STATEMENT
A SUMMER AS MARK DION'S GULL GIRL
*Folkestone Triennial publicity imageInvolvement with Mark Dion's Mobile Gull Appreciation Unit started way in back in February of this year, beginning with six weeks of frantic fact finding, phoning, emailing and frankly, begging. Gull appreciators are a rare breed, even in the world of Ornithology so a thorough search throughout Kent and the South East insued to find people willing to contribute crucial information and illustrations for the accompanying field guide that was to form such a vital part of the artwork. The end result was a run of a thousand beautiful A6 booklets reminiscent of 1950's 'Eye Spy' guides containing all the information a newly-converted gull appreciator could wish to know about these fascinating, but deeply misunderstood birds.
The tireless campaign to inform, educate and entertain both locals and visitors alike began in earnest on 13th June and ran for almost 100 long days. Many people flocked to the big bird initially because it was such a spectacle as it moved around the town. However, as local residents got used to spotting the G.A.U. on the move it began to function as intended. A real measure of the artwork's success became apparent as the log books filled up not only with sightings but with anecdotes, 'gull crime reports', illustrations, photos and most importantly, humour.
The Mobile Gull has been recently adopted by the RSPC to help with their campaign, 'driven by a passionate belief that we all have a responsibility to protect birds and the environment.' www.rspb.org.uk
CLUB SHEPWAY AT THE ART CAR BOOT FAIR
Please click on the Art Car Boot Fair link for full details
'The Art Car BootFair was an idea that grew out of a desire to pick up where Joshua Compston’s ‘Fete Worse than Death’ and Gavin Turk’s ‘Livestock Market’ and Articultural Shows’ blazed a trail in the 90’s and to re-introduce some summer fun and frivolity into a thriving but increasingly commercial London art scene. We aim for the Art Car Boot Fair to be a day when the artists let their hair down and for all-comers to engage with art in a totally informal way, and to pick up some real art bargains to boot! Participation in the Art Car Boot Fair is by invitation and referral by original ‘booters’ only.'
Along with the likes of Gavin Turk, Sir Peter Blake, Bob & Roberta Smith, LeGun, and darlings of the Triennial - Public Works, Folkestone's own Club Shepway were honoured to take part in this years prestigious Art Car Boot Fair at the Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane. We travelled in style courtesy of Cut the Cackle Mobile Gallery.
HUGGING FOR THE ENGLISH
SARAH CHRISTENSEN - JODIE COOPER - DAN DAVIES - BEN FLETCHER - VICTORIA FOSTER - LISA HALL - SIOBHAN MCGHEE
Please see www.hugging-for-the-english.blogspot.com for full details
Hugging for the English was a group exhibition located at Substation, Margate. The exhibition aimed to transcend the boundaries between viewer and artwork to the extent that without the viewer, much of the works would remain incomplete. Many of the works and events were inspired by various different influences from within the town itself. Whilst it was situated in present-day Margate, the past was not forgotten.
1. Lisa Hall 2. Dan Davies 3. Victoria Foster
THE RETURN OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER
Please click on the O-Collective link to view full details
Victoria Foster used the B&B gallery as an installation space to present a collection of hand-crafted porcelain barnacles. Barnacles are often found in artificial symbiosis with man-made structures, often to the structure’s detriment. In this case these barnacles will be grew in the crevices of the gallery, attaching themselves to the floor, wall, and furniture.
This interplay between structural entropy and organic growth can be seen as a metaphor of the current situation in Folkestone, a seaside town poised between disrepair and regeneration. The installation of this site-specific piece, with its historical and social considerations, provided a space for debate of these various local issues.
1. Mark Heywood 2. Victoria Foster 3. Ceci Lombardi
'Voyage of Discovery' BBC Collective Review by Freire Barnes
'On 21 December 1872, the HMS Challenger sailed from Portsmouth on a three-year voyage of marine exploration. On 30 June 2007 three emerging artists – members of the O-Collective - embarked on their own adventure, that of transforming a little gallery space in Folkestone. Part parlor and part scientific display space, the former B&B now houses organic watercolour studies by Ceci Lombardi that look as if they have been dragged up from the bottom of the ocean.
Victoria Foster heightens the submarine theme, her handcrafted porcelain barnacles taking up residence in any nook and cranny, invading the space with their mouldy crust. Far more clinical is Mark Hayward's 11-part screenprint presenting the cohesive progression of 19th-century ship design. With his animation showreel - Boom! Boom! Boom! being the most humorous – all that is needed is a stick of rock and windswept hair for the perfect English seaside experience.'
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)