Leicester Established in 2012, Leicester’s artist-led gallery and studios, Two Queens, is known for their contemporary exhibitions by emerging artists. Having presented over 70 shows and accommodating 48 artists in their studios, Two Queens has become a household name in the Leicester art scene. This year, the organisation reaches its 10th birthday. Amrit Doll talks with founding members and co-directors, Daniel Sean Kelly and Gino Attwood, to discuss how the space was started, what they do differently to other organisations and what they have planned next.&nbsp; <img width="826" height="552" width_o="826" height_o="552" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8df1ac50fb320b1ff2c1b4980a32b7a1cbba9f998aee8e8c71ce22454ae90283/Michaela-Cullen--Cathedral-of-Worms-at-Two-Queens--January-2022.png" data-mid="137535551" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/826/i/8df1ac50fb320b1ff2c1b4980a32b7a1cbba9f998aee8e8c71ce22454ae90283/Michaela-Cullen--Cathedral-of-Worms-at-Two-Queens--January-2022.png" /> Michaela Cullen, Cathedral of Worms, January 2022 Courtesy Two Queens, Leicester Amrit Doll: Two Queens was created by two artist collectives from different universities. How did that happen, and how was the gallery and studio space founded? Daniel Sean Kelly: In 2011, I was part of CUSP and Gino was part of Vanilla Galleries. We had both been running projects in Leicester with our respective collectives and wanted to continue with similar activities. The closing of Leicester’s contemporary gallery, The City Gallery, in 2010 highlighted the need for a new exhibition space and there were also very few affordable artist studios. Gino Attwood: We were matchmade by a member of Leicester City Council, who suggested we take on a building together. CUSP was looking for artist studios and Vanilla Galleries were looking for exhibition space, so we agreed to work together. Daniel Sean Kelly: Originally, CUSP and Vanilla Galleries would alternate exhibitions. By 2012, projects were run collaboratively and Gino and I became co-directors. <img width="825" height="549" width_o="825" height_o="549" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/160d814c9684603e81a429cc5d1005b916feab51fec34b4f728ee913230cd761/Hannah-Quinlan-and-Rosie-Hastings--Something-for-the-boys-at-Two-Queens--2018.png" data-mid="137526580" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/825/i/160d814c9684603e81a429cc5d1005b916feab51fec34b4f728ee913230cd761/Hannah-Quinlan-and-Rosie-Hastings--Something-for-the-boys-at-Two-Queens--2018.png" /> Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings, Something for the Boys&nbsp;2018 Courtesy Two Queens, Leicester AD: Did you ever envisage that Two Queens would continue for ten years or was it seen as a temporary space? GA: At first, we had a temporary lease so we did not expect to stay longer than six-months. Having a financial model based on the studios, helped develop organisational sustainability, which was always a central aim. We wanted Two Queens to be something that exists for people in the city and a space that we would want to have in our hometown.&nbsp; AD: Two Queens previously exhibited artist group shows but now primarily works with one artist at a time. Why is that and how do artists get selected for the gallery programme? GA: In 2013, we hosted a solo show, The Onesie Cycle (&amp;VIP) by Benedict Drew. He was confident with his practice and led the exhibition process. We learned a lot from that experience and it inspired us to offer solo shows where artists are encouraged and empowered to take creative control in the same way. DSK: We offer artists an almost-blank slate opportunity that is a rare thing for galleries to offer to artists. We approach artists with an invitation to exhibit when we think they are confident enough to explore their ideas and they are moving into the next stage of their career. To find suitable artists, we get to know them and their practices, visit shows, and check out social media platforms. AD: What is your approach to curation? DSK: The term ‘curator’ sets up a hierarchical system, whereas we prefer to work with artists as peers. We consider ourselves facilitators, creating an environment where the artist feels they can take risks with their practice, producing something unexpected and thereby getting a lot more out of the experience. An example of this is the film Something for the Boys by Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings (2018). This was a more ambitious film work than any they had made previously and&nbsp;went on to be shown in Kiss My Genders at the Hayward Gallery (2019). <img width="944" height="628" width_o="944" height_o="628" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/64f2d42a63474abb2148275d82090268ba574b3cfa4d9b9d119ee008e0abefe3/Vanilla-Galleries--The-News--2012.png" data-mid="137526581" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/944/i/64f2d42a63474abb2148275d82090268ba574b3cfa4d9b9d119ee008e0abefe3/Vanilla-Galleries--The-News--2012.png" /> Vanilla Galleries, The News, 2012 Courtesy Two Queens, Leicester AD: What have been the ups and downs in the development of Two Queens? GA: We could have been more entrepreneurial in the early stages, however, we wanted to keep our studios affordable so kept prices low. The most rewarding part of the experience is being part of the Two Queens community, where we can share ideas and think about art together. AD: How will you celebrate your ten-year birthday? DSK: We will have a birthday party with everyone who has supported us over the years, and we will become community-owned to secure our future in our building. Also, by working with our two curatorial bursary holders we’ll be bringing in different approaches to curation. We are also devising new ways of working with artists that seek to place more control over the exhibition process into artist's hands. AD: What advice would you give to anyone who wants to develop their own artist-led space? GA: Get the lay of the land by asking lots of people for information. Talk to the landlord rather than the estate agent and get someone to re-assure the landlord that you can manage a space. Do not be afraid of things going wrong and create a sustainable business model that allows you to fund the kind of projects you want to do. https://2queens.com&nbsp; By&nbsp;Amrit Doll &nbsp; &nbsp;25 March 2022&nbsp; https://theremark.co.uk/the-fairy-paganist-clubbing-vvitch-fffflying-from-club-to-club Fri, 18 Mar 2022 16:03:30 +0000 the remark https://theremark.co.uk/the-fairy-paganist-clubbing-vvitch-fffflying-from-club-to-club the fairy paganist clubbing vvitch fffflying from club to club Andrew Bracey finds Jean-Michel Wicker is using the space at TG to connect the viewer in an unexpected way, the emotional response and contemplation, becomes part of the experience. <img width="4928" height="3264" width_o="4928" height_o="3264" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e337e9ab3cf243e309024bf6c662da39edf91436daad898d1cf71e5da5a0cc07/3.Installation-view.jpg" data-mid="136817472" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e337e9ab3cf243e309024bf6c662da39edf91436daad898d1cf71e5da5a0cc07/3.Installation-view.jpg" /> installation view Three ghosts sit at a table set for afternoon tea in Goodly Gory Ghost (1995) by French-born, Berlin-based artist Jean-Michel Wicker. Or rather, three seated people draped in white sheets with black circles in place of eyes, are at a table, that is also covered with a white sheet and a tea set. Tea is poured near the beginning, but mostly the mock-ghosts sit. The movement is slow and little action happens; slight movements suggest occasional conversations, but any sound is portentously absent. &nbsp;&nbsp;First impressions jump to Ku Klux Klansmen or Halloween, but these are too easy associations and neither feels right, white paradoxically also be indicative of purity, virtue and innocence.&nbsp;&nbsp;The meaning is slippery and elusive, perhaps even undesired, in encountering Wicker’s work. Instead of seeking to translate Wicker’s concepts, I pay attention to how I feel watching the film – concurrently calm, on-edge, agitated, transfixed, nervous, … The figures unsettle and absorb in equal measure and convey these emotions in me. <img width="4928" height="3264" width_o="4928" height_o="3264" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8b63bef4426c6404ac06f6e2cab62f5f2d920877dae07bab92a09b28f5fac83e/4.Christophe-Terpent--Jean-Michel-Wicker--Serge-Comte--Vidya-Gastaldon_Goodly-Gory-Ghost_-1995.jpg" data-mid="136829514" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8b63bef4426c6404ac06f6e2cab62f5f2d920877dae07bab92a09b28f5fac83e/4.Christophe-Terpent--Jean-Michel-Wicker--Serge-Comte--Vidya-Gastaldon_Goodly-Gory-Ghost_-1995.jpg" /> Christophe Terpent, Jean-Michel Wicker, Serge Comte, Vidya Gastaldon Goodly Gory Ghost, 1995 Playing on a loop with Goodly Gory Ghost is Paloma Beach (2007-9), which evokes a similar elusiveness. There is a hypnotic and mesmerising quality to the viewing, amplified by Sidney Stucki’s haunting music. Snippets of both b/w and colour 8mm footage of coastline has been collaged together. They are fragments of what could be archive or home-movie films, which have become free of an imposed narrative. &nbsp;&nbsp;I see captured moments pass by – rocks, sand, flora, walls, boats, trees, wind, tables, jetties, beaches, palms, hills, but most of all lapping waves. I am aware of how I pause and focus on being invited to be in time; a compression of time that invites the viewer to be present in the here and now through the mediative prompt of Wicker’s captured footage of time past. <img width="4928" height="3264" width_o="4928" height_o="3264" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c2780897d2f4798dc4ea6e1b0ebf884d69b7e3c06b2fa9af514b7e88d00df0b4/5.Installation-view.jpg" data-mid="136829515" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c2780897d2f4798dc4ea6e1b0ebf884d69b7e3c06b2fa9af514b7e88d00df0b4/5.Installation-view.jpg" /> installation view An innovation of the display at TG is the mirroring and doubling of the films. A flatscreen opposite the doorway faces a smaller, older screen hung low down on the white wall, both playing the same film in harmony. The older technology is hard to ignore as one watches and this informs the viewing experience; it makes it appear out of (this) time, inviting the past and present to be brought together. Turning 180 degrees to watch the screen on the opposite side one notices that it exactly matches the size of the window in front of which it is placed. This unusual siting makes the viewing both difficult and peculiarly attuned, as the eyes attempt to adapt to factors beyond the films such as the outdoor light and view of terraced houses. The external environment impinges onto and informs the viewing of the film. The different times and weather conditions enlighten and shift the individual’s unique experience of watching the films. For me, the intrigue of this particular display rests on the pivot as one turns from screen to screen; attempting and failing to behold the exact same moment of the film. The attempt to do so appears to be encouraged, the belief that it may be possible is frustratingly denied. <img width="4928" height="3264" width_o="4928" height_o="3264" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/faa611ef0a7c84d9241f98e1da7128b9b3ee2ad959af1fa64cb59f2d1213a12c/10.Jean-Michel-Wicker_sculpture-club-part-of-camouflage-classe_2021-2022.jpg" data-mid="136829516" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/faa611ef0a7c84d9241f98e1da7128b9b3ee2ad959af1fa64cb59f2d1213a12c/10.Jean-Michel-Wicker_sculpture-club-part-of-camouflage-classe_2021-2022.jpg" /> Jean-Michel Wicker, sculpture club (part of camouflage classe) 2021-2022 The films are accompanied by drawings and artists’ books. sculpture club (part of camouflage classe) (2021-22) is a collection of eight handmade books arranged atop a digital print on the floor. The choice to display the books like this instead of a table or chair suggests that the artist is taking the viewer out of their comfort zone, challenging the unexpected as part of the experience of the work. In the second room, twenty-one A4 drawings mounted behind glass make up Que quoi comment écrire après LXIR ? (2021). Many of the drawings feature the title of the work written roughly in felt tip or pencil, alongside repeated motives of red clouds, the letter ‘a’ and abstract, gestural marks. The drawings appear to be an invitation, the title translates as ‘what to write after LXIR?’. I learn from the accompanying text by Julien Laugier that LXiR is an experimental novel by Guillaume Dustan, that the writer gave to the artist. Wicker’s responses appear to suggest multiple possibilities outside of verbal and linear language towards intuition, repetition, reduction and imagination. <img width="4928" height="3264" width_o="4928" height_o="3264" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/92921ed2d36973da39c663f6c412cfe2e9b8d390931c7252792ed94207b92f4a/18.Jean-Michel-Wicker_que-quoi-comment-ecrire-apres-LXIR--_2021.jpg" data-mid="136829790" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/92921ed2d36973da39c663f6c412cfe2e9b8d390931c7252792ed94207b92f4a/18.Jean-Michel-Wicker_que-quoi-comment-ecrire-apres-LXIR--_2021.jpg" /> Jean-Michel Wicker, que quoi comment écrire après LXIR ? 2021 Hidden inside the top drawer of a plan chest are two books published to accompany previous exhibitions, including one from Wicker’s previous UK solo show at Cubitt, London in 2014. Their content is indicative of the artist’s practice as a whole. Pages are filled with interviews, (concrete) poetry, multiple repetitions of the letters ‘a’ and ‘e’, emojis, collages, found images, but the overriding memory is of the blank pages that populate the majority of the books. They simultaneously allow the surrounding content to breathe, as well as allowing other thoughts and possibilities to be conjured. The confidence to allow so much ‘empty’ space is indicative of what I found so profound in encountering Wicker’s show as a whole – only three of the eight walls in the two gallery rooms were used. The work and the nature of the display allows pauses, which encourage at least this viewer to pause in the moment. Wicker is an artist who straddles openness and intuition with precision and discipline, a tricky balancing act to achieve and one that is fulfilling to encounter. Exhibition closes 9 April 2022 http://www.tgal.co By&nbsp;Andrew Bracey &nbsp; &nbsp;18 March 2022&nbsp; https://theremark.co.uk/Ben-Bogart-s-Watching-2001-A-Space-Odyssey-4-09-21 Thu, 25 Nov 2021 14:08:27 +0000 the remark https://theremark.co.uk/Ben-Bogart-s-Watching-2001-A-Space-Odyssey-4-09-21 Ben Bogart's Watching (A Space Odyssey) At Leicester’s Phoenix, an AI reimagining of Stanley Kubrick’s classic sci-fi epic forces us to wonder what machines might learn from watching movies <img width="1121" height="801" width_o="1121" height_o="801" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/da4a896cd69706856ef22948f9d0c61a3df068598955a6b313a285b1c5e20982/Watching-Blade-Runner-1-copy.jpg" data-mid="136754902" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/da4a896cd69706856ef22948f9d0c61a3df068598955a6b313a285b1c5e20982/Watching-Blade-Runner-1-copy.jpg" /> Part of Leicester’s citywide Art-AI Festival 2021, Watching (2001: A Space Odyssey) (2018) is the first of two reworkings of classic sci-fi movies (the other being Ridley Scott’s 1982 Blade Runner) by media artist Ben Bogart. Bogart trained an artificial intelligence programme to ‘watch’ Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 space epic, breaking down frames and associated sound fragments. The AI then reconstructed the aggregated data into a full feature-length film through algorithms, using similarities in pixel size and colour. Frames within frames are compounded, creating fuzzy unfocused scenes, as though they were themselves dreams of the original film. These frames quake and tremble, the visualisation of an active thought process of a seemingly sentient creature. White, structure-like lines are animated, unable to hold a static position, revealing attempts to build form through repetition, a process similar to learning. An astronaut’s helmet and the glowing red dot of the HAL 9000 onboard computer appear but they escape into vibrating, coloured shapes and pixels, sorted and filtered. The sound, like radio interference that needs tuning, ranges from high-pitched shrieks to the howling of wind to silence. Low garbles and indistinguishable mutterings are alarming, almost as if Bogart’s AI were talking to itself. It’s presenting an interpretation of the film, not a representation, and as the film proceeds things only get more unnerving. <img width="1500" height="680" width_o="1500" height_o="680" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d9022f0847c61e43680abddfa28e26c2c853ea9e207a9c110cb73c68488969fd/2_Ben-Bogart_stills-from-Watching_2001-A-Space-Odyssey.jpg" data-mid="125632995" border="0" alt="Watching (2001: A Space Odyssey), 2021 (still). Courtesy the artist" data-caption="Watching (2001: A Space Odyssey), 2021 (still). Courtesy the artist" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d9022f0847c61e43680abddfa28e26c2c853ea9e207a9c110cb73c68488969fd/2_Ben-Bogart_stills-from-Watching_2001-A-Space-Odyssey.jpg" /> Watching (2001: A Space Odyssey), 2021 (still). Courtesy the artist Watching assesses the nature of cognition, reality, dreaming and the potential of artificial intelligence. By using 2001: A Space Odyssey Bogart plays on how familiar audiences are with the film’s iconic scenes (such as when the deranged HAL refuses to allow crewmember David Bowman back onto the Discovery One spacecraft). It raises questions about whether our knowledge processes are as objective as we might think. A viewer’s understanding of the work is based on knowledge of the original film – the only reference point for the artwork. But the ease with which we apply the film’s narrative to the artwork is precisely Bogart’s point. Our attempts at forming a narrative are destabilised by the visual an audio chaos. It forces the viewer to revaluate whether they are watching 2001: A Space Odyssey and to consider the software’s role in the interpretation of the film. <img width="1500" height="633" width_o="1500" height_o="633" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f5f68a73406bf0ce58e5173353b3114fe9ca4ed3d34c59c9cd2a57bdbf9b100c/Watching-Blade-Runner-2.jpg" data-mid="125632998" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f5f68a73406bf0ce58e5173353b3114fe9ca4ed3d34c59c9cd2a57bdbf9b100c/Watching-Blade-Runner-2.jpg" /> <img width="1500" height="684" width_o="1500" height_o="684" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4195dc63ea4e97e1d2567a5769af95420246bb3f68601293bb437fb32281e5f1/3_Ben-Bogart_stills-from-Watching_2001-A-Space-Odyssey.jpg" data-mid="125632996" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4195dc63ea4e97e1d2567a5769af95420246bb3f68601293bb437fb32281e5f1/3_Ben-Bogart_stills-from-Watching_2001-A-Space-Odyssey.jpg" /> <img width="1500" height="638" width_o="1500" height_o="638" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3acca5a1dae46dc16ec58a88a607fc9609f719a834cb3ae5b1f2ab2cedf3fc26/Watching-Blade-Runner-1.jpg" data-mid="125632997" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3acca5a1dae46dc16ec58a88a607fc9609f719a834cb3ae5b1f2ab2cedf3fc26/Watching-Blade-Runner-1.jpg" /> Watching (2001: A Space Odyssey), 2021 (still). Courtesy the artist Bogart has programmed the AI to categorise, creating a version of our own passive yet efficient modes of cognition. Presenting a version of these processes back to us makes it appear as if the technology is actively learning, showing a vision what a machine’s ‘subconscious’ might look like. This spirals into wondering whether, after future iterations, Bogart’s technology might learn about the murderous AI HAL just from ‘watching’ 2001: A Space Odyssey, merging science fiction with real life. It forms a frightening yet intensely fascinating artwork that keeps you watching. Ben Bogart’s Watching (2001: A Space Odyssey) is on view at Phoenix, Leicester, until 20 September. Watching (Blade&nbsp;Runner) runs 22 September – 18 October &nbsp; Amrit Doll 04 September 2021 https://theremark.co.uk/Words-with-Joey-Holder Thu, 25 Nov 2021 14:11:14 +0000 the remark https://theremark.co.uk/Words-with-Joey-Holder Words with: Joey Holder In Remark’s series of interviews with artists based in the East Midlands, Joey Holder reflects about living in Nottingham and working internationally <img width="1500" height="1010" width_o="1500" height_o="1010" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3e3a6cbe187a093d06d7c05d0bccfaa2c3be38031e88d5da2346c05f26896d4e/abyssal_seeker_joey_holder_film_still_3.jpg.png" data-mid="125634386" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3e3a6cbe187a093d06d7c05d0bccfaa2c3be38031e88d5da2346c05f26896d4e/abyssal_seeker_joey_holder_film_still_3.jpg.png" /> &nbsp; Joey Holder studied fine art at Goldsmiths, University of London, graduating in 2010. Born in London, she found a home in Nottingham, where she has lived for the last seven years.&nbsp; Her collaborations with scientists cover such topics as marine biology, exploring the complex world of human interaction with science and natural history. Her online and offline installations reinterpret hybrid environment taking influence from their locations and from current affairs. Holder has since exhibited widely in the UK and internationally. Meanwhile, she has worked to develop graduate initiatives outside of London to support early career artists. Holder has her studio at Nottingham’s BACKLIT Gallery; for Remark, BACKLIT’s Suzanne Golden asks Holder about the attraction of living in Nottingham, where her work draws the line between fact and fiction and what support art graduates need to survive the artworld… Suzanne Golden Semelparous (2019) and Abyssal Seeker (2021), currently on show in the British Art Show 9 at Aberdeen Art Gallery, are site specific video and soundscape installations. They’re about eels. Tell us about that. Joey Holder Semelparous (2019) is a work I made about the European Eel. I first found out about the species whilst on a research trip to South Korea, where I filmed an eel farm and began to learn about the species. I discovered that the European Eel swims 3,000 miles across the ocean once in its lifetime. It swims from Europe to the Sargasso Sea to breed and what’s fascinating is that scientists have never witnessed them breeding and they don’t know how they make the journey. I reference this in my work, to allude to the boundaries of human understanding, particularly of the natural world. In a Western framework, understanding is achieved through study, and we study things scientifically. I want to reveal the limits of that kind of knowledge, discover where it ends and where things become unknown. You know, nobody knows how these eels get there, nobody’s witnessed them breed, they go to this location, which they seem to know exists, as though it were in their genes. When something like this cannot be witnessed, and science fails us, reality becomes kind of speculative. <img width="894" height="1500" width_o="894" height_o="1500" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f761bb3b3efecf5901547626ec7ed7812290a1a9bd85cfdf97dd2eaa4ceb8378/joey-2.jpg" data-mid="125634387" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/894/i/f761bb3b3efecf5901547626ec7ed7812290a1a9bd85cfdf97dd2eaa4ceb8378/joey-2.jpg" /> Image: Joey Holder, 2021 SG: In your work there is a fine line between fact and fiction. One work in particular, Adcredo – The Deep Belief Network (2018), is suggestive of an underground tomb of unearthed truths, where do your ideas come from? JH: I don’t think the world is black and white, and I don’t believe in binary thinking. I’m not even sure whether I can distinguish between fact and fiction. I think it depends on the type of reality that you want to create and put out into the world. A lot of my work is based on these distortions of real-world events that take place, and my attempt to make sense of them. In 2015 when I started to research Adcredo – The Deep Belief Network, I became very scared about the situation unfolding at that time, particularly what I was observing on social media. There was a real divide developing, with people arguing over ideas that really shouldn’t be disputed. These platforms accelerate and enable negativity, it’s the way they’re set up, as if they were intended for that purpose. So I created a hellscape that reflected this. After investigating the political fallout of social media and online communications, I wanted to create a space that reflected the opposing voices, and all the personalities that inhabit these environments. So, I had Kanye West and Donald Trump, Putin and Pepe the Frog, and aliens, of course, and strange creatures that were all shouting together. <img width="1500" height="1000" width_o="1500" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9d0ac6975af22ec46aed60f6a5331e9fb13404774e8d494322a433ff80c94354/Joey_Holder_Adcredo_8.jpg" data-mid="125634388" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/9d0ac6975af22ec46aed60f6a5331e9fb13404774e8d494322a433ff80c94354/Joey_Holder_Adcredo_8.jpg" />Adcredo – The Deep Belief Network, 2018, installation view, QUAD, Derby. Photo: Damien Griffiths. Courtesy of the artist and QUAD, Derby SG: What are you currently working on now? JH: I’m working on adapting the Abyssal Seeker project for the Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts. The work is split into different zones of the deep sea. I don’t like to take a piece of work that’s already made and then transport it somewhere else without considering the context, I like to respond to that place and that environment. It’s much better if I can establish a connection with the location and the people and create something site-specific, especially if I can incorporate the locality, the architecture for instance. The work will evolve again and go on to the Biennale of Sydney early next year. SG: Why have you chosen to live in Nottingham? JH: I was in London before, and I think I would’ve had a breakdown if I’d stayed any longer. I was quite confused as to where to go. I mean, I knew that I had to leave. In 2014 I had the opportunity to do a six-month residency at Near Now, a programme based at Nottingham’s Broadway Cinema, supporting digital art and innovation. I kind of fell in love with the place. It has great access to the Peak District, it’s great to be able to get to green spaces quickly. It’s a very different scene to London. I felt in London everything centred on having an art career. I really feel in like Nottingham I have a lot more head space, and time for people and friendships. <img width="1500" height="1000" width_o="1500" height_o="1000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e0af8d59a7d93ff7531400a1f1da6547398269d212052a8a9717b7aedb0e149f/Semelparous_Joey_Holder_3-copy.jpg" data-mid="125634389" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e0af8d59a7d93ff7531400a1f1da6547398269d212052a8a9717b7aedb0e149f/Semelparous_Joey_Holder_3-copy.jpg" /> <img width="1500" height="1010" width_o="1500" height_o="1010" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3e3a6cbe187a093d06d7c05d0bccfaa2c3be38031e88d5da2346c05f26896d4e/abyssal_seeker_joey_holder_film_still_3.jpg.png" data-mid="125634386" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3e3a6cbe187a093d06d7c05d0bccfaa2c3be38031e88d5da2346c05f26896d4e/abyssal_seeker_joey_holder_film_still_3.jpg.png" /> Abyssal Seeker [Demersal Zone], 2021. Image: Damien Griffiths. Courtesy of the artist and Seventeen, London and&nbsp;Semelparous, 2020, Spring Health Leisure Centre, London. Image: Damien Griffiths. Courtesy of the artist and Julia Greenway SG:&nbsp;You started Chaos Magic in Nottingham in 2017, an artist-run space offering a research and learning programme for recent graduates, peer-to-peer support and mentorships. Why did you set this up and what was the most significant event that took place? JH: Running an artist space came out of a desire to do more than just produce exhibitions. I wanted to support artists and focus on them, but I didn’t want to make a platform just for their CV. I wanted to create an environment where they felt enabled to continue making work; a supportive space that focused on skill-sharing and community, and somewhere they felt safe and encouraged to chat about their practice and ideas. I think this desire came from my own experience of feeling very lost after I graduated and not having that opportunity and support. On a degree course you have all this time, and education and structure, and then suddenly it’s cut off. Some memorable events have been Ghost Camp in 2019 organised by The Mycological Twist (a project investigatingpermaculture extensions to an exhibition space), where the Chaos Magic group went to Sherwood Forest to camp and reimagine traditional mythology through workshops. Contributors, artists and researchers joined the camp with readings, cooking sessions, troll stories, mushroom paper-making and foraging. It’s about spending time together and really making those connections, to feel comfortable and learn together. We were in conversation with someone delivering permaculture workshops. We were offered a public green space in Nottingham, an old Victorian entrance to a sewage works that’s always been known as ‘the Curious Tower’.We’ve been using the space to grow veg and herbs, with public walks and workshops for local people. Just going somewhere, to look after something, having that connection with nature is really important. SG: Tell us a little bit about SPUR, a virtual online residency platform that you started in 2020 to bring together international graduates; how did this come about? JH: I worked with Omsk Social Club in Berlin to develop SPUR. Omsk Social Club use Live Action Role Play (Larp) and Real Game Play (RGP) to create states that could potentially be fiction, or a yet unlived reality for the players. The virtual digital platform is intended as a revolt against the art world and this culture of competition that exists where everyone is out for themselves. We wanted to destroy the artist-ego. SPUR is entirely focused on people working together and building connections. To begin with, Omsk Social Club placed the participants in a roleplay exercise: they couldn’t enter as themselves, they had to create a pseudo identity, a new character for them to inhabit. The interactions were all through an online platform that we set up, and they couldn’t reveal their real identity while on this platform. It was really interesting as it allowed us all to let go of any baggage that we carried with us. Everyone became much more of a collective body. In total there were 14 different virtual worlds created that could be accessed through the SPUR world website. We’re now working on SPUR 2.0 with FACT in Liverpool and Arebyte in London, I’m really excited about the possibilities of SPUR and how it continues to evolve and develop. Joey Holder is currently participating in British Art Show 9, currently at Aberdeen Art Gallery until 10 October. The 34th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts runs 10 September – 21 November. Suzanne Golden&nbsp; 04 September 2021 https://theremark.co.uk/Arit-Emmanuela-Etukudo-The-Christening Thu, 25 Nov 2021 14:28:59 +0000 the remark https://theremark.co.uk/Arit-Emmanuela-Etukudo-The-Christening Arit Emmanuela Etukudo: The Christening The representation of black women’s bodies and the artist’s lived experience are at the heart of a show at New Art Exchange, Nottingham <img width="1500" height="844" width_o="1500" height_o="844" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/daa9e21495093178af8070984b9195955bccc86b0f811e2500976258810870fd/8.-Arit_Etukudo_The_Christening_NAE_video-still--2019.jpg" data-mid="125635752" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/daa9e21495093178af8070984b9195955bccc86b0f811e2500976258810870fd/8.-Arit_Etukudo_The_Christening_NAE_video-still--2019.jpg" /> Arit Emmanuela Etukudo is a Nigerian-American artist whose work encompasses video, image, text and performance. As a storyteller, she often combines self-portraiture with installation. The Christening, her first solo show in the UK, consists of two connected installations, The Things It Carried (2021) and The Christening (2019). In both works, she reframes ways in which black women’s bodies can exist, a signature theme in her work. <img width="1495" height="831" width_o="1495" height_o="831" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fbddda2064721386865cd16d0e0e4e3a29c64ce259f2bd0f91b8ee2e8ba6da25/6.-Arit_Etukudo_The_Christening_NAE_video-still--2019.jpg" data-mid="125635753" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fbddda2064721386865cd16d0e0e4e3a29c64ce259f2bd0f91b8ee2e8ba6da25/6.-Arit_Etukudo_The_Christening_NAE_video-still--2019.jpg" /> The Christening, 2019, video still. Courtesy the artist and New Art Exchange, Nottingham On entering the first room, the darkness calls you to silence as your eyes adjust. A series of six spot-lit digital self-portraits, suspended at angles from metal rods, hangs over a mound of black sand in the far corner of the small room. As the viewer moves across the room, the shifting light allows each portrait in The Things It Carried (2021) to reveal itself. Here, the artist has transmogrified and reformed images of herself, with multiple limbs and heads, whirling in meditative, ecstatic or sublime states. The effect is corporeal rather than fleshy, reconfigured rather than dissected, inviting consideration of the newly presented forms in their entirety, rather than their constituent parts. A sense of self-knowledge and self-containment is contained in repeated gestures of caress and touch. Hands seek and search in space – undefined by scale or landscape – unbound by nature or gravity, as if emancipated from the material world, responding to other forces at play. It is as if these female forms divine their environment in new ways, ways for which there is not yet a word. This is not a story of what is seen but of what is experienced, not what the body is but how the body is. Here, time is suspended, enhanced by the soundtrack of spoken word and long held notes that call from the next room. In The Christening (2019), the light from a low wide projection screen shines on a barely visible object below. On closer inspection, a large box is half buried in another mound of black sand, partitioned off from the viewer by a rope. Inside the box, water covers a series of carefully arranged miniature white clay face casts, some slowly dissolving into mounds of powder, others somehow protected. It is as if museum artefacts had been left outside on a strange landscape to decay. The surface of the water reflects the moving image from the screen above, giving further expression to the shifting material and existential states hinted at in the previous room. <img width="1500" height="844" width_o="1500" height_o="844" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ac051006713266f1cea97578ace9049c27f84b90023ff7fca492a2ac5d6e6ee3/7.-Arit_Etukudo_The_Christening_NAE_video-still--2019.jpg" data-mid="125635751" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/ac051006713266f1cea97578ace9049c27f84b90023ff7fca492a2ac5d6e6ee3/7.-Arit_Etukudo_The_Christening_NAE_video-still--2019.jpg" /> The Christening, 2019, video still. Courtesy the artist and New Art Exchange, Nottingham Water is presented as both matter and metaphor. On the screen, a story of a moment of near-drowning is recounted in text and voiceover. The voiceover leads the viewer with the question “Do you remember the birth?” The question-and-response narrative that follows implies this drowning may not have been accidental. Moving images heighten the quality of otherworldliness shared with The Things It Carried. Through Etukudo’s visual vocabulary formed of gestural choreography, the experience of near-drowning isdissected, interpreted and reconstructed. Through this deeply personal story of loss and salvation, she conveys a broader narrative of the fearlessness that is born from invisibility. This short video calls to be seen again. <img width="1500" height="938" width_o="1500" height_o="938" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8067a6f4752b429f38f8f48083253f9cb19683f2d66efd4ceac4a9cfa582e451/2.-Arit_Etukudo_The_Christening_NAE.JPG" data-mid="125635750" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8067a6f4752b429f38f8f48083253f9cb19683f2d66efd4ceac4a9cfa582e451/2.-Arit_Etukudo_The_Christening_NAE.JPG" /> The Things it Carried, 2021, installation view. Image: Tom Morley. Courtesy the artist and New Art Exchange, Nottingham Through layering text, image and sound, and by putting her own body at the centre of The Christening, Etukudo articulates new ground for the visibility and representation of black women’s bodies. It is achieved through the construction of a stylised visual vocabulary of the female form, the seeking and finding of which is tangible in her work. In these two multi-media installations, Etukudo demonstrates she is a poetic story-teller. Arit Emmanuela Etukudo: The Christening is at New Art Exchange, Nottingham until 9 October Sarah Tutt&nbsp; 04&nbsp;September 2021 https://theremark.co.uk/FORMAT21-Control Thu, 25 Nov 2021 14:43:53 +0000 the remark https://theremark.co.uk/FORMAT21-Control FORMAT21 - Control Derby’s FORMAT international photography festival presents a new interactive online exhibition platform <img width="1920" height="830" width_o="1920" height_o="830" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/34d65f10ccd2109715091414c0112db985f033a4da6a37e1198dbabae7819e5c/6.-FORMAT21-Here-There-and-Everywhere-Sipho-Gongxeka.png" data-mid="125645007" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/34d65f10ccd2109715091414c0112db985f033a4da6a37e1198dbabae7819e5c/6.-FORMAT21-Here-There-and-Everywhere-Sipho-Gongxeka.png" /> FORMAT is a biennial International Photography Festival based in Derby celebrating contemporary photography and related media, organised by QUAD and the University of Derby’s Digital and Material Artistic Research Centre. The festival has presented work in over 30 Derby venues, since May. With this edition, to extend the festival online, FORMAT has worked with online gallery platform New Art City to develop a new interactive digital exhibition platform, FORMAT21. It goes without saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought challenges to many cultural institutions and festivals, and this year’s iteration is aptly titled Control. As the title suggests, the festival addresses ideas around power and moral ambiguity, reflecting a point in time where things appear noticeably out of control. 20 virtual ‘galleries’ are showing over 160 international artists. The online environment is presented as a navigable 3D spaces in which works are displayed in virtual environments. The emergence of a contemporary photography exhibition that incorporates something akin to game mechanics to influence interactions and motivations seems a necessary development. In the same vein that art can be immersive, surprising and at times uncomfortable, gaming uses these techniques to engage players into hours of play. Efforts to gamify exhibitions and increase audience engagement are by no means new: for example, Tate Worlds produced a Minecraft-esque gaming platform which launched in 2015 as a series of 3D maps inspired by their collection. <img width="1500" height="648" width_o="1500" height_o="648" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8c7f6fb628ce83b34ee3218a460022b2f40e016b5a2f46a6d255427a7b1ec864/4.-FORMAT21-Toyama-Hiroto-Pietro-Lo-Casto.jpg" data-mid="125637016" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/8c7f6fb628ce83b34ee3218a460022b2f40e016b5a2f46a6d255427a7b1ec864/4.-FORMAT21-Toyama-Hiroto-Pietro-Lo-Casto.jpg" /> Room 17, with works by Pietro Lo Casto, (screenshot). Courtesy the artist and FORMAT21 The opening night of FORMAT21 online welcomed thousands of visitors as avatars who could interact together and view video and photography together, accompanied by a ‘virtual DJ’ set by American Artist Juliana Huxtable. Huxtable’s work can be found in Room 01, in a show titled Matrix – fluid bodies, unlimited thoughts, curated by Marina Paulenka. Huxtable’s work seeks out the limits of contemporary discourse regarding identity, technology, and Queer subcultures. In her photographic installation Interfertility Industrial Complex 3 (2019) she is both maker and muse of sexualised portraits of pan-gendered human-animal hybrids. Her work addresses ways in which a transfeminine body – specifically her body – is subject to relentless scrutiny both by herself and the world around her. <img width="1500" height="693" width_o="1500" height_o="693" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f1053cb1999cc0dbd69666f9aed31a3bea6b4b588b98e44601b3657e37646170/5.-FORMAT1_Juliana-Huxtable.jpg" data-mid="125637018" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f1053cb1999cc0dbd69666f9aed31a3bea6b4b588b98e44601b3657e37646170/5.-FORMAT1_Juliana-Huxtable.jpg" /> Room 01, 'Matrix - fluid bodies, unlimited thoughts', featuring works by Tabita Rezaire, Juliana Huxtable and Martine Gutierrez (screenshot) Courtesy the artists and FORMAT21 FORMAT21 online does well in breaking down the borders of what photography is, and building new and other-worldly environments to show it in. One of the most playful approaches can be found in Room 07 where Macdonald Strand’s Most popular of All Time (2019) invites the audience to participate in a game of painting by numbers over a selection of &nbsp;iconic images from twentieth-century history depicting violence, war, poverty and revolution, which are then uploaded and displayed over the duration of the exhibition. <img width="1500" height="845" width_o="1500" height_o="845" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/09c72db1aa97d293ecab2a37d7c6b7f2d5bdc6e3fe0095a5f8270db814fb4b39/6.-FORMAT3_Macdonald-and-Strand..jpg" data-mid="125637013" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/09c72db1aa97d293ecab2a37d7c6b7f2d5bdc6e3fe0095a5f8270db814fb4b39/6.-FORMAT3_Macdonald-and-Strand..jpg" /> Macdonald and Strand, Most popular of All Time, 2019, from Room 07 (screenshot). Courtesy the artist and FORMAT21 Speaking with FORMAT’s director Louise Fedotov-Clements about the possibilities and challenges of working and inhabiting this online territory, she explained how “enormous amount of time went into making the rooms where all the assets and components can be controlled. It was like building a new art centre.” The power dynamics between curator and artist were expanded as many artists were invited to install artworks together in this unusual curatorial frame. Does this mean that there is a strong appetite for these types of audience interactions? The online guest book registers a stream of positive reviews, with over 80,000 visitors since March. Not all the interactions have been straightforward, however. Clements admits that “some people couldn’t access or use the space. This could be down to the inability to learn how to navigate the controls or that their internet connection wasn’t strong enough.” Many art organisations have found that as the pandemic forced programming to move online, the gap between those who have access to the internet and those who don’t has never been so evident. It’s a misconception that in the UK many people have become more digitally literate during the pandemic. This is a fundamental conversation that the art world needs to be having to ensure that when their doors close, producers are thinking as much about bandwidth requirements as they are lamenting their unseen physical exhibitions. Thankfully FORMAT21 is taking these considerations into account when planning their future public programmes. It’s an incredible achievement in such unprecedented times. FORMAT21 isn’t just a website but a space for imagining a new types of access. FORMAT21 – Control is online until March 2023 Matthew Chesney&nbsp; 04 September 2021