The opening evening was a great success with music from Clockwork Radio!
Saturday 8 December 2012
Sally Price
Kitchen Specimens
Over 10,000,000 bacteria fester in the
average kitchen sponge. Alarming as this sounds, in reality we live with their
presence every day without mass panic or fear. Is this because we can't see
them?
I am experimenting with the clash between
desire and disgust, curiosity and revulsion, to create uncomfortably alluring
tactile pieces. Bacterial formations are beautiful but it feels wrong to admire
something that can be such a threat to our bodies. I have translated this
invisible build up of germs into an encrusted, lavish embellishment, using
colours found in both cleaning products and dyed microbe specimens. The meeting
of clean and unclean becomes uncomfortable but strangely appealing.
The use of everyday objects in my work plays
on recognition, and leads to the ordinary becoming extraordinary. I am
re-examining the things around us- what they suggest and how we react to them.
Joy Morris
Decoding the Unnoticed
(On-going project)
To me, the Northern Quarter is a place of
hidden gems: vintage shops to stumble across, charming record shops, and tucked
away cafes. In my work I look at the truly hidden aspects of our city within
the unnoticed and unwanted marks we often pass.
I work from found and uncontrolled visuals
such as peeled paint, torn posters and cracked paving. To illustrate my
interest in these unintended marks I apply time consuming and systematic
processes to further the uncontrollable nature of these surroundings.
In my work I convert my photographs into code
and translate randomised symbols into visually complex pieces. I am attempting
to create eye capturing pieces using usually overlooked marks.
Using a system of chance to decide their
placement, I have separated and scattered a series of six tiles around the
Northern Quarter. These pieces can either be stumbled across or looked for
using a map I have provided.
I have no control over the temporary nature
of putting my work outside however all photographs can be found on my blog.
Becky Smyllie
In an exploration of our closest surroundings,
clothing became a main focus.
A recognisable form such as the ladder in a
pair of tights is translated on to parts of the body where it wouldn’t normally
be found.
Using the hand as a sculptural form I played
with the idea of these forms being part of the skin. Contorting in a fierce and
unnatural manner.
Body painting is a process that emphasises
revealed skin working in harmony with the image of laddered tights.
However unwanted they are I found myself
ripping new holes to investigate the forms and patterns further.
Sophie Brown
‘Reconstruction from Deconstruction’
An exploration in to the rips and tares of
worn Denim.
This unique fabric has its own beautiful way
of aging, the weave wears and brakes in such a manner that creates fantastic
patterns and inspirational compositions. I have studied this natural
deconstruction, taking inspiration from the designs and reconstructing them.
Using the warp and weft of the base denim to hand stitch with, the imagery pick
up on the rough holes and the linier weave when its’ opposite is removed.
Isabella Leonard
Unwanted
souls
I
am exploring the connotations of old, worn shoes as a medium. By freshly embroidering dirty soles and
broken uppers, their form and function is reinvented as they hide and display
strange characters from differing cultures.
Traditional, cheeky garden gnomes and the Mexican dancing creatures
evoke playful spirits. Both have
illustrative charm, form and vibrant colour but sometimes sinister
connotations. Garden gnomes can be left
to rot outside. Mexican ceremonies
celebrating spirits inspire thoughts of pagan or voodoo ritual. The shoe itself has travelled and the unknown
wearer’s presence is evident.
The
slow process of hand stitch with worn shoes references time passing and waste
from popular culture. A rotting relic is
created. Taking motifs from very
different cultures and combining them with a repelling material, the longevity
of handcraft is reconsidered as designs are re sewn again today.
Lydia Williams
“threads
of green”
This
piece of work concludes an in-depth study of the native lichens of North Wales,
specifically those that grow in the forest around Abergwyngregyn.
I
have explored traditional hand and machine techniques in order to produce work
that is sensitive to the organic fluid forms of the lichens and their colour.
From
the beginning I have used weave as a way for me to channel my desire to
construct a surface and mix colour. I find the process of transforming string
into cloth fascinating. In order to create a shifting of colour within my woven
samples I have hand painted the warp before weaving. This unpredictable colour
mixing between the warp and weft threads is what reflects the variable colour
of the lichens.
The
Cornelli machine allows me to be fluid and gestural with my stitch. Working
from drawings and photographs I was able to be spontaneous with the lichen
forms. Combining this exploration of the drawn shape of the lichens with the hand
stitched surface detail has created beautiful forms that exaggerate the size,
surface and colours of the lichens.
Bridget Schilizzi
My
work follows my keen interest in textiles and found materials to explore line
and colour. It is drawing based and influences include the abstract
impressionists, Arte Povera and painters such as Cy Twombly.
This
piece grew from drawings I made inspired by a photo of a small segment of
chain-link fence where the wire had been wrapped with red wool. The effect was
to draw the viewer to consider that piece of fence but also to what was beyond.
Was the fence protecting against the unwanted? Someone inside or the observer?
Like the fence, the blanket offers protection, not from intruders but from the
elements. By using an old blanket, and found pieces of knitting and wool as
metaphors for the unwanted, the unwanted becomes transformed into something to
keep and to treasure.
b.schilizzi@btinternet.com
Elizabeth Jane Winstanley
Vagrant
City
A
wanderer who has no place to go, lost and lonely. A past filled with bad
decisions and selfishness or neglect and abuse? Rubbish discarded, worthless,
materialistic world, non-forgiving and taking every day for granted. Cold, damp
and dingy walking the ghostly streets of a concrete towering jungle. Urban
grey’s, blacks, browns and growing greens dashed with the electric glow of a
socially structured organism working to buy those rapidly mass produced
‘things’. Hard, crisp angles tarnished with a polluted cloud, engulfed with the
fuel of a deteriorating race.
Geometric
precision, precise and perfect forming a ninety degree angled world of clear
cut lines. An inner city lined with dangerous humans not of this world, animalistic
in their ways, unpredictable and threatening our very lives and mental awareness
every day. A shaped and mastered place with contrasting palettes of smoothly
expensive surfaces and fragile glass glazed to enchant the calm essence of the
country into the dwelling of chaos.
liz.winstanley@btinternet.com
Harriet Lawton
In his poem ‘The
Cigarette’ Francis Ponge explores the comforting nature of this object,
describing it as
‘a tiny torch… a
glowing tip, scaling off in silver
flaked, the newest
one forming a close muff around it.’
Created
entirely from discarded cigarette butts and packets, this work aims to highlight
the reliance upon cigarettes, an object which provides a quilt-like comfort to
many. It examines the way in which the habit litters our streets, creating a
carpeted surface which is echoed here in patchwork. Most significantly, it
reveals the hidden treasures inside these found objects and transforms them
from objects of disgust into objects of beauty.
NIna Citrine
My work is based on exploring the British
seaside, using Brighton and New Brighton seaside resorts as my base of
research. As the coast can be considered a place of freedom and happiness, I
wanted to compare and contrast the differences between these two resorts. With
traditional scenes of the seaside used in popular culture, my work shows the
destruction of the British seaside over decades and the haven it once was for
fun and freedom. History is a key element to my collages; by bringing the old
and new together, I hope to create a sense of nostalgia and narrative from the
photographs I use.
ninaindia2010@hotmail.co.uk
Lydia Woolley
Using
photographs as a primary source and being inspired by natural rural landscapes
of abandoned open spaces like fields and farms, my weave samples represent the
connotations of rust, decay and the unwanted. Taking into consideration
contrasting surfaces such as a raised/flat or a rough/shiny texture, the
distinct colour blocks and the hidden patterns that are not so obvious to see,
the chosen threads and technique structures replicate these key features.
lydia-07@hotmail.co.uk
Sarah Walton
Exploring and experimenting with rust as a
medium for mark making against denim. The rusted orange marks are
representative of the coloured stitching used on denim jeans. Each piece
produces its own unique and unpredictable composition as it dries. The process
begins with submerging fabric in salt water and vinegar, an aid to corrode the
metals faster. A selection of found metal objects is then placed on top and the
mixture is left until completely evaporated. As the metals corrode a murky
orange mark is left against the fabric, broken up by the crisp white of the
salt which becomes crystallised during the evaporation process. On this small,
fragile scale the appearance of rust is changed and becomes precious and
delicate.
sarahelizabethwalton.blogspot.com
Rosie Millar
These
images explore the visibility of the surface, its structure and restructure.
They derive from a project based upon themes surrounding lace, where I examined
ideas of relief and the notion of the visible and the unseen. Using everyday
objects, such as elastic bands, paper clips and drawing pins, I created shibori
samples which translated form and dimension. These outcomes marry my initial
influences and play with the ideas I have explored – forms of relief and
structure, the opacity and visibility of a surface and the creation of an
intimate landscape through fabric manipulation. Photographing my work aided me
in establishing the surface as a landscape, as well as allowing me to create a
second surface, through shadows. It has enabled me to deceptively convey scale
and form, as well as allowing me to act as a mediator between a viewer and the
original piece.
rosiemillar@yahoo.co.uk
Stephanie Estall-Knight
Re-considering the unwanted warranted an
investigation into the environmental waste created by the textile industry. The
impact of pollution from insecticides, pesticides and the wastewater from
chemical dyeing is shocking.
The Pearl river in Xintang, China is now
indigo from the waste water created from producing indigo jeans and can be seen
from space. A massive 25% of the world’s
insecticides are used on cotton farming, causing serious health implications
for workers.
My work aims to reflect what can be achieved
within the textile industry without the need for harmful dye’s, chemical
printing and production of polluted waste. The purity of natural dyes combined
with unwanted rusted items creates harmony not harm within our fragile planet.
All items are available for sale, commissions
welcome, please contact for details.
St.eph.knight@hotmail.co.uk
Eleanor Edwards
Broken
umbrellas found at the side of the road, embellished with cutwork and
transformed into a light installation.
Once
ubiquitous, disposable objects, their new purpose is to be noticed and
observed.
The
unwanted/useless made beautiful in a way that subverts their original purpose –
umbrellas are intended as protection from the rain, yet these offer no such
protection as they are patterned with holes.
The
patterns themselves are made by cutting out shapes from the original printed
motifs on the umbrella canvases, for example polka dots.
The
light shines through the holes creating lace-like shadows on surrounding surfaces.
The shadows become as much a part of the piece as the objects themselves.
Kit Li
As
the largest organ of the human body, the skin is an outer covering that exists
to protect the body from infectious germs and microorganisms. Exposed to the pathogens in the natural
world, skin will become damaged, cut, blistered and infected. Unable to develop protective immunity against
all germs and diseases, the skin responds to different infections and
allergies.
Taking
inspiration from the common forms of skin conditions that many people have
experienced, this series examines the way in which skin is affected by eczema
and contact dermatitis. Such conditions
cause dryness, flaking, blistering, cracking and bleeding upon the many layers
of epidermis. This is a harmed and
unwanted appearance.
By
investigating these textures, deterioration and discolouration of skin through
digital work and textile embellishment, new imagery is created allowing us to
appreciate the beauty of skin functioning constantly as a protective barrier
for the human body.
kitjan.li@gmail.com
Amy Davis
Whilst
scarification is often a means to change and modify the skin, to make it
decorative, to personalise it, other cultures believe that skin should be left
as nature intended and that modification such as this is visually unappealing
due to the incisional marks which leave skin incredibly indented and
perforated.
Although
scarification can be a debatable subject as to whether people should cover
their bodies in it or not, I however have used images of scarification to my
advantage as these have influenced a collection of hand stitched and screen
printed samples which basically imitates scarification through an embroiderers
perspective, turning what is usually perceived to be ugly and unattractive into
something which is incredibly pleasing to the eye.
www.twitter.com/ALouDavis
Window display in place
Our beautifully mould covered room is ready to be seen in the window of Nexus Art Cafe.
The
Aftermath of a Flooded Room
A damaged and neglected space has created new
life.
Spreading from floor to ceiling and window to
wall our fungi is engulfing this forgotten room.
In an exploration of the unwanted we have
re-considered the outcomes of damp and mould.
Creating desirable colours and textures to
enhance discarded objects.
This display was designed and created by:
|
Sally Price
|
Becky Smyllie
|
Hannah Pritchett
|
|
Megan Kellett
|
Joy Morris
|
Steph Knight
|
|
Bella Leonard
|
Eleanor Edwards
|
Rosie Millar
|
|
Kit Li
|
Elizabeth Winstanley
|
Amy Davis
|
|
Lydia Williams
|
Sophie Brown
|
Maria Walker
|
Wednesday 28 November 2012
Wednesday 14 November 2012
Window display - The development
The final workshop...
There we a lot of adjustments and additions to make in this session but the group did outstanding work on making this last visualisation as successful as it can be without having ever been in the actual space.
As this space is essentially a room with stairs inside (an encased stairway) we have created the title to hang in the window at the top and items to display in the rest of the space that can viewed from the bottom and of stairs, inside the cafe.
Another visualisations...
Since deciding on techniques and visual aspects of the display we have needed to visualise the space as best as possible, to determine any adjustments that need to be made.
From this set-up we planned to make more boxes, create pieces to present on the walls, embellish more books and darken some of the lettering to lift the embellishments.
A huge forward...
Experimenting with techniques, colours and materials led to a massive development with our display.
The lettering will be hung from the ceiling in the front window of the display room. Catching the eye of passers by.
The boxes and other items to be made will fill the rest of the room behind the lettering and can be viewed from the bottom of the display room.
Design week...
The group developed designs for the lettering, which after having a base coat of white, will be embellished with moulds and fungi of all different types. We also set out an overall layout for the room the items and lettering will be in.
Contributions...
These beautifully constructed and embellished 'Damp Patches' were designed and made by Maria Walker who has kindly contributed her pieces to the display.
3D lettering...
Never having done 3D lettering before we had to do a few tests, but once we had found an effective and efficient technique the production of the letters was very quick.
Forming the team...
We knew that this task would be one we could share, so workshops were timetabled to design and construct and pieces for the window.
Over the Summer...
Sally and I had already exhibited some pieces in an outdoor exhibition called Art In the Garden in Lymm.
http://experience-workshops.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/lymm-festival-art-in-garden-2012.html
We were keen on getting our work exhibited again and this is when we approached Nexus Art Cafe, Manchester, and offered to create a window display.
These are some sketches of ideas for items and lettering that could be displayed in the window under the theme of ... 'The Aftermath of a Flooded Room'
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