Unit 3: Professional Experiences
Professional Experiences: reflecting on aspects of the professional art world.
Within this section I have documented the ways in which I have engaged professionally with the art world informed by the professional toolkit talks that we have had throughout the year.
Research Festival
I plan to present my research in two ways:
A workshop where I will explore bodily traces and movement. This will be accompanied by a piece of writing and a video which will be read and watched at the start of the workshop.
A podcast where myself and Eleanor Street discuss the connections between our practices.
Traces: The body as a container of energy
Workshop
About: A collaborative group workshop exploring using the body as a means to create drawings.
Aim: The aim is that the workshop will encourage collaboration and allow for the exchange of ideas among participants. Through the hands-on activities and interactive nature of the workshop, I hope it will encourage engaging discussions and those attending should be able to delve deeper into the subject matter, “The body as a container of energy”.
Research: The preparation for this workshop has been with the support of Course Leader Sarah Woodfine and Outreach Practitioner Rosemary Cronin. I have learnt the things that I need to be aware of in order to have an inclusive and sustainable workshop. For example, being mindful of the language that is used and creating a safe and supportive environment.
Rosemary suggested that I consider artist Donna Huanca, whose performative work has a deep understanding of the body and skin.
Workshop Outline:
The group will receive a written hand out where I will explain the key themes within my practice and the significance of the workshop. (3 minutes)
The group will be given a short questionnaire to fill out individually and anonymously. It will ask questions on a scale of 1-5 such as: How do you feel about working as a group? (5 minutes)
A short video will be presented where I will be demonstrating the use of movement within my practice. (5 minutes)
First warm up exercise, Picture Consequences (5 minutes)
Second warm up exercise (10 Minutes) - Drawing on carbon paper using miscellaneous tools external to the body.
Main exercise- using the body to create marks on the paper, collaborative exercise. Using your feet, legs, arms, hands, body to make monoprints on large sheets of paper. (15 minutes)
Viewing the piece, tearing it up into as many pieces as participants, reassembling. (10 minutes)
Final questionnaire, reflection. e.g How do you feel about working as a group? (5minutes)
Outcome: I hope that that the outcome for the group will be a stimulating and enriching experience where new connections will have been made between participants and within themselves. Alongside this, I hope it will raise questions about how drawings can be made and the importance of delving deeper to create a meaningful art practice.
It will be important for me to have good documentation of my workshop and to be able to understand the impact of the workshop on participants as I would like to take this workshop into other settings. I plan to have good photographic evidence and will have written evidence in the form of questionnaires. I have already spoken with the Deputy Head of a FE College about using the workshop as part of a staff team building exercise.
I plan to use this experience at the Research Festival as an opportunity to test and the refine my workshop.
Joy & Eleanor Podcast
About: Eleanor and myself reflect on our practices and how our themes, ideas and references often ran parallel to each other.
Aim: To document our research in a Podcast format, focussing on our collaborative relationship.
Podcast: The podcast can be listened to here: Joy & Eleanor Podcast
Outcome: The podcast provided an invaluable opportunity for myself and Eleanor to document our collaborative relationship and our experience of doing the course. For us, collaborating has fostered a sense of unity within our practices and has allowed for us to have open running communication in a supportive environment. It has enhanced our ability to create and have new ideas and artistic references.
Within the podcast, we discussed how the connections between our artworks led to the effortless formation of our first collaboration Dialectics of the Skin and how we look forward to the future of our collaborative relationship.
Bill of Health
26 October - 21 November 2023
Central Saint Martin's Window Gallery
Granary Square, London
My piece, And I went out the same door that I came in was accepted to be a part of Bill of Health an exhibition featuring 17 artists across UAL who have experience with chronic illness, disability or being a care giver.
“The Bill of Health brings together students and staff working with the themes of health, illness, disability and care from across the University of the Arts London. Moving beyond the stereotypes, Bill of Health showcases the work of artists who are creatively responding to the barriers they face by developing innovative methods and techniques, querying ideologies in relation to health and exploring their lived experience in their work. We ask what it means to be disabled, sick or a carer in an often ableist art world.” Lucy Chapman, curator and MA Art & Science student.
I found the opportunity through the UAL website and was excited at the possibility of exhibiting with a group that could form part of a new community of artists for me to sit within. It has been a fantastic opportunity for my piece from the Postgraduate SHOW to be seen again by a new and wider audience but also a chance to relate with a group of artists who have similar themes. Furthermore, it has allowed for me to extend my research by connecting with Lucy Chapman, an artist and Postgraduate student who is external to Camberwell College of Arts and the MA Fine Art pathways.
The experience has been a realisation in the importance of having good and professional documentation and correctly storing artworks and their fixtures and fittings to allow for longevity and easy assemblage. As a consequence of having both good photographs and knowledge of the work and how it needed to be installed, I applied for the opportunity with an accomplished submission.
The exhibition coincides with UK Disability History Month which runs from 16 November - 16 December.
More information can be read about the process of making And I went out of the same door that I came in by following this link: more information here
Lucy Chapman (2023) Bill of Health (2023) Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/stories/the-bill-of-health (Accessed: 6 November 2023)
Small But Mighty
9 - 19 November 2023
Bankside Gallery
London
My work Knock on wood (34 X 44 cm) was accepted to be part of Small But Mighty and exhibition held by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE) at Bankside Gallery.
“Small But Mighty showcases all forms of printmaking and highlights the powerful, ambitious and impressive nature of works created on a small scale.
This open submission exhibition, established by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE) and curated by artist Jonny Hannah, aims to to create long-term opportunities for artists and promote printmaking to a wider audience.” (Bankside Gallery, 2023)
I was drawn to this open call because of the significance of the title and I had a series of stone lithographs which I had made using a very small lithography stone. The print, which reads, “I tried on the boots but they didn’t fit” is a direct reflection upon my own experiences of living with a chronic health condition. The image itself was drawn on the stone using medical creams and gels which are all available to me on prescription as part of my ongoing treatment.
I am looking forward to networking on the opening night with other exhibiting artists and to create connections with any other printmakers who are making works on a similar theme.
From this experience, I have learnt to be mindful of framing and overall pricing of works. It was necessary to have the work professionally framed and as a consequence I have undervalued my piece.
More can be read about the process of making Knock on Wood by following this link: more information here
Bankside Gallery (2023) Small But Mighty. Available at: https://www.banksidegallery.com/exhibitions/106-small-but-mighty/overview/ (Accessed: 6 November 2023)
Convergence, 19 - 21 October, A to B Gallery, Camberwell College of Arts, London
This notion for this exhibition was initiated by Dialectics of the Skin a collaborative piece created by myself and Eleanor Street. MA Fine Art: Sculpture student Carmen van Huisstede was inspired by the coming together of our art practices and decided to hold an exhibition of works that celebrated the coming together of women artists.
Within Convergence I exhibited Dancing I and two collaborative pieces Dialectics of the Skin and Fluid Dynamics. It was a fantastic opportunity to create a stronger unity with a group of students across pathways and we learnt how easily we were able to work together and put on an effective and cohesive show in a short amount of time.