Festival 15 - Colden Drystone

Don't forget the performance and film screening of Colden Drystone’s ‘Believing in Time Travel (Moors)’ 2014 at the Forum on Saturday May 12th from 18.30 to 21.15. 

In 2014 during a residency with Cambridge University Colden Drystone undertook a trip back to the landscape of his childhood in West Yorkshire. Over a period of 24 hours he documented the journey from a small cottage on the edges of Oxenhope up onto the moors and eventually to the mythical setting of ‘Wuthering Heights’ – a dilapidated farm house on the very tops of a wild moor where it is said Emily Brontë took inspiration for her famous novel.

Colden spent the night filming and writing under the moonlight and witnessing the rising sun at dawn before heading back to Cambridge to edit the footage and compose a piece that he will be performing this evening alongside the original film.

Profound, funny and at times even absurd ‘Believing in Time Travel (Moors)’ is a heartfelt homage to landscape and childhood and a tribute to the creative force of the imagination that is encouraged and nurtured in the wild places of both.

Interview- Colden Drystone

Can you tell us something about your work in this show and something about how your work has developed over the years.

My work 'Significant Other' is an abstract gold painting that uses gold pigment, greys and whites and the natural light to create a surface that is constantly reimagining itself. In this respect it is about light, space and time. In one way or another all my current work is concerned with these three fundamentals of living but with a specific interest in the role creativity has in helping us experience them better.

What you find most enjoyable and/or difficult about the process of creating art?

The joy comes from the doing. Making something happen is unquestionably a life affirming thing. This can be anything; from covering an entire building in clay to drawing a pencil line 4cm long. The most difficult thing is always in making something that can keep that sense of excitement and originality within it, making it something worth sharing with the world.

What would you like to see the Hastings Arts Forum do in the future?

More live art would be good and a hands on engagement with the studio process for artists working in the area - can the space reflect the liveliness of the artists experience, not just the finished works?

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FESTIVAL 15 - Andrzej Jackowski

The Work 

The work of Andrzej Jackowski (born 1947, North Wales) is largely autobiographical, based on his early childhood memories, recollections of a family history in Poland and the feeling of alienation and enclosure that these experiences roused. Using powerful, insistent images from his past he explores ideas of human memory and psyche, both on a personal and more collective level.
Time of the Dream - 7, which features in this show, came out of a Paupers Press commission to produce a book of 52 lithographs - one a week for a year. A sense of this project is in the following quote: 

"..a place of life and death,of disembodiment and sex; a place of things breaking up and being put together again. It is a subconscious land which distils the essence of the self."

Rachel Campbell-Johnston

The Process

Seamus Heaney wrote that for him,writing a poem; "was like dropping a bucket down a well of yourself", most of the time you bring up air, but with patience,trust and hard work you eventually fill the bucket with water. This process (for writing poems or making images) is difficult but when you finally bring up a bucket of water rather then air; there is a feeling that you have come up with something intriguing,haunting; there is some clarity and occasionally great joy.

More

For more see the two videos below. 

Dreams of Here (12mins)

This is an excerpt from Andrzej Jackowski's video commentary for the exhibition Dreams of Here, shown at the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery in 2012. It was a collective exhibition in collaboration with Tom Hammick and Julian Bell.

Andrzej Jackowski’s professorial inaugural lecture at the University of Brighton (2003).

Andrzej Jackowski at the Purdy Hicks Gallery

Festival 15 - Jean Davey Winter

Jean Davey Winter: About the work:

A fascination with travel and the concept of the journey provide me with an ongoing source of inspiration. Over the years this has included a microlight flight over the volcanic island of Lanzarote; a road trip through New Mexico, Arizona and Utah and more recently a visit to the island of Cuba, the starting point for this new work.

Cuba has an extraordinary culture, a dense web of associations and contrasts which conjure up words like: seductive, poetic, alchemy and magic. There is a constant awareness that this vibrancy, colour and energy combine and conflict with reminders of a darker past.

Many diverse elements from these experiences are now coming together as the work continues to develop: glimpses of colours and textures and the fragmented memories of travel. It is intentionally ambiguous, hopefully to allow sufficient space for the viewer to bring their own interpretations to it.

Working practice:

Coming from a textile background I enjoy the freedom of working with mixed media. The opportunity to build up surfaces, to combine this with collage plus the fluid qualities and mark making potential of paint; I love the feeling of anticipation – that anything can happen, as a new piece begins.

What I find most difficult is the ‘letting go’, that moment of realisation that some of the bits you have become most attached to have to be sacrificed if there’s any chance of making the painting work – that’s the hard part….

Future hopes for Hastings Arts Forum:

Hastings Arts Forum has been transformed over the ten years since I first exhibited there. There have been major structural improvements to the gallery itself and the whole ethos and ambition of the Forum has become very much more ambitious and professional.

Whilst maintaining it’s commitment to the community I hope it will also continue to thrive and develop with the emphasis on curated shows, both group and solo, and maybe create a series of major annual exhibitions following on from the precedent set by Festival 15.

More about Jean and her work can be seen on her website

Jean Davey Winter

Stains and Traces III - Hastings Arts Forum

Stains and Traces has become a tradition for Hastings Arts Forum and the third exhibition on this theme opened on the 7th February.

The idea of "representing the presence or absence of a figure,  as well as anthropomorphic echoes and resonances", originated with former HAF chairman, Ian Welsh, who does in 2014.

Curated from open submissions,  this edition of the show has thirteen participating artists who once more encompass the diversity of mediums and messages that seems to be a hallmark of the Hastings Arts Forum.

As might be expected with such a theme, there are dark resonances in some of the work here. Jo Welsh presents object, collage and print works that communicate trauma and loss associated with illness and death. Her references to X-Rays and personal objects in the collaged print works are delicate and moving while ‘Widow’s Weeds’ and her object boxes have a much starker impact.

Sally Meakins’ photographic series also depicts objects and scenes associated with an absent person. It  signals not only their physical absence but also the complex emotions relating to such a  oss. This is very effective particularly in the large and haunting image ‘Your shirt on my chair’.

Lorrain Mailer addresses issues of post-traumatic stress in two very different pieces. ‘The Elephant in the Room’ is an intestinal tangle of knotted sheets suggesting both the physical and mental impact of alcoholism. ‘Blow a kiss, Fire a Gun’ is an empathetic homage to the desperation of refugees attempting to escape from the trauma of war.

Caroline Sax uses her multifarious mediums with sublime delicacy to draw attention to the amount of packaging waste that ends up in the ocean. Detailed statistics are stencilled onto treated and painted fabric and then covered with objects that instantly communicate the sheer volume of container shipping that is on the seas at any given time.

Artists who focus specifically on the human figure in this show include Raymond McChrystal whose ink and graphite portraits and nudes are subtle, sympathetic and occasionally seem to morph seamlessly into physical landscapes.

This merging of nature and figure is also apparent in the work of Kathleen Fox who has placed long strips of Australian paper bark against vibrant backgrounds allowing for multiple visual interpretations.  Trisha Neve’s delicate silk paintings similarly have multiple possibilities.

The remarkable tale told by Nigel Oxley needs some time to fully appreciate. In a series of 6 images he tells of a love affair conducted across a gulag wall in Poland and recreated here using the letters, objects and photos found after his fathers’ death. He has provided folders for viewers to read that provide not only the background to this story but also translations of the letters and words that appear in the image series.

Brian Rybolt’s photographs are very much about the stains and traces that are left behind in the structures of abandoned buildings and on walls. In many of these beautifully presented images, places and spaces often regarded as sad, neglected and ugly are shown to be resilient and full of their own defiant character

There is not much painting in this show but Sean Madden’s confident use of colour and paintwork provides an anchor against which Yvette Glaze’s architectural ceramics sit beautifully. Mark Glassman’s traces of figures almost washed away by the browns of the shingle and the sea work well with the more conceptual pieces in Gallery 2.

The final artist in this show is Jacob Welsh but I had to leave before his work was hung so I’m afraid he’s missing. If anyone can send me an image I will put it up.

7 Feb – 19 Feb 
Private View: 10 Feb, 6.30 - 8.30pm 

Click on names for links to artist websites where I could find them:

Brian Rybolt

Caroline Sax

Kathleen Fox

Mark Glassman

Nigel Oxley

Jo Welsh

Jacob Welsh

Ray McChrystal

Sean Madden

Trisha Neve

Yvette Glaze

Lorrain Mailer

Sally Meakins 

Hastings Arts Forum - Creative Christmas

It's that time of year again and the Hastings Art Forum has been beautifully transformed into a mini Christmas market. 

Hastings and St Leonards have been given several 'London'  monikers recently - Shoreditch on Sea....  Walthamstow on Sea - so I may as well jump on that bandwagon and say that the Hastings Arts Forum Christmas Show looks a lot like Camden Market on Sea! 

All the arts and all the crafts are represented as well as all the materials. There are cats, hats, cards, scarves, paintings, photos, prints and collage. There are bangles, bracelets, baskets, bears, bags, bowls, books, badges, lampshades and lavender bags. There are dogs, decorations, ornaments, cushions, clocks, mirrors and mosaics.

Between them is a dizzying array of methods and techniques in glass, wood, china, paper, wool. felt, fur, wire, silver, canvas, paint and plastic and no doubt several things I've missed.  

There is also the most awesome Christmas tree I have ever seen. Not actually sure it's for sale but was so inspired by it I may try and make my own!

Creative Christmas at the Hastings Arts Forum
1st - 23rd December
Private View: 2 Dec, 6.30 - 8.30pm 

Creative Christmas is a curated show, exhibitors are selected based on the quality and uniqueness of their work ensuring a broad range of beautiful, high quality artefacts.

Paperworks at the Hastings Art Forum

Paperworks at the Hastings Art Forum

20 September – 2 October

Private View: 23rd September 6.30 - 8.30 

Traditional expectations of works on paper are drawing or watercolours. However, this group exhibition completely overturns any conservative notion of how paper should be used in art. The only works that appear to be watercolours in this show are far from traditional and the drawing consists of graphite renditions of rubbed pavements reassembled into huge paper rolls.

This is a celebration of one of the oldest, most flexible and varied materials we have. It is paper as a means to convey images in multiple forms, as a material for sculpture or installation and as recycled object transformed from practical to conceptual use. In the latter category, for example, books such as the one below must be opened by the viewer to make sense.

The beautifully produced concertina artist books of Nikki Davidson Bowman are collages of images and words perfectly bound into multi-dimensional art objects. Caroline Sax's tiny sculptures are unrecognisable as paper and seem to be made of a different and harder substance altogether.

There is a humorous nod to the subject in several of Ian Barraclough's prints, particularly his depiction of the unique qualities of the final sheet on 9 different toilet rolls.

Gill Streater's work reminds us of the importance of paper to calligraphy while Helen Rawlinson uses paper like a textile on which to add thread, buttons and colours to create small and imaginative abstracts.

Collage features in several guises in this exhibition. The pop art sensibilities and clean minimalism of Duncan McAfee, the apocalyptical colour and atmosphere of Kate Gritton and the surreal compositions of Jeff Stancliff which are compelling, mysterious and not entirely comfortable to view.

As always with such a large group show there is too much to comprehensively preview plus the detail in the works cannot possibly be conveyed here. So to conclude here are images that cover all the participants with their websites following below.

Paperworks at the Hastings Art Forum

20 September – 2 October

Private View: 23rd September 6.30 - 8.30

Participating Artists 

Ian Barraclough
Nikki Davidson-Bowman
John Davies
Kate Gritton
Lorraine Mailer
Duncan McAfee
Sally Meakins
Danny Mooney
Helen Rawlinson
Margaret Roberts
Caroline Sax
Jeff Stancliffe
Gill Streater
Teri Walsh
April Yasamee

Silver Fish, Vermin and Volunteers

Silver Fish and Vermin

“We both live in the middle of the countryside surrounded by all sorts of vermin (rats, foxes, fly-tippers etc). It is hard to find beauty in everything and vermin definitely bring out emotion and reaction where ever they appear. Everyone has their pet hate, hopefully our exhibition will be able to shine a humorous light on some.” Liz Boast and Kirsten Wilson

Unlike many of the exhibitions at the Hastings Art Forum Silver Fish and Vermin is truly a joint show. Liz Boast and Kirsten Wilson’s work is arranged together throughout the gallery and includes a wonderful collaborative piece entitled ‘The Alphabet of Vermin’ which is composed of 27 individual works. This alone deserves time and close study to take in the details, the stories and just the sheer fun and scope of the piece.

In fact, studying the intricacy and detail in much of the work in this show is very rewarding. Kirsten Wilson's multi-layered paper pieces give a sense of just how much time and patience is invested in the act of creation while Liz Boast's atmospheric paintings and sometimes surreal prints add mood and mystery as you move around the gallery.

Both artists are multi-skilled and this exhibition covers all facets of their work. As well as paint, print and mixed media both are excellent silversmiths. This means the inclusion of a contemporary jewellery collection beautifully presented on woodblock stands which are lovely objects in their own right.

Consequently there is a lot in Gallery 1 to keep you entertained. Silver, wood  and a delightful tumble of creatures and landscapes with flying birds, harlequins, schools of swimming fish, strange children, rats, circular zodiacs and ghostly figures emanating light.

The Volunteers Show

The joy of multiple diversions continues into Gallery 2 which is hosting the annual exhibition for volunteers at the Hastings Art Forum.

Almost all of the volunteers at the Forum are artists in their own right. There are painters, photographers, printmakers, sculptors, ceramicists, glass artists and others who are some and possibly even all of the above. Without the volunteers the forum could not function and this annual exhibition is a thank you and a way for the volunteers to get together as artists rather than all the other roles they perform behind the scenes.

I have to declare a conflict of interest here. I am a volunteer at the Hastings Art Forum which means I have some of my own work in the show and know many of the other people exhibiting. So when I say that this is absolutely the most excitingly diverse and brilliant exhibition you will see at the Forum this year, you probably need to take it with a pinch of sea salt. Not too much, however, because this really is an exciting show.

In fact, there is so much to talk about I don't know where to start so instead of talking  I am just going to name all the participants with links (where I could find them) and post up a whole load of photos. These cannot convey the detail, the subtlety, the humour or the range of subject and form but it will give a sense of the skill and diversity that you can see here. It’s wonderful :)

Silver Fish, Vermin and Volunteers

Private View: 9th September - 6.30 - 8.30

Both shows run from 6th Sepember – 18th September

The Volunteers

Alice Maylam           April Yasamee         Carlen Fritze
Caroline Sax           Charlotte Morris       David Murphy 
Dawn Timmins        Edwina Truelove     Gill Streater
Howard Seaton       Jen Painter             John Hacker
John Plummer         Julie Willard            Kate Gritton
Katherine Reekie    Mark Border            Molly Durman
Sally Meakins         Sharon Moore         Susan Miller 
Suzy Tinker            Trish Kilczewski      Valerie Grove