An Interview with Joanna Goddard – by Sian Matthews

Back in July I started chatting with artist Joanna Goddard via email about her latest works ‘The Kubb series’. Still unable to meet in person because of that virus you may have heard about, and because of a few major life events on both sides, including, sadly, a family bereavement, it has taken us quite a while to get to a point where we can write this blog. But! we got there eventually, and I am excited to share with you an inside look at Jo’s work and inspirations for this, the 6^th instalment of our featured artists interviews here on the Sweet Blog.

Predominantly working with Ceramics, specifically paperclay, and inspired by artists such as Grayson Perry and Louise Bourgeois, as well as author Rosette Gault and poet Christina Rossetti. Jo uses bold colour pallets, suggestive forms and an interest in exploring the juxtapositions between materials and the viewers sensory experience to create sculpture which is both stimulating and surreal.  

If you have been following Sweet ‘Art for a while you may also recognise Jo from a previous Sweet ‘Art exhibition back in 2016 called Hand Maid in which she showed her piece ‘Swarm Of Desire, The Nymphs Headrest’. Inspired by ‘L’après-midi d’un faune’ a poem by Stéphane Mallarmé which describes the erotic desires of a faun after he encounters several nymphs in a forest.

Hand Maid was a little bit before my time working with Sweet ‘Art, so although I was aware of the exhibition I wasn’t very familiar with the works or the artists involved. You can imagine my delight when I found these photos of Jo’s works in the show, with that bright shock of orange and blue sitting proudly right in the centre. The energy and feeling that comes from Jo’s work, even just in photos, is so much fun and so vibrant that it captures all your attention, draws you in and makes you want to ask for more. So I started by asking Jo about her background. Where do these ideas come from? Why ceramics? And what’s next?

Jo’s love affair with ceramics started back in the late 80’s/early 90’s while she was studying for her foundation in Hastings, speaking on this early inspiration Jo says…

“I started using clay after my Foundation at Hastings in 1989, we had an amazing teacher called Tony Bennett who created the most incredible ceramic works, they were really amazing. He exhibited in Garth Clarke gallery in New York, and of course we were all v. impressed. It made me realise what could be done with ceramics, that it could be a prestigious material despite its basic origins. I also followed Grayson Perry’s work at this time.”

“I always admired his [Grayson Perry’s] work, ever since I saw him in a magazine and realised that it was possible to put pictures on pots. That literally fired me up and I was into monochrome for many years – although there were many times I could have used more colour, I was strangely scared of it.”

She carried this motivation and her ideas over when she started studying 3D Design, Ceramics at Surry Institute for Art and Design, and later, while working with a mould making studio in London to get larger works made and fired. Jo would even transport works to London from Brighton by train as local studios were not keen on sharing firings!

Eventually Jo received some grant money which enabled her to buy her own kiln, this in turn meant that she could create more ambitious, larger scale sculpture and for the first time, start trialling colour in her works.

“Once I got some grants and a kiln, I was able to start experimenting, and finally colour came along! I did many group shows and even took my work to Holland to exhibit. I had loads of outdoor shows, and really enjoyed it. Slowly my work got larger and brighter – the Population series was the heaviest and I realised that I needed to find a new material. I corresponded with Rosette Gault whose investigations into Paperclay were just beginning. She inspired me to use it – and it gave me so much freedom, work could be made/stopped/restarted and it was really liberating. I really loved the Breakfast in Fur, the cup by Méret Oppenheim – that confusion between touch and texture – really excited me. Inspired by this many of my pieces looked like they were made of foam”

Jo’s work morphed yet again in 2006 when she became a mother. From a mix of sleep deprivation, working around her baby’s needs and drawing inspiration from the poetry of Christina Rosetti and The Dolls of Hans Bellmer, the Nymphs Headrests were born, as well as a series of other works in orange.

“With motherhood arriving in 2006 my work did change – any mother will know that enough sleep & successful breastfeeding is a holy grail concocted by the devil!! Out of this time I made the Nymphs Headrests and a set of other orange works. The poetry of Christina Rosetti and dolls of Hans Bellmer were big inspirations – no coincidence that I visited the Bellmer exhibit at the Whitechapel with my baby – some raised eyebrows there but he slept through it all! The first 10 years of motherhood were good for my work – but as the kids got into the pre-teens, I found my work getting darker – blue came in, along with metal tones and harder surfaces.”

Nymphs Headrest

Which I guess leads us to now! Quite recently Jo has been working on a new series of work; The Kubb Series. (A quick google of the term Kubb reveals that it is in fact a lawn game, similar to bowling or Horseshoes, which has its origins with the Vikings.) These works are much larger, supersized versions of ancient gaming pieces, “Something you can really get your hand on!”

When Jo showed me these works and explained what they were I got quite excited! I love anything linked to Viking history so I was keen to learn more. I asked Jo about her recent changes in inspiration and her move to a darker colour pallet, as well as her hopes for exhibiting in the future.

Q – At the very beginning of our chat you mentioned that with your most recent work you have had a change of inspiration, working with darker colours and tones, as well as changing the materials you work with to better fit around your commitments. Can you elaborate on that a little?

“For the past 10 years, I have been making different work, working with scale, proportions and deeper colours. This started when I read the poem Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti. I got excited about darkness again, a good darkness of velvet shadows and a deep blue twilight feeling. It’s also about the tactile and being inspired by things that people touch, like the Boli figures (from Mali) or viking games. I am excited by the intimacy of those original things that people handled. I also used to work in a castle and sometimes was allowed into the cellar archives to look into boxes of old skulls and pottery, memories of that came back to me. I have also been inspired by my late mother Sandra’s collection of folk songs. Growing up hearing her sing these dark and sometimes brutal storylines has given me much inspiration over the years.”

Q – It’s clear from the descriptions on your website that you have been inspired by all sorts of things over the years but have there been any subjects or themes which you find yourself coming back to often? or which seem to run through your work by themselves without intention?

“I have always enjoyed the juxtaposition of materials and sensory experiences. Mainly where you look at something and imagine it feels like one thing but in fact and when you actually touch it it feels like another.

The artwork which started this off for me was Méret Oppenheim’s cup called Object, I may have already mentioned it. It’s a very strange piece because the more you look at it the more it confuses your mind, I spent a long time looking at it in the Tate.

I also was very drawn to Jeff Koon’s Rabbit which hypnotised me in a gallery in LA.  So for the ’90’s I was making brightly coloured ceramic work that looked like soft fabric toys or foam, to play with that type of sensory perception/confusion. There was also a sensual  element at play, like in the Nymphs Headrests which I made while my children were infants. Motherhood definitely changed me!”

“I often end up making some quite phallic objects but I dont think of this while making them. Mind you I do fancy having my picture taken like this one of Louise Bourgeois with one of my works tucked under my arm!” 

Q – Looking at the images you have sent of your most recent green works, they feel like very organic forms, almost like they created themselves. But I’m interested to know if you have an interest in or have been researching ancient monuments/structures or cultures? they remind me a lot of the upright stones at Stonehenge or the stones at Avebury, all be it on a smaller scale.

“On a visit to the British Museum I was looking at some Viking gaming pieces – small, bronze and worn by the passage of time and hands.

Studying them, I thought that they were like the most perfect of sculptures – if only they were larger….

Then on a family trip to Lindisfarne the exhibits there also drew me into the story of the Viking incursions into England, and how they would have carried these type of gaming pieces about their person.

The objects use – to bide their time when they weren’t rowing boats or fighting, made me realise how little of this side of their society I knew about. There was something very intense about the intimacy of the objects, and that excited me to make these three green works”

“Also As a child I visited Stonehenge and remember touching and laying on the stones, and I also, as a teenager I slept one night in West Kennet Long Barrow, Wiltshire. Being up close and personal with these ancient stones has definitely influenced me, I love the combination between something that looks monumental from a distance but still draws your touch. Modern monuments are always up on a plinth, but these older ones seem to grow from the earth and like a tree you just want to get your hands on it.

Q – Is this new work site specific? And how does the environment the work is placed in influence it? For example would you like one of these pieces installed on a certain hill because of the light interactions, or because of the way it would disrupt the landscape, maybe?

“I would love to exhibit in a forest again – I really like the way the light changes through the trees and that the view of the work changes as you move through the forest.”

Q – Going back to the materials you use, do they impact or manipulate the shape and texture of the piece at all?

“The clay I use is paperclay and it does make me create more solid work, in the way that I construct it all in sections over time. The joy of the paperclay is you can work for a bit, pause then resume, which works well around my kids, job, life. It also means I don’t have to rush. You can make fragile works but I have chosen not to, so the work is much more robust to handle and fire.”

Q – If these pieces were placed in the landscape what reactions do they have from people walking by? (or what reactions would you like them to have?)

“People are often saying that my work looks very pleasing in the landscape – the intimate (less than 60cm) size gives them an intimacy that draws people in – and the material, clay, always draws a comment that they are very “natural””

Q – Do you have any plans to exhibit them outside? And how do you think showing them in a more “traditional” white cube space would change the works and the way people interact with them? (for better or worse)

“I am currently approaching some outdoor venues / cafes and also rural business centres to see if they are interested. Its early days, with C-19 concerns holding things up, but I am keeping up my work on this idea.”

Q – Where do you want to take the work next? Do you have any ideas or plans for new sculptures?

“I am keen to continue working to 60cms, and beyond. I am dreaming of sleek monoliths, moonlit sculpture trails, creating a wooden dome and erecting it in a forest, to exhibit in. Family commitments are a constant draw on my focus but I will continue to make and show my work – who knows, I might sell some pieces if I’m lucky!”

Like most artists Jo also has a few other creative projects on the go! And naturally I had to ask about these ventures and how they fit into her wider body of work…

Q – I remember you also mentioned that you have a few other side projects going on including prop making and sewing. Both of those things seem very different from your ceramic works! How do they fit into your creative bubble? I have been experimenting with sewing and embroidery myself during lockdown and have found it a really good way to relax and “zone out” from all that is going on in the world for a while. Is that similar for you?

“Sewing – specifically quilting, has drawn me as I have only a few decisions to make, then the rest is just work. It’s very different to making a sculpture. You can recut, revisit, resew. With clay there is a finite point, there is no unpicking. So, I found that by doing sewing in the much colder months, I could rest my clay/art making brain a bit. I use a 1930s manual and 60’s electric machine then I hand tie (sew the sides of the quilt together). This involves having a 6” frame in the front room for months, while I work on it every evening. Each triangle gets three stiches in the centre then I move through to the next triangle/space, it’s quite time consuming.

The prop making was done from around 1997 to 2006 for Vavavavoom! a burlesque event lead by my friend Stella Starr. It was really inspiring and great fun, as well as hard work. Again, it was different from making sculptures and great to work to a brief, we had a great understanding of the visual impression of the costumes and props and hope to showcase them again in the future.”

And Finally, I couldn’t finish this feature without mentioning Jo’s dad Lawrence, who sadly passed away during preparations for this blog.

Lawrence helped advise Jo with technical challenges, drove artworks to exhibitions and was a sounding board for her ideas, even if he was slightly bemused by what she was making!

He will be greatly missed.

Jo and dad Lawrence. Taken at a group show at Into You Tattoo in Brighton in 2011

You can also visit Jo’s website and her Instagram for more!

Lockdown Art, part 3 – by Sian Matthews

Following on from Charlotte and Corrina, and a couple of months into lockdown I’m here to share the artworks I see every day in my own home. Like many people right now I am missing visiting galleries and museums. As much as I am enjoying seeing everyone share their work via social media and think it is brilliant that galleries are making their collections available online (including our own online show!), there is nothing like experiencing great art in person (and lets not forget the social aspect of gallery visits!).

I am definitely very fortunate to own and be able to display art in my home and the extra time I have found myself with as of late has meant that I have been able to appreciate it more than I would have under “normal” circumstances. A large amount of the art I own also means something to me on a personal level, most of it created by friends or linked to past experiences and memories, it has helped me feel connected to the world beyond my own four walls in these trying times.

Main gallery wall.

First up are two of the four portraits created of myself at our second ‘Intersect portraiture project’ on IWD 2019. These were drawn as the practice round by our artists before guest sitters arrived, to get acquainted with the process and with each other. The other two drawings from this sitting are safely tucked away in storage, not just for space reasons but also because its probably a little narcissistic to have a whole wall full of images of myself above my bed, right?

Next up is a print by artist and illustrator Steven Rhodes which is actually a birthday card from a friend which I framed on account of it looking a little like me and my cat Phoebe.

Two of the artworks I own were made by friends while at University and were destined for the skip after being exhibited at Free Range in 2016 due to a lack of storage opportunities. Obviously I felt awful that my friends were having to bin the work they had poured all their efforts into the last few months and which had earned them their degrees so I saved what I could. This ended up being ‘Red painting on wood’ by Kinga Pilarska and 1 of the hundreds of random Gnome heads created by and scattered around by Robin Gosselin-Monasevic.

Another artwork hanging on my wall and created by a friend is this print by Jess Nash, who you can read more about in my previous blog “An Interview with Jess Nash”

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a ‘thing’ for print making, especially etchings, woodblocks, lino, and cyanotype. I always appreciate the processes of making the art work, sometimes more than the final outcome and the piece itself! which is why printing in all it’s forms, watching artists carve and mark blocks, as well as exploring these processes myself in my own work appeals to me. So, you could imagine my excitement when I discovered printmaker and tattoo artist Lacey Law on Instagram. Her work is often much more figurative than I would usually be drawn in by, most of her woodblock prints are tattoo flash in a different medium to the typical drawings on paper but I adore them.

Back in 2018 I was lucky enough to receive an edition print of ‘Comfort’ for my birthday from my partner and it has held pride of place on my wall ever since. I have been watching her carefully on Instagram throughout lockdown, (watching her carve blocks is oddly satisfying) and have been dying to get my hands on one of her smaller prints she has been making on paper scraps, but her work sells out in minuets and I have just not been quick enough…. Yet!

Do you know of the Stoned Fox meme? Chances are you have seen it somewhere even if you don’t know what it is first-hand, this taxidermy fox is a viral hit and has literally travelled the world. His creator Adele Morse is an artist working in London who specialises in sculpture and taxidermy. Since the original fox went viral Adele has made many more anthropomorphic critters including a raccoon, a hedgehog, some rats, many more foxes and a little goat named Billy, who also recently became a viral sensation in Morocco for being the spawn of Satan/witchcraft/a summoned demon of some sort (You couldn’t make it up!).

Last year Adele tried to get her original fox back from some people who had broken him and generally treated him quite badly, the catch was that to get her own artwork back she was going to have to buy him back. To raise the funds for this a friend of Adele’s set up a GoFundMe to bring the fox home! For a small donation you would be sent a print of the fox and the knowledge that you helped an artist regain some control of her own work.

At one of the 2018 TOAF fairs two illustration students turned their stall into a participatory project, inviting visitors to have their animal portrait drawn. I still have my cat portrait framed on the wall.

Because of recent development work in the town, last year a group of artists and designers in Harlow found themselves having to say goodbye to their studios at Gatehouse Arts. The decision was made by Abbie and Harry at SnootieStudios to put on one last goodbye show in their gallery in which they celebrated the work created in the studios as well as works by artists who have had a past connection to the studios and gallery or who just live and work in Harlow. Having grown up in the town and previously working on an exhibition in the gallery with a group of friends back in 2015 I was able to submit and exhibit my own etchings in the exhibition along side many others.

For the Private view Abbie and Harry made their own home brew beer in the bathrooms of the studios and bottled it in vintage (unused) medicine bottles and printed up their own labels, naming their creation ‘good booze’.

I’ve known Abbie and Harry for many years and this eccentric idea and design is so typically them, I had to keep a bottle! It now sits proudly in my kitchen with Audrey, my Venus fly trap… because why not?

And lastly, for this blog anyway, sat on my bookshelf is a memento from the first exhibition I was involved in with Sweet ‘Art. I created these 3D representations of the Femfest posters by casting a real Femfresh bottle in plaster and then painting. Originally created as special press invitations we also had a few on display at the exhibition itself, do any of you remember them?

There are other artworks scattered around the house, including some of my own work so maybe if this lockdown carries on much longer I’ll do a Lockdown Art part 3.5 and show off a few more examples but for now, I hope you’ve enjoyed snooping around my collection!

A belated Frieze week review by Sian Matthews

Well over a month after the big event I still have a lot I want to say and discuss, good and bad, about all things Frieze 2019.

This year’s fair had a focus on the climate crisis and demonstrated this by including artworks such as Patrick Goddard’s ‘Blue Sky Thinking’ which uses hundreds of dead parakeets to ram the message home.

However, I haven’t seen much in the way of the fair itself addressing its carbon footprint, the only steps it seems to have taken this year is to switch to using biofuel.

One of the interactive projects this year was by the organisation Arto LIFEWTR who thought it was a brilliant idea to use PLASTIC bottles to display artworks by emerging artists and hand them out to visitors, along with pins by artist John Booth in exchange for posting about them on social media. I feel like I must have missed something on this because it just seems too tone deaf to be a real thing? I literally saw these bottles discarded everywhere all week.

Including at TOAF and Tate modern.

I can’t understand why a fair with a focus on the climate crisis included an interactive installation which was centred around plastic bottles, something which as a society we should be using less of. Also, as I am writing this I am sat with a stack of handouts, newspapers, maps, all the paper that gets thrown at you while visiting the fair.

For a fair talking about climate change and carbon footprints there was a huge amount of waste. Something to think about.

Moving on to something more positive, One of the live artworks which I particularly enjoyed was an interactive artwork in which the participant becomes part of the piece after being asked to hold a feather duster perfectly still and to concentrate on not moving the feathers. Of course, this is impossible as the more you try the harder it gets. The feathers pick up the participants heartbeat and breathing so that you physically cannot hold it still. After the frustration subsides and you concentrate more on the movement of the feathers in time with your own heart beat it becomes quite relaxing, almost meditative.

 

 

Woven: a curated set of stands at the far end of the fair focused on artists who work with fabrics, sewing, embroidery and other textile mediums was, I thought, one of the most thought provoking parts of the fair, and was pleased to see a less mainstream medium being celebrated. Included were Chitra Ganesh, Monika Correa and Cian Dayrit as well as many others. Working with themes and ideas such as Gender, Power, myth and reality, and historical narratives.

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Included in Woven was artist Angela Su who I completely adored and who’s work investigates perception and imagery of the body through metamorphosis and transformation. The works on display were almost like scientific drawings, delicate and beautiful, yet so real they were a little uncomfortable to look at. Looking closer at these drawings you realise they are incredibly intricate embroidery and honestly, I could have starred at them all day.

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Last year I mentioned that I was concerned that the representation of women at the fair was more of a fashion statement and less about real change. Although I stand by my concern, I was pleased to see that a lot of galleries embraced diversity this year, this was mainly the smaller galleries and stands but it was there, nonetheless. I noticed a lot of attention being given to artists from African nations which was fantastic to see, and I appreciated the introduction to some new an exciting artists.

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I also attended The Other Art Fair for the private view and at the risk of upsetting some people, I don’t have much to say about it. I always enjoy going, catching up with artists and friends but recently I feel like it is getting repetitive. I’m not saying it’s a bad fair, I would just like to see something new.

Finally, I visited the new Hyundai Commission at Tate modern which this year features ‘Fons Americanus’, a 13 meter tall fountain by artist Kara Walker. Inspired by the Victoria memorial outside Buckingham palace but exploring ideas and themes resulting from the transatlantic slave trade. I have long been a fan of Kara Walker and to see her work in the setting of the turbine hall was something quite special. Its open until April so I recommend a visit!

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An Interview with Jessica Nash by Sian Matthews

An artist working predominantly with photography in east London, Jess works with themes such as touch, skin, sex and cancer and uses these themes to explore her own relationships, fears and curiosities on an incredibly personal level. On the surface her photographs are very clean, beautiful to look at and are reminiscent of the surreal and eccentric images used to sell perfume or jewellery in editorial magazines. However, once you peel away that serene exterior it is clear that her images are a way for the artist to explore and understand the sometimes hard-hitting issues she faces in her personal life. Like many artists Jess uses her work as a way to document and catalogue her struggles as well as a form of healing and understanding. I met up with Jess to discuss the topics and motives behind her work and to get to know her a little more as an individual, away from the sometimes gloomy subject matter of her work.

Infectum Pellis is an ongoing project in which the artist is further examining her relationship with skin and touch. These photographs show the skin as tense and restrictive, reflecting the way haphephobia, the fear of being touched causes the artist to feel in her own skin. Jessica’s practice is heavily influenced by her relationship with skin, sex and cancer.

 

It has been couple of weeks now since I met up with Jess in Loughton to get a coffee and I had planned to start our interview with some silly, light-hearted questions just to break the ice and to  have a little fun, the ice was broken however when I found myself waiting for her after she found a hoard of old Polaroid cameras in a charity shop and her excitement got the better of her (who doesn’t get excited over old cameras in charity shops though, right?).

Once we were sat down, coffee in hand, we started to chat about how Jess currently works for Polaroid and generally had a catch up. I should mention here that I have known Jess for a couple of years now, having met after being invited to exhibit alongside her and a few other artists at ‘The Body Exhibition’ in Peckham. An exhibition exploring the relationships between artist and body which Jess had organised in conjunction with her degree.

 

Once that was over with, we started the interview with some quick fire questions!

 

Q. Do you have a favourite artwork or an artwork you feel drawn to?

A. I don’t think I have just one favourite piece, there are a few that come to mind. But the book ‘Pond’ By Clair Louise Bennett, although not an ‘artwork’ really stands out and is important to me.

 

 

Q. Is there a song, a piece of music or a band that inspires you?

A. Again there’s a few, I love listening to Ludovico Einaudi in the studio and when I’m working, its something easy to listen to and have on in the background that isn’t too distracting. I also enjoy listening to James Blake for similar reasons and i also feel inspired when listening and dancing to old Motown.

Picked for the blog –

 

Q. Can you name 3 artists who have inspired or informed your work?

A. Mia Dubek, Alix Marie and Marina Abramovich. I’m not necessarily inspired by them anymore but they have informed my work in the past. Particularly with Marina Abramovitch, I once loved her work and she inspired me a lot but now I’m not sure I like her at all, she seems to have an arrogance about her now that I don’t like, I know that’s quite an unpopular opinion and very controversial because everyone seems to love her but I am just not into it anymore. (It is controversial but… I completely agree!)

Mia dubeck

Alix Marie

Marina Abramovitc

 

Also see: https://miadudek.co.uk/Publications

 

Q. What is your biggest pet peeve, and why?

A.I have a lot. But definitely people who breathe too loudly, or people who breathe on you on the tube. I really hate it when you can feel someone’s breath on you.

 

Q.If you could choose, what super power would you have and why?

A. Errrm, it’s not really a superpower but something I would love is to have the ability to have eaten without actually having to stop to eat. I find stopping what I’m doing to eat very time consuming and I wish I could eat without having to eat. If that makes sense?

 

Q. Do you have a favourite museum or gallery? Or an exhibition you have visited recently that really stood out to you?

A. I think one of my favourite galleries is the König Galerie in Berlin because of its architecture. It has super high ceilings and the light is amazing.

 

 

Q. What do you dislike about the art world as a whole?

A. There are too many people trying to break into the industry and technology makes it too easy and too difficult. Its so over saturated because its so easy to put yourself out there via social media, like Instagram, that its also difficult to get noticed, whether its for your artwork or for a creative job.

 

Q. Other than art and photography, what interests do you have?

A. Since finishing Uni I have been pushing myself to try new things as a way to stay creative, its hard to stay in that mind set when you don’t really have a space to work in that’s dedicated to art, like a studio or other people to work with and bounce ideas off of. I have recently taken up crochet, needle punch and other yarn-based crafts. I recently started going skateboarding too because its out of my comfort zone and I am trying to push myself. Other than that I also enjoy doing a lot of stereotypical ‘hobbies’ that people say they do, except I actually do them, like reading, cooking, yoga and gardening.

 

Q. What is your earliest creative memory?

A. The first photo I remember taking was of my family on the beach, I was about 4 I think. I cropped my dad’s head off by accident.

 

Q. If you could visit anywhere on earth, where would you go?

A. Anywhere with a lot of stars! There is a place in Ireland where you can see the most stars anywhere on the planet because of the way its positioned. I’d love to take a trip there. I also really like Cornwall. I wouldn’t go far, just somewhere beautiful.

 

Moving onto the more serious questions I wanted to talk about Jess the artist, I wanted to find out about her thought processes and the motives, themes and inspirations behind the work she creates. So I started off broadly..

 

Q. To start, what exactly is it that you do? In terms of what mediums do you use, what do you aim to explore and what do you want to portray to the audience?

A. I take photos as a kind of therapy, I find that it’s a way to talk about something and communicate with the world without being static. I often think of myself as being very monotone in the way I talk about things and the way that I explain things, photography is an easier way to be expressive and show more feeling.

I also chose to use film because it’s much more tactile than digital, you end up with a physical object to hold and a process to follow – it mimics the idea of being about touch.

 

Old Wives Tales is a diptych of self portraits. The photographs show a perhaps uncomfortably literal version of the artists memories. From a young age, the artist would bathe with her twin brother and whilst she would make ‘potions’ with whatever shampoos she could find, her brother played with rubber sea creatures. Their mother once told them a story of how the rubber octopus might use his suckers and tentacles to wrap around their feet and pull them down the plug hole. The second photograph shows of a hoop earring being pulled, looking back at when she was told that to wear them would meant that she would one day ‘rip’ her ear out.

 

Q. What themes do you use in your work and why?

A. I used to work with skin as an object – how you use it to communicate with the world. My twin brother was diagnosed with melanoma, skin cancer, it really started to affect me and unavoidably my work began to be influenced by both his struggle and mine. I also use my work to explore the tense and restrictive way my haphephobia, the fear of being touched, causes me to feel. At the same time I also started to investigate how skin can be used to convey more of a sexual message, separate from my other work.

 

Through my series One of Two I was able to show the relationship between my twin brother and I. Shot in our home studio, The series uses natural light to show the organic nature of our relationship and how although we are growing together, we are also growing apart. Using a white background allowed me to show him as one. This project was a way for me to acknowledge how independent we have become from each other.

 

Q. And what made you think to make art about this subject matter?

A. It came completely naturally, when something so significant is happening with your home and personal life you can’t help but let it spill over into other things, in some ways making work about everything that was going on was cathartic, it was a way to release it all into something, it was freeing. While I was making this work I also had a separate project that was sort of documenting a relationship and a person who was absolutely nothing to do with my home life. I feel like I had to have this project running alongside my other work as a distraction.

 

Q. Where do your ideas and inspirations come from? What kind of research to do you?

A. I read a lot, both literature and poetry. Weirdly I don’t look at other photos or photographic artists, I get a lot of inspiration from watching videos, films, specifically home videos. I also like to just talk to people. You get a lot of information just by talking. And people watching. I guess my research style is very non traditional, I like to collect things and getting lost in Instagram.

 

Q. Are there any inherent qualities that your work has that you dislike?

A. I don’t like that it has a trendy aesthetic and a trendy colour pallet, it means that people don’t ask the right questions and a lot of the time they take it at face value. I also feel like it needs to have more writing to accompany it at shows because people don’t get it. But that defeats the object really.

 

Q. What is the most memorable response you have had to your artwork? (coincidentally, Jess asking to exhibit my work after seeing it at Free Range the year before is mine!)

A. My work was shown in the largest photography exhibition in China, they asked for my work to be sent as a digital file with printing instructions which I did. They ended up printing it on the wrong paper, the wrong size and then hung them in the wrong order. It was crap and I was really disappointed. What I thought was a great opportunity was ruined.

One of my brother’s friends has recently got his own place and wants to buy one of my photographs and not just because we’re friends, he genuinely wants to buy my work and it’s a massive compliment!

I’ve also got my work onto the front cover of the Royal Photography Society magazine which is a huge achievement and I am very excited about.

 

 

Q. What is your dream project? Art or otherwise?

A. I really want to try printing onto latex and making garments. With latex though, it’s extremely hard to work with and expensive which is holding me back. I don’t have a space to work in at the moment or anywhere to store stuff.

 

Q. What is the best piece of advice you have been given?

A. ‘You are responsible for what you’re doing’, there is no use getting stressed about your art work because it is only what you make it. Sometimes it is good to be reminded of that. And also ‘you’ve got time to do what you want to do’

 

Q. Professionally, what is your goal?

A. Right now my goal is to have my own studio space – to find people who I can collaborate with – I just want to be making. I also don’t want my job to be my artistic practice, I want there to be a break between the two.

I would love the opportunity to exhibit my work in the RA Summer exhibition and I want to go back to Uni and study for a MA at Bournemouth.

 

Q. And lastly, what’s next for you? What can we expect to see from you in the next year or so?

A. I want to start a new Polaroid project, maybe something to do with collage. I like the medium, I like that its instant. I’d like to start putting myself forward for more opportunities and exhibit my work more, possibly across Europe?

 

I just wanted to finish by saying a big thanks you Jess for her time and if you want to explore Jess’s work further you can do so by visiting her website or via social media, links below!

jessicanash.co.uk

Instagram – jess.a.nash

 

 

 

 

 

The problem with Frieze Week ’18 by Sian Matthews

 

That title is a little misleading because I did actually have a really great time at Frieze London. It has been over a month now since the fair and I have had plenty of time to contemplate it all, although there is one thing that has been playing on my mind that I would like to discuss. But let’s start on a good note! This year was my first time attending the art fair itself, although I have explored the sculpture park in previous years, and thanks to Sweet ‘Art I had a press pass!

This year Frieze week had a huge focus on women in the arts. Frieze itself commissioned some large-scale artworks, installations and performances such as Tatiana Trouvé’s ‘The Shaman’ (pictured below) a 1.2 tonne bronze tree and water pump. It was one of the first things I saw as I went into the fair and it definitely commanded the attention it was receiving.

At the other end of the fair there was a curated section of stands showcasing the work of 9 female artists who had used their work as a form of political activism in the 80s and 90s called ‘Social Work’ I quite enjoyed Social Work as it was diverse on all levels, including race, age, backgrounds and even mediums and subject matter. The section included artists such as Nancy Spero, Helen Chadwick, Berni Searle and Ipek Duben; artists who use the female experience and themes of sexuality, gender, alienation and identity to challenge both aesthetic and political conventions. It worked really well and was an insightful look into the practice of some very influential artists. I was also lucky enough to wander past just as Sonia Boyce was giving an interview about her work! (I won’t lie, I felt a little starstruck!) It was fascinating to listen in and hear what she had to say about the motives and messages behind her work and what she thought of Social Work itself.

The stand I connected with most in Social Work was the Pippy Houldsworth Gallery who were showcasing the work of Mary Kelly. ‘Interim Part 1: Corpus’ is the culmination of 3 years of documentation by Kelly of conversations she had with women of her generation and displays their words in first-person text panels alongside screen printed images of fashion ads and medical photography of ‘hysterical women’. It feels personal and almost candid in its delivery, you get the feeling you’re reading something like a diary entry, something you shouldn’t be reading, and I appreciated the fact I was being told something so intimate.

The one thing that really disappointed me about Social Work is that it was hyped up quite a lot beforehand, but then felt like it was squished into a corner at the actual event. I would have preferred it to have had a more prominent spot in the fair.

Another nice touch to the fair this year was a fund-raising event hosted by Tracey Emin in the form of a postcard auction, with the proceeds going to women’s charities. Although unfortunately I didn’t manage to catch any of it!

Elsewhere in the city, galleries such as White Cube, Victoria Miro, the Parasol Unit and even the RA celebrated women by opening exhibitions and installations of works by artists such as Yayoi Kusama (who I love but sadly missed out on tickets for!), Cornelia Parker brought her PsychoBarn installation to the courtyard of the RA, Heidi Bucher and her beautifully haunting latex skinnings, and Doris Salcedo (pictured below) at White Cube. Women really did take over London for Frieze week!

 

On the Friday night I attended The Other Art Fair which also had a whole section dedicated to female artists. They had their own building across the road from Victoria House which was designed to be a statement called ‘not 30%’ to draw attention to the fact women typically get only 30% representation in art fairs. I thought it was a great idea (although I wasn’t sure about segregating them in another building away from the main event), and there was a diverse selection of work, from painting and sculpture to taxidermy and even tattooing. I so badly wanted to get a tattoo by artist Emily Malice but I missed her by a couple of hours as Friday night was the only time she wasn’t there! (maybe next time!)

Whilst we were there we also met two recent graduates who had turned their stall into a fun and inviting participatory project.  As Illustrators, they were drawing visitors to the art fair as any animal of their choosing for a small donation, so obviously we had to take part! See us below as a cat, a leopard and a jellyfish!

 

Overall I think The Other Art Fair may have been more enjoyable on a social level. More interactive, more inviting, it was more appealing to a wider spectrum of people. Dare I say more inclusive?

All of this sounds great doesn’t it? Women finally getting the recognition they so badly deserve. So going back to my clickbait title, where is the problem?

What has been playing on my mind is the idea that all of this new attention from large institutions, galleries and companies is just a form of box ticking, it felt like they were just ticking women off their inclusion list. I am not really sure of the exact thing that made me feel like this, maybe it’s the fact that both art fairs felt the need to over-publicise their inclusion of women and make a song and dance about it as if for attention; to be seen to be doing the right thing instead of recognising the issues faced by female artists, educating themselves and making the necessary changes. Obviously, I’m not saying we shouldn’t shout about the needs and rights of women in this industry, its massively important to talk about it! There was just something about Frieze week that made me feel like the motives behind it were off.  As you all must know by now, 2018 marks 100 years since the first women in the UK won the right to vote. This means that women’s rights are very much the theme of the year. It means that right now equality and women’s rights seem to be a bit of a fashion statement unfortunately and these companies need to be seen to be doing the right thing or they face huge backlash.

While I think its amazing what happened at this year’s Frieze week, and I certainly do not want to belittle the success of the artists featured. I can’t shake the feeling that we should all be a little wary of the motives and the intentions behind this sudden push for women. I am worried that next year this will all go away and no real progress will have been made. I hope I am wrong.

I have taken a photo of an article written in the free art news paper given out at the Frieze art fair itself which I feel sums up my feelings well and highlighted certain points for you. I feel it quite clearly explains why the focus of this years Frieze week only felt skin deep.

Let me know what you think, am I just being pessimistic? Did you visit Frieze or any of the other events going on that week and what was your experience? I’d really like to know.

A Women’s day Experience by Sian Matthews

I had a bad experience for International women’s day and it helps prove how far we still need to go.

A friend and I decided to spend IWD at a few galleries in London which were holding exhibitions and tours about women artists, the female gaze and the influential women who helped shape certain institutions. I hadn’t seen my friend for a while, I was looking forward to celebrating women and art with her.

The day started strong with a coffee and a catch up before moving on to the newly opened Richard Saltoun gallery in Mayfair. The first exhibition held at this new gallery space, ‘Women Look at Women’ explored themes such as feminine identity, censorship, gender stereotypes, sex and relationships through the work of thirteen international artists. The exhibition included beautiful but honest black and white photography by artists like Renate Bertlmann, Francesca Woodman and Annegret Soltau, as well as sculptural works by Helen Chadwick.

Photographs by Elisabetta Catalano and Helen Chadwick’s ‘Ego Geometria Sum VI: Bed – 6 3/4 years’

A section of ‘Verwandlungen (Transformations)’ by Renate Bertlmann

It was great to experience an exhibition, curated by a woman, working with female artists, feminine themes and the female gaze. You know, other then when Sweet ‘Art does it. For the most part I was impressed by it. The exhibition felt refreshing; it was clean and well thought out, and most importantly for the viewer, it was insightful and thought provoking. Of course, any exhibition has space for improvement, to learn and ensure you do things better the next time. ‘Women Look at Women’ could have been more inclusive. It could have included a wider, more diverse group of works, but it did what it was meant to do well enough for me.

‘Ego Geometria Sum VI: Bed – 6 3/4 years’ by Helen Chadwick

‘Conversation Piece (Divided Self)’ Rose Finn-Kelcey

‘Selbst II, 1-12 (Self II, 1-12)’ Annegret Soltau

After such a great start you will understand my disappointment and, honestly, outrage at our next visit.  This year for International Women’s Day, the Royal Academy intended to celebrate with ‘Feminine Futures’, a series of events and tours from the 1^st – 10^th of March.

We got to the RA at noon for the IWD tour, which was billed as an event that will “explore the lives of some of the important women in the history of the RA”. What we were greeted with however was anything but!

Before I explain why I was so disappointed, I should point out that this tour was one of six or seven delivered over ten days. The tour is presented by a different guide each day and therefore is different every time. For all I know the rest of the tours were spot on.

To start, the male guide took us into a small corridor next to a staircase which was decorated with photographs of the current eighty academicians. He pointed out Tracey Emin and Cornelia Parker and briefly spoke about them (they were the only female artists mentioned for the whole tour). He then spent the next 5 minutes talking about several of the men on the wall.  He made no effort to mention any other female academicians, he didn’t even mention Sonya Boyce, the first woman of colour to be made a Royal Academician, as recently as 2016.

Moving on he spoke about two paintings depicting some of the life drawing classes at the RA many years ago. These paintings showed female models being drawn by male artists and were themselves by men, although I cannot remember who. While standing in front of these paintings we were told that at this point in the RA’s history, women were banned from attending life drawing classes because it was thought that it objectified them. The guide also informed us that all female life models were from local brothels as it was inappropriate for women other than prostitutes to model nude. But according to him, all of that was ok… because they were paid a little more than their male counterparts.

Throughout the rest of the tour the guide spoke about not only the building it currently occupies, Burlington house, but also when it occupied the top floors of Somerset House and the National Gallery. He spoke about the architects, the owners of buildings and artists who have worked within the RA: all men, including Constable and even Churchill. It would have been far more interesting to tell us the little-known fact that’s among the 34 founding members of the RA there were two women! Mary Moser and Angelica Kaufmann.

A few times other members of the group asked about the role of women at the RA, which was met with the guide asking if any of us were artists and what our practice consists of. Both myself and my friend answered, explaining that we are installation artists with an interest in the work of the YBA’s. So we were already familiar with Tracey Emin who’s work he promptly explained to us as if we had no idea who she was. ‘My bed’ he said was a “product of her realisation of the mess around her” not exactly what I would call an in depth, insightful or accurate description.

Right at the end of the tour, after someone asked about them, he briefly mentioned the suffragettes, how they had “slashed a couple of paintings in protest” basically referring to them as trouble makers who had ruined a precious painting. There is a lot of information to be found about this incident at the 1914 RA Summer Exhibition on their own website, surely a tour guide at the RA should be able to talk freely and in a respectful manner about this event?

Reading back through this it probably sounds like I am making this up. But I can promise I am not. You expect to come away from a tour of influential women at the RA feeling proud of what these women achieved in an industry that wasn’t always accepting, I expected to hear about how the women before me helped to pave the way for myself to be an artist and work in the arts today and instead I was told about how women had been mistreated by the RA until after WWII. I left feeling deflated, like we had gone backwards for an hour and honestly, I was angry.

Another point I feel I should add here is that on the 8^th of March, International Women’s Day, the same day I was trying to celebrate with a friend. An exhibition opened at Tate Modern, all about famous “ladies man” Picasso.

After all of this I had just one question on my mind. How did such a small gallery in Mayfair, and countless other small organisations manage to get their shows and messages so right when the big institutions with all their money and resources get it so wrong? Do they not care? Do they not listen? It seems ridiculous to me and it highlights just how far we all still must go in not only getting, but understanding and respecting equality.

It’s the Future! – by Corrina Eastwood

Well we made it! Its 2015! Great Scott where are the hover boards?!……… Oh well, who needs hover boards when you’ve had a year like ours! 2014 was quite a special one for us at Sweet ‘Art for so many reasons and we thought you may like to take a little stroll down memory lane with us before we get stuck into 2015 Sweet ‘Art style. We started the year recovering from our Christmas show Frieze and launching this blog that we are very proud of, with it now being read in 56 different countries including the US, China, Israel and Rwanda! We also began planning our first show of the year, ‘Visions Of Dr H’. A joke started on FB and which we probably took a bit too far, we decided with artist Karen Boughey to host a super fun exhibition of portraits of Dr Huxtable from the 80’s sitcom The Cosby Show! I mean why not? We spoke to some of our artists who all had fond memories of the character and were equally enthusiastic about the idea. We then all got to painting portraits and knitting tiny little Dr H jazzy jumpers for our press releases and teamed up with our new friends over at Juno bar and gallery in Shoreditch for this one of a kind show! Those little jumpers did the trick as we were sponsored by the mighty Johnny Walker Whisky and featured in the London Metro amongst other press all loving the show. Juno have said it has been their most popular and visited show to date and we made many sales. Who would have thought it? Guests on our opening night also enjoyed an interactive piece by Jerome Beresford where your projected self could dance adorned by one of many digitally generated jazzy jumpers!

Visions of Dr H Exhibition

Visions of Dr H Exhibition

Interactive Piece by Jerome Beresford at Visions of Dr H Exhibition

In light of recent and historic allegations made against Bill Cosby that we were not aware of at the time of the show, we have wondered as a team how people have felt about the show since. ‘Visions of Dr H’ was an exhibition dedicated to the character Dr Huxtable which many of us grew up watching and loved, rather than Bill Cosby himself, but we are undoubtedly saddened by the nature of the crimes he is accused of regardless and invite those of you reading to share your thoughts and feelings about the show if you wish. The Sweet ‘Art team then parted company for a few months with Gav and I deciding to take some time out to embark on an arty world tour while the rest of the team held down the fort back in London. You can read all about S’A on the road in this blog but we must mention the amazing time we had meeting artists all around the globe and visiting some incredible exhibitions, studios and galleries. New Orleans and Santa Fe in the US were definitely beautifully creative highlights, as was meeting new friends in Texas at the LPM Gallery and the amazing studio visits with artist Water Kerner in LA and Antonius Khos in Bali. We have been so lucky to make so many new inspiring contacts and are currently working on funding proposals for international collaborations in both the US and Vietnam.

Sweet ‘At on the Road in Texas

Sweet ‘Art on the Road in Santa Fe

Sweet ‘Art on the Road Studio Visit with Water Kerner in LA.

Sweet ‘Art on the Road Visit with Annie Wells at the LMP Gallery in Austin, Texas

Sweet ‘Art on the Road some down time on the Beach In Vietnam

So Gav and I returned home in June inspired and rearing to go and with the team back together we began planning our largest and most ambitious show to date. Starting as an idea by our lovely Charlotte we decided on a large multi-disciplinary exhibition to coincide with London Fashion Week. We wanted ‘Seams’ to showcase artists from all disciplines including fashion design, with garments that could be on display and worn by models on our opening night! We wanted works that explored where fashion meets art and art meets fashion! We wanted works that celebrated fashion but that also intelligently critiqued the fashion industry and fashion norms! We wanted interactive artworks, stunning installations, insightful paintings, neon, sound, edibles, amazing sponsors and a stunning, cool exhibition space located in the centre of the London art scene! So…….we made it happen! Not before enlisting some amazing help in the form of our awesome hard working interns. This year we have welcomed Jade, Anthony, B, Diana, Rosie, Shikara and Karolina into the S’A family. Together we made ‘Seams’ a huge success that we are so very proud of. Taking place at the Hoxton Arches Gallery in Shoreditch and sponsored by the amazing Sipsmith and Crystal Head Vodka our opening night was one mahooosive arty party. We had interactive fashion pieces designed by Shara Hayz and worn by the lovely Rosie and Shikara in the form of amazing sound activated light up jackets! The Sweet team also collaborated with Carolyn Butler and George Kloet to create Sweetshop, an interactive online artwork that challenged and critiqued the fashion and media industries that Rooms Magazine reviewed as an “edgy, satirical exploration.” We also chose to raise money for the charity BODY, who support those suffering from body image related issues including Body Dimorphic Disorder. Why not listen in here to interviews on the opening night by East London Radio!

Seams Exhibition

Seams Exhibition

Seams Exhibition

Seams Opening Night

Seams Opening Night

We followed up Seams a few months later with another awesome group show back at Juno. ‘Guilty Pleasures’ showcased the work of S’A artists old and new exploring the thrill, the fun, the sinister, the surreal, the absurd, the grotesque, the bizarre, the debauched, the moving and the taboo in the world of Guilty Pleasures! We enjoyed our now infamous anatomical heart cakes at our opening night washed down by Junos’ special Guilty Pleasures cocktails while listening to some Guilty Pleasures tunes courtesy of S’A friend and DJ Alex!

Guilty Pleasures Exhibition

Guilty Pleasures Opening Night

Guilty Pleasure Exhibition

………and for December? We finished the year with two great shows just for good measure. We decided to take a alternative look at the festive season with ‘Saturnalia’ and ‘GIF(t)’. Saturnalia was a Roman holiday in December celebrated with a sacrifice, banqueting and continual partying that over turned social norms! Krampus is a demonic beast-like creature from folklore who was said to punish children during the Christmas season and carry them off to his lair! We decided we wanted more pagan than panto, less of The Snow Man and more of The Wicker Man this Christmas and so asked artist to explore these alternative Christmas themes for our show. We had an amazing opening night enjoying Junos’ delicious mince pies and mulled wine and guests were treated to some arty prezzies courtesy of Krampus’ sinister sack!

Saturnalia Exhibition Poster

Saturnalia Opening Night

Saturnalia Exhibition at Juno Shoreditch

Saturnalia Exhibition

We ended the year with GIF(t), a UK first! Headed up by Jerome, GIF(t) was an exhibition of small works by selected artists showcasing an exciting new technology. We selected twelve talented gif artists that have begun to make their gifs into physical artworks via lenticular printing, sponsored for GIF(t) by the awesome people at gifpop! We collaborated with The Circle in Soho for this show and a great opening night was had by all thanks again to those Moscow mules courtesy of our friends at Crystal Head Vodka. We want to thank all the artists that participated, some flying in from as far as the US to be at the opening night!

Gif(t) Exhibition Opening Night

GIF(T) Exhibition at The Circle Soho

GIF (t) Exhibition Opening Night

GIF(t) Exhibition

I think you will agree that we had quite a year but what’s in the diary for 2015?! Well we are starting with launching our brand new website which looks amazing, even if we do say so ourselves. Do take a look and you will notice we have introduced our online store ‘Sweet Shop’. We have an ongoing submissions policy for Sweet Shop and are already in the process of working on its launch! If you are an artist that would like to get involved please visit our opportunities page for details. You will also notice our new submissions process via the site. I know, I know its pretty nerdy and yes we have been way too excited than is healthy about our new database and submissions procedure! It will help us to keep on top of all the submissions we now receive without anyone missing out on a chance to exhibit with us! Also on the site you can find out more about our amazing little team, the services we offer and check out our updated promo. What more could you want?! As for shows we have the whole year mapped out and are super excited! First up we’re going back to our roots and holding a large group show for International Women’s Day in March. The call for artists will be on the site very soon so keep an eye on our latest news sweet ‘arts and Happy New Year!!