We also got to meet the artist Kiki Stickl and Oliver Hein in their studio that was sighted in Phoenix Gallery Brighton art and studio space. They also work on an International level. The work has elements of both performance and drawing in theory Kiki Stickl work and her husband Oliver Hein who works with some delightful drawing machines. I exchanged information with both artists and intend to communicate with them.
Marega Palser
1 movement and warm up
2 presentations
3 movement warm up name gathering and visualisation
4 in twos drawing not looking at the paper
5 in twos drawing and feeling the face
6 in twos drawing someone else’s movement
7 mirror drawing in two’s
8 drawing when someone tunes your back.
1. - a body warm up I have learnt, it was never something I considered to do before performance it’s such a simple action and useful, something I have already incorporated.
2. -presentation was really useful to offer history for others and for me to ask some questions that have been burning for a while.
3. - visualisation is also a useful tactic I have put in to place.
4. - drawing and not looking at the paper I have used as a technique before with using apparatus However to just use my hands again intriguing.
5. -Drawing and feeling my own face was both invigorating and disturbing.
6. -both drawing and just moving with out the need to look at the paper seems to alway result In very Interesting outcomes.
7. -mirroring Is a technique I have used before however not In the context of drawing performance It Is very freeing.
8. - drawing when someone touches your back was my favourite game as a child and was my favourite part in the work shop as I have not done this as a adult.
images by Ram Samocha and Mieke van den Berg.
Ram Samocha is an international artist and the director and curator of ‘Draw to Perform’. The program really stands out as there is not a lot of opportunity to focus on drawing performance in particular, so this was a beneficial experience to meet him and to learn about all the draw to performs that have taken place up to date. It was a really great honour to be chosen and supported to experience what was only the 2nd draw to perform residency that has taken place. It was interesting to see the outcomes from the first draw to perform and how the program is developing in this still beginning stages. The residency provided more opportunity for experimentation and development that can suit whatever stage an artist is with performance, drawing and movement. This experience provided an opportunity to change your practice through new mediums and environments.
Workshops with Ram Samocha.
1. Making a mark without making a mark.
2. Presentations
3. Flat mike sound drawing and sound
4. Metal point/ sound
1. -from the first work shop you could really see in such a simple action where we were coming from and what we were here to do, it was an interesting outcome.
2. -the presentations of everyone’s work was an important activity as performance was a new subject for some of the artists. It; was good to see how they had come to incorporate performance in to their work and why. For Bin coming from China and the great fire wall of China it was the first time that the other artists on the residency had access to her work.
3. -Flat Mike introduction was very exciting for me. I had considered having a sound aspect to my work however did not know how it would be possible with out it being too invasive. Due in the work shop with time to experiment I made discoveries.The first was that the mike could pick out up hair sound the second I was rubbing wax crayons when they ran out I was using my nails to scratch the wax and made tactile material out of this and realised that the flat Mike would make a very interesting sound when you sprinkled this material, Ram referred to it as rain.
4. -Metal point on marble paper was a new medium and experience for me. It was very exciting to watch the paper take on a structure. I would very much like to experiment with this In the future.
images by Ram Samocha.
-out on the streets
I have not worked a lot in the public realm such as this and when I have, I have been alone or with one other. It was a day full , there was a buzz in the air that was different to me. It was very exciting to go over the map of where we would go. I should have liked to have spent more time walking with the group talking about locations and their significance to their ideas. As it was I think each piece worked well in the chosen sites, there being some realisations in the act, I felt added a sense of discovery in the moment and made us all work to together. The collective spine work was interactive and was not only a benefit to the artists that participated but there was also a few instances where members of the public became involved. It was fascinating to see the interest people had in geting involved with apparatus in a very public way, I will certainly consider this in my future public realm performances. Unexpected benefit in regards to ‘embrace my own body’s current position: position in regards to social and political aspects. By this I mean thinking about my self identity, past traumas and feelings about current political agendas. As artists in current climates we have no choice but to interact and take action with social aspects of law, identity and culture.’ In the work produced for Adapting work for public realm ‘Washing piece ’ this work was intensely personal but important to share in a public way to be nerving and raise awareness of mental health following a miscarriage that I sadly experience before leaving for the residency; this also had an intensely Emotional affect on me and the other artist involved I learn that a public realm work does not have to be directed at a viewer it can be a personal offering of a ritual act. It was a surprise to me that hidden with In this work was elements of welsh culture.
images by Ram Samocha and Mieke van den Berg.
Mieke van den Berg(Australia) we worked and experimented with movement.
Liu Bin(China) we experimented and performed in the studio with balance with logs from Wales.
Julia Higgs(Australia) - we experimented with pendulum drawing And conjoint apparatus Painting and printing.
Cheryl Walker(USA)- we all took part In a constellation we shared Philosophy and ideas video stills included.
Each artist was allowed time and space to work together.
images by Mieke van den Berg.
THE WAY SHE WAS DRESSED
Concentric, TEMMAH,West Wharf Gallery, March 2019
TEMMAH I am a Multi Disciplined Visual Artist. my practise has focused on body sculpture/apparatus, mark making becoming consequential. creating a developing interplay with control between the sculpture/apparatus and myself. current practices stem to embrace my own body’s current position. Position in regards to social, political and autobiographical aspects.
“You have to look at the way she was dressed” barrister said in rape trail in Ireland. This is not the first time this has happened, this barrister called attention to a bigger problem of victim blaming. Misconception and a damaging one that the way you are dressed invites rape. In response to this and personal feelings, wearing body appendages ply, elastic and an accumulation of screws, I will make myself a human cactus. The worlds access-ability changes for me and in turn armour that repels . From the opening time of ……………. I will set to work rubbing the screws with soap, the unstable medium In this case. The materials form ever changed, repelled from my form. The outcome of interaction will be considered on the night.
am a Multi Disciplined Visual Artist.My current practise is focused on body sculpture/apparatus, mark making becoming consequential. This has resulted in a continuum of experiments that started exploring the parameters of the human body and its awareness of the prosthetic: creating a developing interplay with control between the sculpture/apparatus and myself.
Painting performance, 10 min- 15 min action.
Head banging a painting.
Performance residue.
The theme of exploring mark making through performative action has been of interest to me since the masters course in Cardiff met in 2015. Head Paint is experimenting with the Notion Conflicting with Technology misunderstandings and anonymity where are we going do we care. Can we choose are extended skin. Exploring themes of humiliation, domination and gender with a whimsical approach to mark making with hints of hilarity.
2 A2 prints.
A performative action that explores the flux of borderlines. Involving ideas of restriction, cultural identity and divide. Boundary’s are developed whether they be physical or internal . However not a constant but contrary a fluid concept built upon by ideals. Ideals can change and boundary’s expanded . After the position we are in following political agendas it is important to deem that these lines can be crossed. If this can be changed we can also change it. The medium of chalk has been used to amplify the idea that all these lines are illusions that can fade with time.
granted permission from Newport council, During AOTH (Art on the Hill) I walked wearing a contraption around an outline of areas involved in Art in the Hill, drawing with chalk. It was a rainy day and the chalk line did not last long but it still had impact.
I am a Multi Disciplined Visual Artist. My current practise is focused on body sculpture/apparatus, mark making becoming consequential. This has resulted in a continuum of experiments that started exploring the parameters of the human body and its awareness of the prosthetic: creating a developing interplay with control between the sculpture/apparatus and myself: in the pursuit of displaying a conflict with technology in a physical embodiment.
Every day I use voice recondition software even when typing texts there is always something in the way when I am trying to communicate this performative Action is a display of my frustrations And intrigue having to navigate to world in this way. taking into consideration the themes of the red mistake, alterations, mending, missing a stitch, new neural pathways and female voice.
Description: wearable appendage- covering mouth to infer a restriction with voice. I will sew between the A4 cut canvas and my wearable appendage using red thread and a curved needle.
Studio on body.
2018.
TEMMAH
Exploring themes of anxiety and expectations surrounding pregnancy.
I am a Multi Disciplined Visual Artist. My current practise is focused on body sculpture/apparatus, mark making becoming consequential. This has resulted in a continuum of experiments that started exploring the parameters of the human body and its awareness of the prosthetic: creating a developing interplay with control between the sculpture/apparatus and myself: obscuring outcomes fighting to produce a mark in pursuit of displaying a conflict with technology in a physical embodiment. Following the metamorphosis that occurs in pregnancy I found myself in a different position that induced a response; introducing body’s current implications as subject matter; allowing this to govern the shape or look of said body sculpture. The ink stains that will be produced are in a constant state of flux as the medium is considered unstable; this is congruent with Societies views regarding female form. What does it mean to place yourself in a new position through the use of body Sculpture?
Description:
Representation of a pregnant belly made out of plywood, attached to my body which opens similar to a cabinet, in which I can place the egg replicas made out of my sons old muslin cloth. Over time deep red ink will bleed into the fabric.
25th November 2017.
Drawing performance.
The theme of exploring mark making through performative action has been of interest to me since the masters course in 2015.
Head Paint is experimenting with the Notion Conflicting with Technology misunderstandings and anonymity
Exploring themes of humiliation, domination and gender with a whimsical approach to mark making with hints of hilarity.
A contemporary adaptation of Ibsen’s classic Little Eyolf.
As we entered the room we enter more of a contemporary art installation with severed walls, mirroring the emotional separation of the characters. The setting does not create the sense of illusion as such but more that of echoes of a boy we never meet. Projected images, songs and the scene very clearly point to the country of origin, Norway.
Although the male character seems to be the most scrutinised, I mostly related to his emotional response to grief, as the female character in contrast is numb too concerned with pointing fingers.
The humour throughout is derivative of real life grieving situations. The dark humour rather than laughing not to cry, you are in limbo an emotional flux throughout the lingering , drowning in the terrible tragedy of it. What would you do when faced with the ultimate nightmare?
The father tearing up the floor boards throughout, alluding to the absence of his son, or just reflecting the degradation of it, the ephemeral quality of it? So greatly disturbed by the tragedy of the situation, surprisingly you are only slightly disturbed by the clearly uncomfortable close relationship of the brother and sister. You do however feel a strong feeling of hate towards the sister because of her continued pursuit for a relationship with her half brother. You feel like shaking her and shouting are you real? A boy has died.
One last confession of the guilt that drove the rift, a wound long past since had infected the bone too late. Little Wolf is gone . Is now the truth of the situation coming forth they had an accident because of a selfish act , nothing learnt, still selfish still too busy in their own goings on, to notice their Little wolf slip away into the water. The must fill he void, perhaps they could make the sister stay. However, all of a sudden the sister can’t get away fast enough . Good riddance, if she things the death of a child is the perfect situation to pursue her own selfish desires.
The last projection of the boy that we never meet , playing with his teddy, in a theatrical production where the central character was only an effigy, an idea. Even the presence of his toy promotes a deep seated emotional response. A good example of the life of objects and the living energy they can exert.
‘Experimenting With Marega’ 14th November 2017.
Marega Palser is a performance Artist known for working in a collaborative called Mr & Mrs Clark, Marega also creates drawing performance that is generally site specific in the fact that each space she enters she allows the space to inform her movements, her work has a ritual quality to it in some cases she engages with the public inviting them to be involved in the work.
After getting in contact with Marega on the grounds that I became deeply concerned about my own practice and wether or not I would continue including my self and body in my work. I was looking to have some mentoring.
Following a coversation, Marega expressed interest in my exoskeleton and body attachment work. It was suggested the results could be interesting if Marega could try out one of them because Marega's dance background and years of experience.
*see results below*
it was exciting working as a colobrative and I would enjoy to do so more in the future. I do wish to work on my own performative action too, it has giving me a lot to think about and advice to sift through.
*Marega's experience of using the exoskeleton soon to follow*
Stephanie’s exhibition brought forth so many truths of a still raw subject for me. As an artist myself I tried in 2008 to use dyslexia as my subject matter with not a lot of success. I painted walls black like a black board and just expressed all the years of pain. How it made me feel with the written word as I right, so filled with many mistakes. However, the general consensus seemed to be that people would just point out the mistakes and then not bother to read, it was extremely infuriating.
Ignorance regarding Dyslexia is only a part of the problem, the biggest problem we face in our society and in our education systems is the way we view intelligence. There are many different types of intelligence. Everyone has a right to be seen as an intelligent human being. Our thinking is still so linear on the subject and it's getting old.
I received my first shot of pain at the hand of ignorance to dyslexia when I was in infants’ school. I came home crying a teacher had read in my file that I had dyslexia and told me I had an illness. I did not know what dyslexia was yet.
It is actually ironic and the most ignorant comments that are mostly stated are ‘you can’t spell that' 'you miss read that' therefore you must be stupid.
Shockingly this is still a comment I hear today. Sadly in so many places I have been and by people I would never had expected even family members out of lack of knowledge of the subject.
Their words, even though you know that this is not true, penetrate my skin and live in it. It still stands in the way of everything I do there's always their voices still saying I'm stupid , not good enough, lazy.
Lazy that's quite an ironic comment because as a dyslexic child your mind is working faster than others to solve the problems others can solve easily. But the amazing thing about the mind is, it can’t slow down, it speeds up. Have you ever tried reading when the words literally jump off the page and try to hide from you at the same time 100 images of the first word you read flash through your head like spam that won't stop. Well for some reason to try to make sense of the page you are reading your mind highlights random letters with white lights.
There are many advantages of being dyslexic however that is as unique as the individuals that have it. As an adult with dyslexia your mind has formed new mental pathways in completely different places than usual we literally think differently.
Spatial awareness and visual memory is heightened.
My emotional attachment to physical objects is high.
When someone says something for instance, a strawberry, I can see 100 different pictures of a strawberry the texture the taste the smell.
However you tell me what image does a ‘the’ have?
A big elephant-can always use small exits.
Now there that's better I cannot forget an image. Another example, would, should and could what image do they have?
Ooo you love donuts. There that's better.
One of the many discussions I had with Stephanie although sometimes we all started in the middle of the conversation or at the end because we had already finished the conversation inside our heads, it was about this point we sometimes work backwards or just forward which I believe can really be hard to explain, so how do you hope to achieve this? I have no idea however this is how it will end.
I have left many people very frustrated including myself when the person I'm talking to does not understand how we got there. I just don't know.
Is 👍🏻extremely🤚🏻 hard 💪🏻however👈🏻 to stay 👄on 👀subject 🎭🎨🥁🎯🎹🎲🎻🎸🎺🚀🗽🎠when 🙇🏻🙇🏻♀️😂😊👍🏻🤣👀👈🏻😃🎃👎🏻👄👂👱🏼👶🏻👶🏻👯👩❤️👩🚶🏻👨👨👧👨👩👦👦👠🎒🐭👜💼👓🙈🐗🦉🐧🦀🦎🦐🐢🦀🐳🌳🍀🐉🌲🍀🍀100 🐈🦍different 🐎🐕things 🎤🎧🎻🎮🎸🎳🎺🎷🥁🎲📺📸☎️⏰🕰🔌📡🔑🛁🚰🌡📕📘👚👙👡👑🎩👢🎓are 👆🏻🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻🏃🏼♀️🏃🏾going 🏃🏾🚶🏻♀️🏃🏼♀️🚶🏻♀️🏃🏾through 👌🏻your👩🏻⚖️head 🙃🗣👤👥•
Express Yourself
7.30pm Saturday 25th March.
Basement, The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre
Ticket information: just turn up and pay what you can on the door!
Discover local artists exhibiting their work, and storytellers, musicians and live art performers showing you their latest ideas.
Take part in our speed date event and meet other Newport creatives.
Steal the flyer below and spread the word!
‘DEGRADABLE’: 2017.
Medium: Remnants of a performative act.
Dimensions: 2 x A4 Photographic Posters, 2 x A4 Acrylic card holders, Rubble (Residue from the performance as an offering).
Break the restrictions of preconceptions and share as a freedom of expression.
There are traditions/garments that originally had an application that linger in present contemporary culture, existing displaced from their purpose and proposed now as an almost ritual act of defining the individual as unique.
Some of these preconceptions have become restrictions.
‘Degradable’ is about chipping away at this repression through the creation of body attachment to the face, made from materials that degrade with use. The materials act as a medium which produce an image.
Rubble from the event is now offered to you as a gift from the performative act.
Big lives, small feet: Photographing China's bound women.
By Josephine McDermott BBC News.
Zhang Yun Ying was the first woman Jo Farrell photographed, in 2006.
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/08/health/corset-training/
http://bavardess.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/bridling-scold-or-womens-speech.html
Concentric. 3rd-19th March 2016. Opening Event with performance. Friday 4th March. 6-8pm.
Artist Statement.
Title: ADAPT.
Integral to the pursuit of understanding, human beings extend themselves - combining flesh with machine to excel beyond limitations, we progress, struggling to adapt to new parameters. This co-existence is not necessarily one of harmony; as tensions build we remain flesh and bone, only displaced from our bodies.
I aimed to treat my body as unable/obsolete, creating friction between body control and exoskeletons in the pursuit to leave marks at events in different locations.
Description
Process Sketches, Exoskeleton and Acrylic on canvas [created during a performance using an exoskeleton]
