TEMMAH

(days before lockdown)

residue from wales and tokyo

We hang stones around our necks holding back on what needs to be expressed, bury feelings of true self behind a mask of social norms. Considering my body current position as subject matter.

voice is unique to each individual we are more unfamiliar with our own.

“Counting space” 2020 In the beginning of the pandemic I was performing whilst pregnant in the tB lounge window as part of the collective concentric For International women’s Day. Entitled “Waiting Room” they were flash performances dealing with the anxiety of waiting for Labour to begin and feeling a spectacle. Due to the coronavirus 19 the residue remained on show in the window for 147 days, because of this unusual turn of events. Now with my second son born and safe, and these extraordinary sad and bizarre times I performed a ceremonial taking down of the residue entitled “counting spaces”.

My children are the greatest worry to me and how they have been affected. It seemed to make sense to take the residue down in a comical way. My sons words resonate with me, he is 3, “what do strangers look like mama” a statement that holds hilarity yet a dark under tone. To him the virus was some alien thing. I don’t know the affects this will have on him, I do know the contrast was great as there were moments of such happiness as we spent so much time together my two sons and my partner. It made sense to try to produce the comedic sadness and anxiety in the take down of “waiting room” The transition into “counting space” counting down the days , the wearing of masks, looking into windows . The new normal.

I use only woodcarving tools/ hand-body sculptures as hands so I am unable to touch directly with my hands. My access to the world has changed, I will spend my time cutting and consuming onions. Onions have an unpleasant biological response, they make your eye ducts leak, when an onion is cut this chemical is released into the air. It irritates the lachrymal glands, causing them to excrete tears, a forced emotional response. I also find the taste of onions very unpleasant. I won’t be able to prevent or wipe away the tears as I will not be able to have access to my face due to the obstruction of my hands. In the end only the marks on the chopping board, body sculpture and onion shells will remain.

@tactilebosch at @llawn 2019

What if trauma was visible

What if the pain spread out to create an armour.

I think in some way we are all building armour.

It does not always Sieve us.

You can build such armour that nothing can get to you but in turn you can not get to.

Maybe with fiscal armour I can lose my metaphorical armour.

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.

Art on the hill (draw something) ‘Head Paint’.

November 20, 2017

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.

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

Acrylic on canvas [created during a performance using an exoskeleton]

Title: ADAPT.

Exhibition at Jacobs Gallery March 2016

Concentric.

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 Sketch, Exoskeleton and Acrylic on canvas [created during a performance using an exoskeleton]

 Date- 2015.

Location-Cardiff Metropolitan University, Studio 7.

Medium- An hip attachment/exoskeleton with four wooden arms, with a kitchen knife attached to each arm. The arms are sprung with compressed and loose springs that exert pressure.

This performance is a continuation of experiments that explore the parameters of the human body and its awareness of the prosthetic. ‘Co-inhabit’ aims to further question the mark making process by etching or possibly removing the paint that exists on the boards. This hip attachment/exoskeleton manipulates my body movements and holds my torso rigid, however allows full body movement and pressure due to my arms being attached to the exoskeletons, my arms scratch as the exoskeletons do. The video footage aims to allow the work to be seen as if you were physically viewing the performance, I am present in the footage and then not just as I would be when I am performing. In addition the video footage includes an audio recording of the knives scratching the boards adding a full sensory experience. The process in which the boards have been painted is ephemeral in quality this allows the opportunity of a continued event.

Date- 2015.

Location-Cardiff Metropolitan University, Studio 7 and MADE. Cardiff. 'Clear Cut'.

Medium- An metal helmet/exoskeleton with two wooden arms made autonomous through the use of magnets that exert opposing force within the arms.

Date- 2015.

Location-Cardiff Metropolitan University, Studio 7.

Medium- An experimental painting/performance using a metal helmet/exoskeleton with two wooden arms made autonomous through the use of magnets that exert opposing force within the arms: producing marks using thermal reactive paint retaining an opportunity of a continued event.

This performance is a continuation of experiments that explore the parameters of the human body and its awareness of the prosthetic. ‘INTERFACE’ aims to experiment with restricted body movement;  due to the toxic fumes produced by the thermal reactive paint this performance cannot be physically viewed, therefore only the remnants of the performance are on view and video footage of the performance from the perspective of the exoskeleton. This performance is a play on control in the mark making process as my vision is impaired by the helmet/exoskeleton. I am no longer aware of the marks produced, just movement. In addition, the exoskeleton itself is in a limited way autonomous, which further affects the outcome of the work. The lines between me and the exoskeleton become unclear in the action of movement. Essentially the installation offers the opportunity to view the performance from the perspective of the exoskeleton. A continuum of the event is provided with an invitation to interact with the painting.

Date- 2014-2015.

Location- Cardiff Metropolitan University.

ARCADECARDIFF.

Medium- Wood, bolts, jubilee clips, black back pack, springs, paint brushes and three belts.

Date- 2014.

Location- Upmarket Gallery, Newport. 

Medium- Installation/sound/performance (drawing device).

In today’s society it is not deemed unusual to communicate only using the means of social networking sites, email or mobile phones. Through these means communication has become more accessible; however there are some senses in the wake of technological advancement which are becoming obsolete to communication, such as touch and smell, (face to face contact). This performance/installation aims to draw attention to the severance of empathetic face to face communication.

Date- 2013.

Location- MFI building Maesglas industrial estate Newport. Exhibited with Artopsy. 

Medium- 150 plastic bottles with sound activated colour spectrum lights.

Date- 2013.

Location- Urban Gallery Newport. City of Lights exhibition for Cancer Research Wales.

Medium- 150 plastic bottles and projection 1.2m x 1.5m of the sea.

The main subject matter throughout my work is the manifestation of the human condition, this includes childhood, death, psychological/ physiological aspects and the identifiable imprint that resonates upon our environment. The focus of my current practice is the effect social media has on physiological communication.

Date- 2012.

Location- Sirhowy River (Ephemeral).

Medium- 3ft  x 8ft  metal wire and foil portal.

Date- 2011.

Location- Urban Gallery Newport.

Medium- 4ft x 2ft wax sculpture, 5ft x 5ft straw nest displayed on tree stump.

Shyness of the crown

Date – 2009

Location- Riverfront, Newport Gwent.

Medium- Three 1 - 1 Scale children made of 1200 buttons. cupboard 4’L X 8’H X 3’D. Three infant school chairs. ceiling 4’ X 8 ft’ and chandelier.