The UNDERCLIFF: 'the uncontrollable and magnificent: Jonathan Hyde's images of the Undercliff' by Natalie Kane

undercliffexhibition:

The Undercliff is quite unlike any other installation. Jonathan Hydes photographs focus on the historic Undercliff coastal walk, situated between Ovingdean and Rottingdean in East Sussex; which are ephemerally situated on the Undercliff itself. It’s not often that you get to view a site specific…

I’ve been rather absent on tumblr lately, and that’s partly because I have been incredibly busy! Apart from attending various events that constitute Brighton Digital Festival, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my artwork, and trying to sort out serious grown-up life things like banks, work, future work, and one naughty cat.

I wrote an essay in response to The Undercliff, a site-specific installation at the undercliff walk between Ovingdean and Rottingdean in Sussex. The work really is something, if you’re in Brighton I thoroughly recommend visiting the exhibition. It’ll be there tonight (September 8th) from 8.30pm, but after that Jonathan Hyde’s prints will be displayed at Gallery 40 during September.

This morning I went walking along The Undercliff, an area literally under the cliff running from Rottingdean to Ovingdean in East Sussex. I was shown around by local photographer and friend Jonathan Hyde, who is about to exhibit his photography as part of an exhibition this September, aptly named The Undercliff. There will also be a film by Abigail Toll, Curator and Co-Director of the project. I interviewed Jonathan about the exhibition, context and history in his photographs, and considering portraiture in landscape photography. I’m currently figuring out how to edit iPhone video with Adobe Premier, and I’m no Pro so this should be quite an experience. 

I absolutely fell in love with the place; the way it transforms in mere minutes, the white bone-like stone fragments that are so prominent are covered in minutes by the tide, rushing over the seaweed and the rock pools. The light changes the colour and texture of the cliff, as it gets brighter the angles seem sharper, more yellow, cleaner. When it gets grey, you can pick out the network of lines made by the flint, and the cliff face becomes altogether more sinister. Jonathan told me the cliffs have been shaved to a perfect 72 degrees to stop rock fall, however if you look up towards the cliff edge, you can see row upon row of naked flint daggers peering out from the chalk, ready to drop at any second. 

There is so much Sea Lavender, a protected flower (that I took a sprig of to press), that it creates its own strange landscape, the purple pulling out the whiteness of the chalk and the slate-grey of the flint. It is so resilient and feels almost plastic to touch, and almost doesn’t resemble Lavender at all which crumbles so easily. We spent an hour or two talking about the area, its history and how it is to experience an area as an artist, alone, with others, in different lights and weathers. It’s a wonderful area and I can’t wait to see the work projected onto the cliff face. Jonathan also took my portrait, which I’m quite intrigued to see.

The Undercliff is on the 6th September from 8pm, and the 8th September from 8pm. There is also a walk by Lyn Neville from 7pm which I’d highly recommend that explores the area further. I’ll post the video once I’ve figured out how to edit properly. 

Just to remind you all that I’m still avidly looking for examples of Windsor. This is a genuine book by the way, and definitely wins the prize for the most creepy example of Windsor. 

I’ve been secretly getting my ‘professional’ online-CV-portfolio whatever it is ready at the moment, I’ve been taking my life a little more seriously than before. Therefore I’ve been too busy to be a ‘blogger’. Which is a terrible, terrble, lazy excuse.

Instead I’m trying to get over my embarrassingly feeble public speaking skills as I’ve got to give a talk soon. A real life talk, to people, about something that I think is really good and important. Therefore I must speak like a proper human, rather than a shambles. 

I have also counted that I have more nail varnishes that I ever realised, and have successfully catalogued them. 

All in all, I’ve managed to squeeze in my most busy week at the same time my tonsillitis has relapsed. The cats don’t care. They are hungry.

ndkane:

Last Sunday (5th August), a group of volunteers and myself ran a workshop at Fabrica Gallery as part of their participation programme, facilitated by Jane Fordham. In response to Annemarie O’Sullivan’s giant woven structures ‘Cluster’, we decided to work from the idea of traditional techniques and forms, which led us to create a tapestry. Darren had noticed the crosses holding the baskets together and a form was adopted! Each part of the work was a ‘cross’ created by members of the public and ourselves, and carefully fitted together by Darren and myself (we were responsible for the sharp things, such as fishing needles, which I am now obsessed by).

Plenty of materials were available, felt, wire, bike inner tubing, buttons, hose, and even tinsel. I am not a fan of tinsel. The Tapestry itself is held together by two ropes thrown over the side of the balcony in the gallery which is lowered as the piece is crafted. It’s quite a task encouraging people to get involved at first, but as the tapestry filled up, and the table of things was noticed, we had more wonderful creations to add to it. Each week we will be exploring a different form in response to Cluster, until the end of the exhibition, next week we are looking at circles and circular forms. Each workshop is for all ages and abilities, and there are plenty of us on hand to help. 

Thanks to Jane Fordham, Sally Coleridge, Darren Calder, Elisha Yanez, Anna Brixner and Aleksandra Pierzchala. 

This is what I’ve been doing every Sunday. 

For the next two weeks I have the pleasure of assisting Fabrica’s newest exhibition Cluster by Annemarie O’Sullivan. I’ve helped with Technical Production for 6 months now, mainly with video art installations, so I was particularly excited to get involved with a sculpture based installation.

Working with materials so carefully is wonderful, all the structures are held together by tension once the clamps are removed, so a slight misalignment can throw the balance of the structure, or at worse destroy it. O’Sullivan has immense craftmanship that I can only aspire to, an incredible understanding of the materials she is working with (sweet chesnut) and a passion that stems from a calling toward creating her work.

Talking to her at lunch I discovered that she actually studied Sports Science at Loughborough, and then went on to teach at a Primary School. O’Sullivan’s turn towards sculpture was born from a want and need to do create, to go outside and work with natural materials, and from this she has a great knowledge of the local natural landscape. She then went on to make outside willow sculptures and structures, and then to study a City and Guilds in Basket Making. This is the first time that she has honoured this craft on this scale, and I’m looking forward to the final arrangement of these winding cocoons. I may have sanded the prints from my fingertips (You can’t wipe off chalk marks, as the willow can’t get wet) but I’m looking forward to seeing it develop into a final installation. 

Blank Slate Gallery: Artists Q & A: Daniel Emo

blankslategallery:

Where do you get the inspiration for your work?
Allan Watts, road kill, the holy mountain, fast food, organs, candy floss, head aches, accidents, pornography, cook books, John Berger, René Descartes, leaves in the shape of trees, kinder eggs, candle wax and all the wonderful things in…

I interviewed Daniel Emo, one of the artists showing at Blank Slate this weekend. 

painites: Schiele. Torso. I have been particularly quiet of late, mainly because I have been working towards Blank Slate Gallery’s inaugural exhibition INTERFACE, finishing my own sculpture, and working a job that will pay for the realisation of all of this. I am exhausted, but I am excited. For now, here’s some Schiele, because he is working those lines (I can’t even be serious about art now)
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painites:

Schiele. Torso.

I have been particularly quiet of late, mainly because I have been working towards Blank Slate Gallery’s inaugural exhibition INTERFACE, finishing my own sculpture, and working a job that will pay for the realisation of all of this. I am exhausted, but I am excited. For now, here’s some Schiele, because he is working those lines (I can’t even be serious about art now)

(via painites-deactivated20120711)

Source: tuonodigenesi