Here are some pages from the sketchbook I took with me on my recent trip to Bergen, Norway where, together with 8 other students from Drawing and Applied Arts UWE, I showed work in an exhibition titled ‘Things happen’. The exhibition was part of an exchange between two cities (Bristol and Bergen) coordinated by John France, conceived as a programme of seminars, debate and new work. This enriching experience was an opportunity to meet other artists and exhibit work in a new context.
The day we flew out to Bergen happened to coincide with 30th Worldwide Sketchcrawl. So although I couldn’t join Bristol Sketchers I did draw most of the day, starting at 6 am in Gatwick Airport!
Unfortunately I fell very ill on the first day in Norway and had to go to the see the doctor. As I wasn’t registered in the country I had to wait a little longer than expected (4 hours!) which allowed me to sketch some of the people in the waiting room.
The Royal West of England Academy is pleased to present Sounds like Painting, a one-day exhibition and music performance in the Milner and Methuen Galleries curated by Michelle Cioccoloni. The exhibition brings together three Bristol-based painters and a sound engineer and musician, all of whom are taking painting and music in new and interesting directions.
Sounds like Painting is centred around the first ever preview of a computer software programme that allows the musician to play a score and at the same time to translate the sounds into intricate computer drawings. Daniel Cioccoloni’s approach to music consists of an exploration of sound in terms of textures, exploiting concepts usually relating to sculpture, such as density, size, shape and roughness/smoothness of surface. During the live performance the audience experiences the music simultaneously as an aural and visual entity. The delicate drawings resulting from the sounds played are in fact three-dimensional representations of space, the values of depth in each line representing depth of space.
The remarkable visuals of the music performance are perfectly complimented by the paintings by Mehrdad Bordbar (Jerwood Drawing Prize 2010), Matthew Arnold and Timothy Holloway. The visual languages of each artist show how a different use of line, form and treatment of surface can evoke the same qualities found in music.
Mehrdad Bordbar’s work combines composition, colour and form to create a sense of perspective, light, and movement. The dialogue between these elements and the materials (wood and paint) produces a work that relies on the emotional intensity of the painting and the impression of spontaneity. His paintings stem from a fascination with the urban environment and the way we interact with it, encouraging the viewer to slow down and appreciate the relationship between internal and external space.
Matthew Arnold’s paintings communicate both collectively and individually. From afar they appear as clusters interacting with each other as a whole, spreading across the walls in an organic way, like notes on a page, pulsating beats on the gallery walls. Sometimes close and overlapping, sometimes far from each other, they gravitate towards a central point. When viewed close up their individual characteristics show how Arnold hones in on specific palettes. Positioned on opposite walls, a warm palette inspired by Flemish painting on the left contrasts with the much colder blues and purples on the right.
Timothy Holloway’s use of paint translates into an intense visual experience. The choice of a material such as steel is significant in that it rusts and thus presents a struggle between the layers of pure white and the imperfections which gradually appear on the surface, indicative of time passing. The way this interacts with the surrounding glow represents the relationship the artist sees between emotional, physical and psychological states of being.
Sounds like Painting
The Royal West of England Academy
Queen's Road
Bristol
30th December 2010
Opens 10am. Refreshments 6pm. Music Performance 7pm
Installing the exhibition at the Royal West of England Academy of Art, Bristol
This week I was mainly at the RWA installing the artwork and putting the final touches to Sounds like Painting, the exhibition and music performance which is taking place next week on 30th December. The galleries will be open from 10am for those who wish to view the paintings before the evening event which starts at 6pm when refreshments will be served followed by the music performance at 7pm.
On tuesday I was in London for the private view and opening night of the Jerwood Drawing Prize. My friend Mehrdad Bordbar was among those who made it through to the final selection! Here is an image of his stunning work:
Mehrdad Bordbar and Time in Place, 2010
Private View
sketchbook
Screen 1 by Michelle Townsend
Void by Helenka Janeckova
Eggs by Michelle Cioccoloni 
Friday 2nd July 2010
The Emporium, 37 Stokes Croft, Bristol BS1 3PY
A dialogue with drawing and sculpture seen through three young artists: Michelle Cioccoloni, Helenka Janeckova and Michelle Townsend. Disparate materials (glass, metal, egg shell,wood and paper) come together in a compelling range of works and through their various poetics contain both points of encounter and dissonance.
Inspired by material innovation and technological processes Michelle Townsend rethinks and challenges the design of the window. Layered laser cut contour patterns extend the depth of the window thereby accentuating its form and three dimensionality. Super insulation is also achieved by the layering process; creating an energy efficient design sensitive solution. The natural behaviour of light; refraction, reflectivity and ability to distort has been exploited to create this architectural feature.
Encountering Helenka Janeckova’s prints on glass, an extremely precarious act in itself that relies on delicate balance, the viewer experiences the tension which is echoed in the subject matter of her drawings.
Michelle Cioccoloni is a visual artist based in Bristol and Rome, whose practice is enhanced by the fusion of two cultures, British and Italian. Strongly influenced by her classical formation, she uses this to inform a haptic approach, exploring qualities of materials and depth of surface in her work, giving the viewer a visual sense of touch. Her work has a sculptural quality to it and invites the viewer to walk around, to scrutinize and to explore, the intricate processes she uses often being visible and unfolding before the the attentive viewer's eyes.
Join us for the Private View on 2nd July (6 til 9 pm) for drinks and refreshments. Please reply to this email if you would like to attend, to help us manage numbers.
For further info:
07792088969
Exhibition continues until 7th July. Open daily 12 til 7pm.
'Pysanky Eggs' by Michelle Cioccoloni
To highlight the plight of young girls caught up in sex trafficking I have taken the Pysanky egg from Ukraine, a symbol of life and happiness, and, whilst apparently maintaining its beauty, have given it new meaning. The girls, whose lives have been taken away from them, become like Faberge’ Eggs, highly valued possessions which are worth incredible amounts of money, objects to be bought over and over again, but their beauty seen only for its monetary value.
Here the pattern is rendered in a similar way to Pysanky eggs, but there is no colour; the grey tones used show life being drained away, young girls being stripped of all personal identity, and the repetitive patterns, which from a distance appear very beautiful, reveal, on closer inspection, the brutal and repetitive nature of their ‘job’, and how the act of love loses any meaning and becomes not only a mere sex act, but, ultimately, also a life-threatening one.
The egg itself is a representation of the feelings of a person in this situation. Below the shell, inside the egg, lies the truth of the matter. Since the egg has been painted while raw and dipped in varnish to seal the design, following the Ukrainian tradition, it gradually begins to decompose without smelling, a parallel for the rotting soul of an abused girl who feels she's slowly dying inside whilst maintaining her outer beauty. Throughout the duration of the exhibition the eggs will undergo a similar metamorphosis to the girls' lives, a constant reminder of the ongoing nature of sex trafficking and an incentive to stop it.
Other artists who contributed work were Chantal Powell and Carinan Blijdenstein, whose sculpture I have shown below.
“Very evocative, thought-provoking… and more importantly motivating ACTION!”
“Thank you for bringing what I naively assumed as ‘someone else’s problem’ to my town & my consciousness. A remarkable experience”
“The art is so powerful in exposing sex trafficking for what it really is & how appalling it is.”
“I’m still thinking… which I guess is the point.”
“I found the Flint portrait really arresting. Are you allowed to “love” something so disturbing?”
“Very interesting exhibition that will definitely make me think all day.”
“As an 18yr old girl you have definitely raised my awareness of what is going on in the world that often we don’t hear about I feel like now I will try and do my bit to help to also raise awareness.”
“It’s actually really shocking and scary. But I love how the art describes the situation. It’s really effective.”
“Really thoughtful and evocative.”
“Time to get out of the streets and put the “I’m alright Jack” mentality to bed…. lets disempower this evil!”
“Part of me wants to not accept this isn’t happening, especially so close to home. We need to be aware and understand the issues.”
“Shocking what a sad world we live in. We will see if we can do something to help.”
“Start campaigning on facebook and other networking sites, this MUST END NOW!!”
“I hope we can change someones life, take the covers off and show the world!”
