Exhibition Opening for Desperate Artwives

Yesterday was spent travelling down to London to the private view of the Desperate Artwives exhibition which opened at The Vibe Gallery.

It was an exhausting 12 hour trip, we set off at 2pm, arriving at the gallery for 6, spending a few hours viewing the work and then returning, finally arriving home at 2am.  Needless to say, I am fairly exhausted today and tiredness is not a good state for me. 

The work at the Vibe Gallery was varied and curated beautifully.  The atmosphere was friendly and welcoming, good wine and good food was available and later we were treated to some live music. 

I love how a group exhibition always has work that can be related to.  Speaking to one of the artists, I realised I had no connection at all with her piece of work, but could appreciate the power and symbolism that it involved.  I was totally drawn into the delicate drawings by Jasna Nikolic which were just beautiful, but reading her written word, I was left wanting more of an explanation.  But this is something I really enjoy as it leaves me the space to interpret the work how I wish to.

Lady and Ship, Mixed Media by Jasna Nikolic

Travellers, Mixed Media by Jasna Nikolic

Slavka Jovanovic's piece 'Broken' was a reconstucted dinner table and Jovanovic says, 'The piece encapsulates broken dreams and hopes dashed. An aggressive response to a hopeless situation, and yet a thing of beauty in its own right'  Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of this work which was exactly how the artists portrays in her words.

But personally, the piece of work that stood out wasn't one that I could actually stay with, I didn't listen to the whole soundpiece, it was too painful to listen too.  As you approached Chloe Bowles video and mixed media installation, it appears beautiful, a video of a baby lying under a sheet, happily playing and smiling but looking below the video was a darkly painted dolls house, with a single light shining on a miniature table & chairs, the house sat upon a small mat.  The immediacy of the scale comparison was powerful enough, but it only hinted at the full impact of the work, which was realised when you put the headphones on.  I have to admit I only stayed with the real recording of a domestic abuse event for a few minutes, but the impact of what the artist was conveying was immediate.  Every we do in our homes and our lives impacts elsewhere and these 'Ripples' can be long lasting.

'throw a stone into the middle of a lake and the resulting waves radiate outwards fromt he point of impact to the edges of the water, perhaps continuing beyond the shore, invisible and unspoken.' - Chloes Bowles

Ripples, Video and Mixed Media Installation by Chloe Bowles

Any work that has an emotional impact so strong, has to be a success.

Even if I wasn't part of this exhibition, I would have hated to have missed it.  It is definately worth a visit.

Belper Art Trail Submission - Schadenfreude

Even though I am an organiser of the Belper Art Trail, this year, I got to submit some work.

When we set up the theme of Recontextualisation, I didn't think I had anything I could work with, however, after picking up a book that has sat on my shelf for quite a while, quietly waiting for me to pick it up and read it, Status Anxiety by Alain De Botton has given me a revived interest.  I had made a whole body of work based around the emotion of fear, using symbolisms that encompassed that visceral feeling of repulsion.  So my submission for the Art Trail will be around Jealousy and Envy. 

The working title is Schadenfreude - Schaden = Harm nad Freude = Joy meaning the satisfaction or pleasure of seeing someone else's misfortune.

This is actually turning out to be quite a tricky emotion, not many people will admit to feeling it and I have come to realise it is one of our most secret emotions.

I can't post any pictures of the work in progress, because I am waiting for my new camera to arrive! Oh the excitement... I'm so looking forward to catching up with taking photos of all the glass eyeballs I have watching every move I make around the studio.  Feel free to feel jealous of the fact that I have a new toy to play with... I'm just hoping it will be here in time for the trip down to the Vibe Gallery in London for the Desperate Artwives opening night.

Not my eyeballs, but someone elses...