REVIEW: [Mona Hatoum/Performing for the Camera] @ Tate Modern

Mona Hatoum (4 May - 21 August 2016)
Performing for the Camera (18 February - 12 June 2016)
Tate Modern, London

I popped down to Tate Modern recently for the Mona Hatoum exhibition and whilst I was there, I also had a look around the photography and performance exhibition 'Performing for the Camera'.

Mona Hatoum has been one of my favourite artists since I first started taking art seriously at A Level. Her work commands your attention and at times has a very confrontational presence; it's unsettling, it's visceral and yet poetic too. I have seen a select few pieces of her work over the years, but I was really looking forward to seeing a whole exhibit devoted to her practice.

One of my personal highlights was the installation "Light Sentence" (as in prison sentences), as often Hatoum's work displays political and social undertones. In between a barricade of small cages stacked on top one another, a single light bulb swings in the centre. The projected light from the bulb creates an encompassing surrounding shadow cast around the entire room, transforming it into a 'prison-like' chamber. I think what really worked so well about this piece was the subtle movement of the shadows panning across the walls. The light bulb not only swings like a pendulum, but also moves slowly up and down and the consequent movement of the shadows on the wall makes you feel like you are moving - or swaying. It creates a sense of unsteadiness. The other obvious association I immediately made was feeling like I was in an interrogation room. We've all seen scenes like this in film, where a character wakes up in a dark room, a sinister bulb swings erratically and reveals the character's predicament under confinement or capture. There was something dreamy or illusive about the shadows creating an isolated cell, in comparison to the actual physical barricade in the middle of the room. It felt like being in the point of view of someone slightly hazy.

Another piece I really enjoyed for it's simplicity is '+ and -' (1994/2004). A circular container of sand has a rotating beam that simultaneously smooths and rakes the sand. This is described as a constant process of making and unmaking, a balance of two processes doing and undoing at the same time. I just found this to be really poetic but articulated in such a simple way.



As I mentioned I was at Tate Modern for the Mona Hatoum exhibition, but then I noticed the photography exhibition on and decided to take a look. I really enjoyed this exhibition too. It deconstructs performative acts for photography and allows us to see some of the outtakes or additional shots leading up an iconic image.

"Serious performance art, portraiture, or simply posing for a photograph? What does it mean to perform for the camera? The exhibition explores two forms, looking at how performance artists use photography and how photography in itself is a performance."

This exhibition featured some obvious names in the realm of performance and photography including Charles Ray, Yves Klein, Martin Parr, Erwin Wurm and Ai Wei Wei just to name a few. I really enjoyed this exhibition. I think that it offered a different perception of the artists involved - especially the process and technique to which they choose to use photography to capture an image or an artwork. Especially now where photography is such an accessible and convenient channel of documentation and creativity - it lends itself to some great possibilities.

PRACTICE: Spring is in Bloom

I've been trying to practice my drawing a lot more recently. So I've been doing some simple line drawings to practice getting form, shape and proportion right. I also do love using colour in my paintings, which is unusual because I hardly use colour in my installation work. I find using watercolours is a very easy way of utilising colour vividly, but I'm hoping to get a good set of inks to play with instead.

I really like traditional Chinese painting and I'm hoping that one day I'll be able to give it a go. But until then, I'm emanating the style a little with some brightly coloured peonies. Pretty much all I use when I draw is a good old Sharpie pen, and I've always enjoyed drawing with pen more than pencil.

REVIEW: [Pick Me Up] Graphic Arts Festival @ Somerset House

Pick Me Up Graphics Arts Festival
Embankment Galleries, Somerset House
21 April - 2 May 2016

Somerset House hosted the annual graphic arts festival 'Pick Me Up' which is currently in its seventh year running. It's a fantastic opportunity to showcase emerging and established artists, studios and collectives. Last year was the first time I came along to this festival, and I absolutely adored the experience. The Embankment galleries became a web of live workshops and stalls, selling anything from prints, zines, clothing and more. As well as that, you get to see the designers in action and watch the creative process, and possibly get something custom made. Because of how much I enjoyed myself last year, I had high hopes for the festival this time round.

The festival begins with a curated exhibit featuring a selection of upcoming artists, A couple of my favourites included Alice Bowsher with her simple but strong black ink drawings, and Aart-Jan Venema's colourful and detailed compositions. Alice Bowsher happened to be the illustrator in residence for the day, and was selling her paintings for £15 a piece.

INDUSTRY: An Overview of the MA Art & Science Course, Central Saint Martins

MA Art & Science
Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London
Duration: 2 Years
http://www.artsciencecsm.com/

So when people ask me what I most recently studied, and I answer with "art and science", they either look understandably baffled, or vaguely impressed. The question I always get asked the most is: what's this course about? What exactly is "art and science"?

I enrolled on the art and science course in the 3rd year of it's fruition. The course had been developed within the MA fine art department by course leader Nathan Cohen. As a relatively new course, I think it's safe to say that the answer to the question was simply us. The students. The course at this point, didn't really have an identity as such. That identity was still very much open for interpretation and because of that, the course was great in some ways but lacking in others.

PRACTICE: Drawing from Nature

I've always been inspired by nature and it's beautiful forms. I collect all matter of seeds, dried flowers, pebbles, mineral rocks and other natural ephemera for inspiration. I have recently developed a huge love of succulents and cacti. A friend of mine also collected them, and often described them as "sculptural" because of their countless interesting shapes and textures. Now that I have started a collection of my own, I really understand what she meant. I am enamoured by how many varieties there are, and how they can influence my drawings.

Since being at art school, I became out of touch with drawing and painting regularly. I drew analytical diagrams and plans for my installation work as a logistical way of thinking and problem solving. Therefore I didn't realise how much I missed it. What I've noticed at art school is that simple skills such as drawing are not really taught anymore or encouraged. Which I understand because there are so many other contemporary methods of creating now. But I feel every creative individual can feel a sense of satisfaction in going back to the simple act of drawing. I really missed the tactility of putting pencil/pen to paper , and the immediacy of seeing something evolve. If there's anything I would like to do more of, it's draw.

INDUSTRY: [The Lab Project Residency] @ Kingsgate Workshops, London

The Lab Project, curated by Test Bed

Supported by Kingsgate Workshops & Camden Arts Centre

25 July - 20 August 2015

Artists: Vivienne Du, Rose Pickles and Yen-Ting Cho

http://thelabproject.tumblr.com/

https://www.facebook.com/thelabproject15

A couple months ago, I was invited to take part in a residency revolving around the themes of Multisensory Perception & Synesthesia. The residency promoted an experimental ethos that would allow the artists to come to a final conclusion through a series of experimental stimuli.

For my first ever residency, it went really well. It was certainly challenging at times, as putting up an exhibition will never appear to go smoothly, but I always learn a lot from every one I do. The team who curated the show from Camden Arts Centre too were fantastic, I felt really supported every step of the way, and they were very enthusiastic about my ideas.

REVIEW: [Richard Serra] @ Gagosian Gallery, London

Richard Serra
Gagosian Gallery, Britannia Street, London
11 October 2014 - 4 March 2015

The Gagosian Gallery, London recently exhibited a few select works by the renowned sculptor Richard Serra, perhaps most recognisable for his large scale steel installations. This exhibition was no different as the gallery featured the following works 'Backdoor Pipeline', 'Ramble', 'Dead Load' and 'London Cross'.

As is often the case with Serra's work, the sheer scale and mass of his sculptures dominate the space as you pass through it. The presence of these enormous forms have a breathtaking exchange that is only experienced face to face. It is only with such an interaction that you truly acknowledge and embody the physical grounding of the material and scale that Serra tends to work in.

Ramble (2014) by Richard Serra. Photograph by Mike Bruce

Ramble (2014) consists of a room filled with rows of oblong shaped forms that vary in size but are generally large enough to match the average height of a visitor or tower a few inches above. This immediately creates an interesting synergy between the viewer and Serra's forms, as we are made to create an instant relationship between us and this series of sculpture. The layout of these objects feels maze-like and one is compelled to meander their way through the plane of steel blocks. The distance between the blocks in some places is just wide enough to accommodate, once again emphasising the scale of the work in direct relation to the viewer. As well as appreciating the scale of each of these forms, I often felt a desire to touch them and truly appreciate their materiality and surface. There is obviously a fascination Serra has with steel and his repeated use of this material focuses the viewer's attention on just how this material functions and presents itself.