WHY BE HAPPY WHEN YOU COULD BE NORMAL?
A public art exhibition: ‘Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?’ showcases a collection of diverse ways in which a group of upcoming artists envision art in the contemporary world today. This type of exhibition shows how practising artists wishing to become professional artists need to be equipped to deal with a wide range of practical, intellectual, administrative and managerial problems. Rather than simply viewing these considerations as the onerous requirements with being in business, many artists embrace these factors nowadays. They regard them as inter-connected forming a holistic professional whole. This transformation has been paralleled by an unprecedented increase in the number and range of spaces available to exhibit in; from thematic and heavily curated group shows to independently run spaces.
The purpose of the show is to present this analysis to an enduring audience. These locally studied artists from the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham intend to express their encapsulating happenings. By taking into account of past to present, this ex hibition assures explanation of their journeys towards the incessant process of becoming an artist.
GARDEN GALLERY MUSEUM OF FARNHAM 38 WEST STREET FARNHAM SURREY GU9 7DX www.whybehappy.co.uk
01
EVE ALLSOP www.eveallsop.com
02
HANNAH DAVIES hmdav1es@hotmail.com
03
EMMA FOSTER emmafoster2@hotmail.co.uk www.ryebrookstudio.wordpress.com
04
CARL GENT carl@carlgent.com www.carlgent.com
05
TIMOTHY HOLT info@timothyholt.co.uk www.timothyholt.co.uk
06
TANSY HUTCHESON-LOVETT www.tansyhutchesonlovett.wordpress.com
07
HELEN JARVIS jarvishelen@hotmail.co.uk www.helen-jarvis.co.uk
08
ADAM KELLY akelly89@yahoo.com www.adam-kelly.co.uk
09
BEN MOBBS ben@benmobbs.com www.benmobbs.com
10
SALLY MONK smonk2@hotmail.co.uk
11
JANET MORTON janetvictoria@sky.com www.janetmorton.co.uk
12
KARYS MUNNS 0karys@gmail.com
13
LOUISE PATEY pateylouise13@aol.co.uk www.louisepatey.co.uk
14
CHRISTOPHER PIKE enquiries@christopher-pike.co.uk www.christopher-pike.co.uk
15
PAUL WADDINGTON angelowadd@gmail.com
16
FRAN WEBSTER franceswebster@talktalk.net www.franwebster.com
1
EVE ALLSOP Untitled from ‘Left Drinks’ series, 2012 Photographic print Dimensions variable
Eve Allsop’s photographs address the beauty in banality, by
routines and surroundings. The images, captured spontaneously
following the quirky habit of Allsop’s family to leave their drinks
with a low quality camera phone, portray a muffled version of
unfinished. The intention is to focus on details of everyday life
mundane reality, echoing the self-representation, and amateur
which familiarity causes us to overlook, and approach them with
portrait of one's life, that can be so easily constructed and shared
new, endearing fascination, highlighting the deep, comforting
in today's social networking culture.
bonds we form with seemingly insignificant aspects of our daily routines and surroundings. The images, captured spontaneously
2
HANNAH DAVIES ‘T’, 2011 Stop motion animation 9 sec
Hannah Davies has a fascination with altering inanimate objects that appear to be frozen within their internal mapping. Displacing the common object by joining and buckling suggests motion and life within lifeless forms. Such thematic manipulation suspends the piece in time and allows it to merge in and out of substances. Her work arrests the moment and carves the surreal from the everyday.
everyday.
3
EMMA FOSTER ‘Capture Thread’, 2012 Cotton thread and found objects Dimensions variable
Emma Foster’s work references nature and growth, creating the
often overlooked. Foster is currently investigating how the work
impression of something gradually growing and invading space.
becomes an installation and how this affects the scale of the
She is interested in nature attempting to reclaim its place within
work, the space around it and how the viewer interacts and
the
relates with the piece.
urban
environment.
Her
work
comprises
of
delicate,
secretive, pieces which attempt to alter our perception of the world, drawing our attention to the smaller things in life that are
often overlooked. Placed on the floor, the work becomes
4
CARL GENT ‘Fly Zapper Painting #2’, 2012 Oil on board with fly zapper 90 x 130 x 5 cm
Carl Gent’s practise
is centred
upon
various attempts to
meaningfully experience various non-human territories. Often utilising the very specific language of material inherent within certain geological materials, Gent attempts to transport the audience’s position away from the terrain into the prehistoric, the cosmic, the hyper-destructive or simply the terrain of the questioning
the
boundaries
between
art
and
senses;
‘natural’.
5
TIMOTHY HOLT ‘Artefacts #211-215 (Big Foot Toots Small)’, 2012 Modified traffic cones and bicycle horns Dimensions variable
Timothy Holt's work concentrates upon the transformation of
questioning
discarded domestic appliances to create new forms, whilst also
systematically dipping into design. Subsequently his constructed
retaining part of the original object. His playful nature of
series of “artefacts” serve the means for creating an intellect of
naturally
identity, civic, collective...and even personality. The issues
manipulating
these
so-called
purposely
designed
the
addressed
on show closely resemble the “manufacture program” in turn
perceptions of how objects are perceived.
the
boundaries
between
art
and
senses;
the
mechanical
between
devices highlights an embellishment of the everyday. The works questioning
in
boundaries
pieces
art
are
and
used
senses;
to
shape
6
TANSY HUTCHESON-LOVETT ‘Boom and Bust’, 2012 Photographic print 31 x 21 cm
Through layers of fakery and historically-loaded costumes, Tansy
herself completely in control as artist, stylist, model, actress and
Hutcheson-Lovett physically transforms herself into a variety of
photographer. In disguising her own appearance within her
different female characters. Transforming through disguise she
photographs she offers a critique of self-objectification and the
creates surface illusions hiding the person beneath, exploring
way in which sexism continues to aggravate the obsessive
control of self-image in a feminist context. By taking her own
pursuit of the current beauty aesthetic.
photographs using a remote control shutter release, she puts herself completely in control as artist, stylist, model, actress and
7
HELEN JARVIS ‘Halfway’, 2011 Acrylic on canvas 25 x 35 cm
Working from banal spaces encountered everyday, Helen Jarvis
representational; illusionary, functions of painting and the nature
manipulates and abstracts the visual information. Aiming to
of a painting as a flat, fabricated plane. The work seeks to
make the un-romantic mechanisms of image creation self-
intrigue the viewer, creating space to be explored whilst
evident, whilst exploring the idea and process of artistic choice in
simultaneously betraying the reality of the painted surface.
relation to what is seen in a finished composition; Jarvis looks to create
images
which
evoke
the
conflict
between
the
representational; illusionary, functions of painting and the nature
8
ADAM KELLY ‘Untitled’, 2011 Carpet and rope on filing cabinet 113 x 53 x 71 cm
Adam Kelly’s work is accomplished by attempting to fulfil his own
that is in need of resurgence. Kelly works with found objects so
estrangement to his mixed-European heritage, exploring cultural
that they may be placed in a new environment that comments on
boundaries and adopting homelands. Kelly believes the current
their farcical visions as a united and valued labour.
social climate of mass protest and uncertainty is reflective of our nostalgic remembrance, mourning the concept of a once unified state, which has since failed. It has become a distant memory that is in need of resurgence. Kelly works with found objects so
9
BEN MOBBS ‘Evocation’, 2011 Mixed media 100 x 100 x 100 cm
Ben Mobbs is a sound installation artist and musician. He
sense of play, interactivity, and audience involvement is integral
investigates the acoustic nature of everyday environments and
to the work, informed by themes including John Cage’s theories
objects, and ways in which they can be manipulated and
on (the absence of) silence and Yukio Fujimoto’s concept of the
transfigured to appreciate their sonic materiality and musical
listening apparatus. Varyingly he makes use of live audio
qualities. He is fascinated by the sense that the world is deeply
technology, computers, sensors and found object sculpture.
interconnected on a physical level by acoustics. A psychological sense of play, interactivity, and audience involvement is integral
10
SALLY MONK ‘Breathable Layer’, 2012 Cotton and thread Dimensions variable
Sally Monk creates work that is predominantly three-dimensional
referring to the body and draws influences from artist such as
and uses a variety of materials and processes to support and
Hannah Wilke and Louise Bourgeois.
inform her practise. Investigating the physical properties of the human body, the work refers to female sexuality as well as ideas surrounding social and cultural depictions of the body beautiful. Monk
investigates
many
differing
ways
of
symbolizing
or
referring to the body and draws influences from artist such as
11
JANET MORTON ‘Contours 1’, 2011 Metal (mild steel) sheeting 54 x 30 x 50 cm
Janet Morton works with metal. She builds a three-dimensional
weld exploding from a point on the edge highlighting the marks
sculpture from two-dimensional planes. The found metal sheet
made by natural processes. The sculptures were then powder-
had marks on the surface from rain and the contoured shapes
coated.
were based on them. The project was based on the process of melting, using a plasma cutter and a MIG welder. Once cut, the shapes were welded together and the surface shows patterns of made by natural processes. The sculptures were then powder-
12
KARYS MUNNS ‘Illumination’, 2012 Wax with torch Dimensions variable
Proximity to dust is investigated through the architectural forms
through delicate gestures providing an enticing insight into the
where dust gathers, scrutinising what is pushed to the fringes
quiet yet interruptive territory of the discarded.
and drawing from the idea of the fossil.
The work is
Using a moment of
ritualistic, obsessive and immediate, with an absence resonating
illumination, an intimate relationship with the spectator occurs,
through the work that creates preciousness within its intricate
drawing attention to the sublime and fantastical within the
materiality, creating a relic.
monumental trace of our energy spent. The mundane is elevated through delicate gestures providing an enticing insight into the
13
LOUISE PATEY ‘In Between’, 2012 Print on paper 60 x 39 x 15 cm
Our bodies have many components that rely on each other in
herself, and the object of herself. Even though it is an
order to survive. We have a mind, we have blood and we have
exploration of the artist, it is an open gesture to enquire about
skin. We have all the fluids and thoughts that belong and are
one’s own body and who they are.
embodied within it. Through the work, Louise Patey explores the body, but in a sense, an investigation of her body; curiosity, inevitability of isolation, fears, thoughts, feelings; the subject of herself, and the object of herself. Even though it is an
14
CHRISTOPHER PIKE ‘Functionally Inept’, 2010 Breezeblock and cast wheels 28 x 40 x 21 cm
Christopher Pike is primarily involved in the exploration of site-
visual seam between existing architectural features and Pike’s
specificity within the context of both external and internal
work regularly become a visual tool for the audience to
architectural spaces, often leading Pike to create manipulated,
distinguish
investigative and absurd architectural constructions, spaces and
constructions are therefore not always just sculptural objects but
interventions that simultaneously sets out and transgresses the
re-constructed spaces that attempt to highlight the significance
visual boundaries between art and architecture. The idea of the
of specific architectural spaces.
visual seam between existing architectural features and Pike’s
the
work
from
surrounding
architecture.
Pikes
15
PAUL WADDINGTON ‘An Original View of Farnham’, 2008 Film 12 min
Paul Waddington heightens our awareness of forms, colours and
struggle to recognise some focal point to determine their position
sounds that surround us in our everyday life as we go about our
relative to the familiarity of the subject.
day to day business. Using both forward and circular motion these are then bonded together to form a geometrical tapestry of Farnham. Disorientation is another inference often used in Waddington’s work that can churn the viewer’s stomach as they struggle to recognise some focal point to determine their position
16
FRAN WEBSTER ‘Insomniac Perambulation’, 2011 Pen and ink printed onto canvas 51 x 77 cm
Drawing herself to sleep, Fran Webster began to fight insomnia
viewer. She continues to explore with drawing on the printed
by doodling into scribbles in a sketchbook. A fascinating world of
image and putting these visual stories into colour.
bizarre creatures began to arrive. Night after night more of this fantasy opened up to her. The work has its roots in the Surrealist practise of automatic drawing, resulting in a humour of quirky oddities. Webster’s main desire is to amuse and delight the viewer. She continues to explore with drawing on the printed
Exhibition Address
Curators
GARDEN GALLERY
EMMA FOSTER
MUSEUM OF FARNHAM
TIMOTHY HOLT
38 WEST STREET
JANET MORTON
FARNHAM
CHRISTOPHER PIKE
SURREY Curatorial Assistants
GU9 7DX
EVE ALLSOP Exhibition Dates TH
FRIDAY 6
HANNAH DAVIES
APRIL
– MONDAY 9
TH
APRIL 2012
CARL GENT TANSY HUTCHESON-LOVETT HELEN JARVIS
Private View
ADAM KELLY
THURSDAY 5TH APRIL 2012
BEN MOBBS
19:00 – 21:00
SALLY MONK KARYS MUNNS
Opening Times THURSDAY – TUESDAY 09:00 – 17:00 SUNDAY 12:00 – 16:00
LOUISE PATEY PAUL WADDINGTON FRAN WEBSTER Website and Graphic Design TIMOTHY HOLT
Admission FREE
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