Antwerp Mansion exhibition

Well this was an interesting one. Creative Transit exhibited in Antwerp just off Curry Mile, which at first looked like an abandoned house. There was a lot of work involved on the day of the exhibition, as the night before they had a Zuketh night, and so there were tons of cans everywhere and sick in corners. I arrived at 10am hungover too, but still helped with the lifting of heavy objects, alongside the manager who was also hungover and subsequently knew my friend from work! I had been a designated driver in the previous days carrying stuff down to the mansion. The box that contained my animation was so awkward to carry. We had to strap it down in Lozzy's car with a bit of string I borrowed from Eliza, as it was too big! There was a big worry it would fall out. In the end it ended up being alright, even though it was really awkward to move across the mansion as bits kept falling off, so a lot of making do and hammering went on. In the end everything got sorted out in time. My piece was the caterpillar animation, and I put it in the box 'Beware Wild Animals' that we were lugging around. The theme was 'Growth,' and as you can guess, my piece was to do with the growth of a caterpillar into a butterfly, and also hopefully the growth of child's minds when they learn. (That was who my piece was aimed at.)
 It was such a great night. We had bands on downstairs which brought a different crowd to the mansion, it was a lot of organising but I think everyone had to agree the music & art combination worked well. We all had shifts on the night as well, so I was on the door ripping tickets for a bit, and it was pretty bloody cold being in mid Feb! We had a stall as well which we used to sell some of our handmade work.

Two of my friends from work also came to review the event, as she is part of a group of people who review everything in Manchester- from computer games to good nights out in Manchester. You can check out the review here:  http://pronomo.co.uk/2012/02/28/manchester-art-exhibition-review-evolve/

Anyway enough of the talking, I will let the images do the talking now:

This is what the room looked like in the set up process.

My art piece

The finishing touch!

The stall

An example of some of the work

An example of some of the work.

The exhibition in flow...

A Caterpillar Tale

I decided to animate a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, finding its way in life and evolving as it goes. It was quite a simple idea but quite effective I think, as it teaches metamorphosis to kids; a complex matter; into something quite simple and beautiful. I decided to go down the story telling route as I thought it would go quite well hand in hand. I animated it in the animation suites in our university which took a couple of weeks. The movement isn't as smooth as professional animations, but I think it has quite a charming quality to it and goes quite well. I decided on a narration to go with the animation. The timing was quite difficult as it had to be read at a steady pace and at the right moments.

Here is the video:

Swans

I went to Amsterdam recently for the weekend and came across one of the most beautiful things in nature I came across that appeared out of nowhere. The canals had frozen over and swans had settled there in their not so normal, natural environment. It was strange seeing them on ice rather than in the water. I think another reason I found it so fascinating was because I had never seen them in a different country in the middle of a city. As I was growing up I always used to see swans in their natural habitat in Tatton Park in my home town of Knutsford. I've always loved how gracious they can be. I took photos of them on my digital SLR camera, and edited the layering effect on Photoshop instead of composing random film shots like I have done with my Diana camera of the multiple exposure shots. I wanted to see what the effects would be like if I actually did a bit of planning. And so here these experiments are, for you and for me to look at. 

Long exposure lights

I went into the woods near me and experimented with long exposure lights. I wanted to continue this idea of 'the shadow' and how the opposite of it; lights always gives a person hope no matter what. In some ways it's like a light that guides you home, kinda like a fairy godmother. I wanted to continue the fairytale theme, but with a lot of mystery. The photos I created keeps you second guessing to what the light is, who or what it may be, and where it's going....

Alice in Wonderland Tate exhibition

'The Rabbit put on his spectacles. "Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?" he asked. "Begin at the beginning," The King said gravely, 'and go on till you get to the end: then stop." (Carroll, 1865)

This is a famous quote from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, that has been one of the most incredible stories of adventure told over and over again that has stayed with me my whole life.When I heard about the Alice and Wonderland exhibition at the Tate Gallery in Liverpool, I jumped at the opportunity. This exhibition was to explore how Carroll's stories have influenced a generation of artists, including me. 

When I first entered, I was a little unsure what was going on, as there was neon signs all over the ceiling. Even after I read the description, I really didn't see what it had to do with Alice in Wonderland. And then I realised. This of course was the contemporary view on Alice in Wonderland. Don't get me wrong though, I don't hate contemporary art, because I have come across some that has amazed me. However, most of it just doesn't make sense. But that is the point you say? I like art with a certain mystery to it, but to me, a lot of it just seems like arty bollocks. It's like this nu wave of art is deemed cool if you stick a piece of scrumpled up paper on a wall and link it to the degrading of society and art critics call it, 'A fine piece of art.' To be honest it's more like a fine piece of arse if you ask me.

Anyway, back on topic... I must say even though I didn't like the ground floor that much, I did quite enjoy the neon signs hanging from the ceiling... mainly because they were quite naughty and I like a bit of rebellious art every now and then. 

  

However, when I got to the second floor, this was when it was how I hoped it to be. My favourite section was the illustrated book section. Oh my it was beautiful. I just love illustrated books, and it was made even better because it was Alice in Wonderland, many editions of the book had been made, and so many different illustrations were created. It was wonderful seeing Carroll's own illustrations however, as I didn't know he illustrated any of his own written work. I really enjoy the illustrations of Alice in Wonderland, they really do have a timeless quality to them. I love how adventurous the illustrations are, just like the books. It makes it even more interesting to look at. I love how he experiments with the way he lays out the writing. Why do it straight across the page when you can create an image with words? I think that is really clever. The art of storytelling is a gift, and as a child I always thought of myself as an author. However, throughout the years I release what great talent is needed, but still keep it close to my heart. The illustrations Carroll uses in his books don't just show us what's going on in the story; it involves us to a point that we believe we are with Alice the whole time she is stuck down the rabbit hole.

 Another part of the exhibition I really enjoyed was the surrealist section, and who else to describe it better than Salvador Dali.It is clear the connection between the brilliant minds of the writer and the artist. Almost like a match made in heaven in my opinion. However, it is clear who influenced who, as Carroll's book came out way before Dali was born. I have previously been to Dali's permanent exhibition in Berlin and there it is clear how much of an influence Carroll was to him in his surrealist world of art. I like how his images are typically Dali, but with a dash of Carroll. These were worlds that they both created where anything could happen. Disney created a wonderful vision with Dali, called 'Destino,' which was brilliantly laid out and beautifully narrated with moving images. This is probably my favourite animation to date.

No-one has influenced me more in my art than these two incredible minds. No words can actually explain how, when or why. I just accept it and smile.

This is an artist's interpretation of Carroll's story on acid. A lot of people believed
he took drugs to come up with some of the unbelievably wacky stories he told, including the
Mad Hatter's story.

Why is a raven like a writing desk?!

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-liverpool/exhibition/alice-wonderland

Multiple Exposure Film Roll 2

I took these photos over summer, trips to Birmingham, on my sailing trip from Glasgow to Shetland, and adventures in Shetland and Edinburgh, and one photo of the Berlin Wall. I like the layering effect as it reminds me of shadows that occur in fairytales; similar to Peter Pan's shadow. I like the use of shadows in fairytales representing our dark or mischievous side. These scenes however have a sense of innocence and mystery. I am creating new scenes with a sense of ghostliness.