Art & Culture: Caitlin Heffernan – Terrain

Caitlin Heffernan is displaying her most recent solo exhibition ‘Terrain’ at  Rodhus Gallery, Brighton. 1st March - 23rd April

“Terrain is a new site-specific installation produced following a 2008 Artists' Residency in Nigeria. Cut short due to factional violence, the residency yielded fleeting glimpses of a troubled but beautiful land and the installation has been developed from a simple discarded piece of basket found on the floor of a market near Jos, Nigeria. Using the pattern of the woven basket as a template Heffernan has developed a series of beautiful large-scale drawings with 3-dimesional elements that echo the bright and highly patterned fabrics found in Nigeria. Terrain, which has been executed in bright reds, contains textural qualities that reference the country's red earth and rocky terrain. Caitlin travelled to Nigeria in November 2008 to take part in an international artist's workshop. However whilst making her way to Yankari National Park in the central belt of the country she was diverted because of factional violence in Jos. After less than a week she had to return to the UK but she used the experience to make an artwork that is resonant, beautiful but also poignant.”

This piece felt almost overwhelming and challenging in this space. The viewer is guided around the piece by the space itself which compliments its feel and structure. The installation consists of patterned drawings that spread across the floor and morph into a sculptured mound in the middle of the room. The effect I feel does accentuate the origins of the piece and almost gave the effect of an optical illusion.

Neil Batho

Art & Culture: Creatives in Residence at The Hospital Club

Nestled in the heart of London, amidst the bustling Covent Garden, stands The Hospital Club. Comprising five floors, complete with stunning bar, elegant restaurant and spacious screening room, here is the ideal surrounding to get the creative juices flowing. At the beginning of this month the club hosted its The Creatives in Residence programme which announced their shortlist of newcomers, as well as welcoming artists from all corners of the artistic spectrum.

This particular evening made use of two full floors which enabled each contender to demonstrate their talent within their own unique space. Now in its second year, The Creatives in Residence offers the opportunity of guidance for young, upcoming artists to get a name for themselves and a chance to showcase their work. Amongst those involved are film makers, musicians and singers, visual artists, performers and some stunning fashion designers.

Amongst the nights shortlisted that stood out was fashion designer Dean Quinn, whose futuristic dresses won the judges approval. The small selection on show to the public featured three carefully executed form fitting, body-con dresses embellished with bejewelled shoulders. Already having achieved the prestigious Woman’s Wear Designer of the Year Award and having also been featured in the V&A Fashion in Motion exhibition, he is definitely one to keep an eye on.

Another fellow designer in the running was Ada Zanditon who makes use of organic and sustainably sourced fabrics . Ada also runs her company to a strict eco friendly aesthetic, from the relationships she builds up with workers and suppliers down to the light bulbs that she uses. Using environmentally friendly, non-carcinogenic dyes she creates bright and youthful looks for a fashion forward market.

A comprehensive list of all of this years residents as well as more information on those shortlisted can be found on The Hospital Club website.

Poppy Sakulku

Art & Culture: Prince William Turns Photographer

A Positive View, which is taking place at Somerset House from 10 March to 5 April, will bring together more than 100 rare and signed vintage works across almost a century of photography; classic and contemporary works will cross a variety of genres, from still-life, fashion, landscape, portraiture and reportage. It will also include other works by Jeff Hubbard and members of the photography group at Crisis and be followed by a reception and auction at Christie’s where the diptych and other works will be auctioned in aid of Crisis.

Crisis is the national charity for homeless people in Britain and is releasing a diptych that comprises of a photograph of Prince William placed with a photograph of the photographer. The interesting aspect of this diptych is that the photograph of the Prince has been taken by a homeless person, Jeff Hubbard, and is the 1^st time a Royal has been photographed by an ordinary member of the public.

Jeff said: “Creating the diptych with Prince William was a little nerve-wracking at first but I soon relaxed. After all how often do you get the chance to photograph a Prince? Working with Rankin in the run-up to the shoot really helped me develop my skills and confidence as a photographer, which was a real privilege. The end result is unique. Auctioning the image will raise vital funds for Crisis – and I know from personal experience just how important the work they do is.”

‘A Positive View’ 2010 promises to be a landmark exhibition and the proceeds will help Crisis to expand its services across the UK. This is the third edition of A Positive View, a photography exhibition and auction founded by Andrew Page. A Positive View was first held in London during 1994, sponsored by Vogue. The exhibition was held at the Saatchi Gallery and the auction was hosted by Sotheby’s. The event raised nearly £250k, benefiting the Chicken Shed Theatre Company. The Princess of Wales was Patron.

For the first time, A Positive View will also feature work from contemporary artists whose creative practice incorporates photography, with geographically diverse representations from Korea, China, Japan and West Africa. With signature works by Seydou Keita, Yum Joongho, Koo Bohn-Chang and Weng Fen among others, A Positive View will provide an unusual and interesting opportunity to consider how practitioners beyond Europe and America are working with photography. In another departure, the 2010 edition of A Positive View will also include works by unknown photographers who have been studying photography at the Crisis’ education, training and employment centres in London and Newcastle.

Neil Batho

Art & Culture: Inishturkbeg’s Annual Artist Week

Next week sees the ‘Life Vividly Lived’ exhibition at Flowers, Cork Street, London.  Each artist has been chosen as pioneers in their chosen fields and their distinctive relationship with the environment.

The pieces have been created from Inishturkbeg’s first annual artists’ week in September 2009. Inishturkbeg is a private island off the west coast of Ireland and is one of the largest in the Clew Bay.  “We think of Inishturkbeg as a parallel universe, where our experiences are intensified and our lives amplified. Each chapter is somehow super-oxygenated, with colours, sounds, smells and feelings brilliantly etched into our minds. Inishturkbeg, simply, offers everyone lucky enough to enjoy its charms, a Lungful of Life. It takes a lot of words to capture the unique spirit of Inishturkbeg. Artists’ Week is intended to do so much better than mere words”. –Nadim Sadek, Owner.

The artists displaying are; Nicola Hicks, Scarlett Hooft Graafland, Kay harwood, Shoichi Sakurai, Peter Jaques, Laura Brennan and Darren Edwards, and will be an innovative experience to see works with such individuality in their mediums, come together in one place for an outstanding show.

9th - 14th February 2010

Flowers Gallery

21 Cork St
London W1S 3LZ
T +44 (0)20 7439 7766

info@flowersgalleries.com

Neil Batho

Art & Culture: The Unilever Series: Miroslaw Balka @ Tate Modern

Walking down the Turbine Hall of the Tate to be hit with this large steel sculpture initially gave me a sense of excitement and wonder. The Turbine Hall on its own holds a sense of awe but this piece adds a sense of greater expectation from the space altogether. At a glance the structure is seemingly generic in its surroundings as it wouldn't appear to be out of place in this type of setting. Upon further inspection, walking round the structure one is faced with a huge empty void that if the viewer hadn't seen its dimensions, appears to be endless.

Stepping into the darkness only guided by your feet, one is faced with an array of emotion. I was initially struck by fear, the space is pitch black with no sensory accompaniment other than the the fear of not knowing what lies ahead. After putting ones trust in the establishment, creeping on, comes a sense of relief and critique. Exploring the space with ones emotions and feet I found myself asking where do I fit into this space? Is this a lesson or task?

The whole experience did have a regimented feel. The metal felt industrial, holding a sense of purpose. There where guards (although they were invigilating the piece) monitoring your entrance in to the void. It felt as if in the event of one wanting to escape from the ramp which led to this dark space, the guards would be there to stop this action. After walking into the space I began to feel like I was being herded into a chamber at a concentration camp, the sense of unknowing and fear suddenly fell into place.

When I had made it to the back wall I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. My journey into the darkness had ended. I turned around and suddenly everything became clear. The space itself became smaller as one could now see the corners and the floor, I could now see other people undertaking their own experience of the space. Fear melted away and I felt I was left with a sense of understanding? Knowledge? That... I am not quite sure of yet.

This piece is a great tribute to fear and sensory disarray.

The Unilever Series can be seen at Tate Modern London until April 5th 2010.

Neil Batho

Art & Culture: The Sony World Photography Awards 2009/10 Global Tour

20^th – 29^th January, ART WORK SPACE, London

One of the largest photographic events, The Sony World Photography Awards, will be showcasing its winners and finalists in the 2009/10 Global Tour at ART WORK SPACE gallery London.  The event is a celebration of the still image and plays tribute to professional, amateur photographers and fine artists from all over the world.

The winning photographs have been chosen from over 60,000 images submitted from 139 countries and cover an array of categories including Current Affairs, Sport, Contemporary Issues, Arts, Advertising and Fashion. The tour itself is the main component off the prize as it gives these stunning, beautiful and thought provoking images a world stage with audiences from the most influential in the photography industry to the bystanders of the exhibitions hosted in New York, Mexico, Toronto, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Paris and Berlin.

This year the London Exhibition will be acquitted at the new independent gallery ART WORK SPACE. The gallery is an ideal fitting for the Global Tour, as the goal set by its creator Naomi Murtagh is to create a space in which to display works by emerging artist in all the various disciplines of Fine Art.

The Global Tour is a monumental occasion in the London and World Art Scene. This year we are truly blessed by the pieces submitted from the applicants as we are given the opportunity to see the influences and experiences from people all over the world, which will in turn inspire the next generation of up and coming artists and photographers.

Neil Batho

Art & Culture: The Design Museum’s 50 Dresses and Shoes Which Changed the World

I have to admit that when I received these books I was a little skeptical about any shoe or dress that could change the World...and yet I have had to retract my thinking on this subject after reading both of the books on this title and learning quite a few facts of which I wasn't previously aware of...

Fifty Dresses that Changed the World and Fifty Shoes that Changed the World offers a political and social walk through history, to witness how fashion has adapted and changed over time. It's amazing to take a glimpse through the different era's to witness what was infiltrating the collective consciousness during specific points of time.

These two books are brilliant, quick and compact reference guides for students or indeed anyone interested in fashion history, to absorb key information about cultural trends and look at both women's (and men's) attitudes to their bodies across each generation. And how these ideas keep consistently developing and repeating over time.

With snippets of the clothing and shoes featured in beautiful prints, most of the clothing is still very relevant even today...I can't wait to see where fashion takes us next. You can Buy them find out more and buy these titles here.