Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Friday, 20 March 2009
Embryonic Tail
I have had a couple of meetings with sculptor and prosthetics artist Satinder Chumber, we will be working together on early stages of the project. I am commissioning him to create prosthetics and make up for a series of images which will form source material for the work.The images above are from one of his books, studying embryogenesis from first cleavage to birth. I was drawn to the quality of the skin in the images, its translucence and golden hue. The images look like models, there is something otherworldly about them, but they are actual images.
Satinder is going to make me a prosthetic tail, I have been looking at human vestigial tails and other evolutionary by-products - possible mutations of the human form caused by latency or genetic abnormality. Things that get left behind.
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Base Elements- Initial Proposal
Paul Grimmer
Mutations
During the residency I will continue looking at the structural interconnectedness of our bodies and the natural and constructed world. I am interested in researching and drawing on some of these innate and metaphorical connections to start planning a new body of work. Creating a series of experimental mutations or hybrids, splicing the visual languages and symbolism of science, mythology and spirituality, using the body as connective tissue. The research will be largely process based, resulting in a series of digital composite images considering micro and macro morphology, transition, mutability and mutation. The images will be composed from photographic and microscopic sources gathered prior to and throughout the initial phase of the residency. These images will help to form and inform the eventual creation of a larger work involving their transfer into/onto sets of repeating tessellations. Using this system of ordered and controlled composition as a framework and a metaphor I want to look at difference, the potential for rapid evolution or mutation, which transcends and permeates boundaries.
My research will centre on examining physical and biological structures and their intersection with architectural and psychological space. I am particularly interested in the use of geometry in sacred art and architecture and will be researching the use of mosaic and tiling in religious – particularly Islamic – design. I will also look at iconography and representations of transition or transcendence in mythological and spiritual belief systems. I hope to transfer the images created during the residency onto ceramic tiles and will research the possibility of this process during my time at ACA. Tiles could be seen as a representation of transition, fashioned from the earth by man and widely used through history to decorate places of worship, representing transcendence or the divine. In a contrast of aesthetic and function, they are also used in utilitarian settings: municipal buildings, hospitals and institutions.
I will work with Dr David Bhella at the Medical research Council’s Virology Unit, building on the work I began in December 2008 on a residency funded by the MRC. I will study the symmetry and geometry of virus structure on several levels of magnification. I will look at source imagery from the electron and confocal microscopes in the unit and look at the atomic structure beyond this. I will also carry out research into virus morphology and mutation using scientific reviews, papers and samples at the unit. The virus is able to change rapidly to avoid detection and elude the body’s natural interferon responses. This high incidence of mutation can be caused by flaws in the genetic material of the virus, flaws that become key to its survival.
In Allenheads I will to explore the mining history of the surrounding landscape, in particular looking at the crystalline structure and geometry of minerals mined in the area. Killhope Lead Mining Museum is home to the National collection of Spar Boxes, displays created by the miners to display Fluorspar and other minerals unearthed as the commercial byproducts (tailings) of lead mining. I hope to visit and possibly photograph some of the crystals in their collection. I will also spend time navigating the surrounding landscape, collecting images of other things of potential beauty that have perhaps been cast aside or left behind. There is also the possibility of exploring some of the abandoned mines in the area with Alan Smith.
During my time in Newcastle I will be working with sculptor and prosthetic artist Satinder Chumber to consider ways of physically changing my body based on observed mutation throughout history. We have begun looking at differences of form caused by genetic mutation and evolution and discussing the possibilities of designing some simple alterations using silicone and stage make-up. I will be collaborating with Colin Davison and Ian Bailey to photograph and video document the resulting mutations. The work with Ian Bailey will form the final stage of a series of mentoring sessions provided by a DigitalCity, Middlesbrough scheme.
The results of these separate strands of research will feed visual information into the work. Elements of other recent collaborations with Durham University Professor of Archaeology Charlotte Roberts and Bill Earnshaw at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology in Edinburgh will also feed into the work. I will document the residency process on a project blog.
Mutations
During the residency I will continue looking at the structural interconnectedness of our bodies and the natural and constructed world. I am interested in researching and drawing on some of these innate and metaphorical connections to start planning a new body of work. Creating a series of experimental mutations or hybrids, splicing the visual languages and symbolism of science, mythology and spirituality, using the body as connective tissue. The research will be largely process based, resulting in a series of digital composite images considering micro and macro morphology, transition, mutability and mutation. The images will be composed from photographic and microscopic sources gathered prior to and throughout the initial phase of the residency. These images will help to form and inform the eventual creation of a larger work involving their transfer into/onto sets of repeating tessellations. Using this system of ordered and controlled composition as a framework and a metaphor I want to look at difference, the potential for rapid evolution or mutation, which transcends and permeates boundaries.
My research will centre on examining physical and biological structures and their intersection with architectural and psychological space. I am particularly interested in the use of geometry in sacred art and architecture and will be researching the use of mosaic and tiling in religious – particularly Islamic – design. I will also look at iconography and representations of transition or transcendence in mythological and spiritual belief systems. I hope to transfer the images created during the residency onto ceramic tiles and will research the possibility of this process during my time at ACA. Tiles could be seen as a representation of transition, fashioned from the earth by man and widely used through history to decorate places of worship, representing transcendence or the divine. In a contrast of aesthetic and function, they are also used in utilitarian settings: municipal buildings, hospitals and institutions.
I will work with Dr David Bhella at the Medical research Council’s Virology Unit, building on the work I began in December 2008 on a residency funded by the MRC. I will study the symmetry and geometry of virus structure on several levels of magnification. I will look at source imagery from the electron and confocal microscopes in the unit and look at the atomic structure beyond this. I will also carry out research into virus morphology and mutation using scientific reviews, papers and samples at the unit. The virus is able to change rapidly to avoid detection and elude the body’s natural interferon responses. This high incidence of mutation can be caused by flaws in the genetic material of the virus, flaws that become key to its survival.
In Allenheads I will to explore the mining history of the surrounding landscape, in particular looking at the crystalline structure and geometry of minerals mined in the area. Killhope Lead Mining Museum is home to the National collection of Spar Boxes, displays created by the miners to display Fluorspar and other minerals unearthed as the commercial byproducts (tailings) of lead mining. I hope to visit and possibly photograph some of the crystals in their collection. I will also spend time navigating the surrounding landscape, collecting images of other things of potential beauty that have perhaps been cast aside or left behind. There is also the possibility of exploring some of the abandoned mines in the area with Alan Smith.
During my time in Newcastle I will be working with sculptor and prosthetic artist Satinder Chumber to consider ways of physically changing my body based on observed mutation throughout history. We have begun looking at differences of form caused by genetic mutation and evolution and discussing the possibilities of designing some simple alterations using silicone and stage make-up. I will be collaborating with Colin Davison and Ian Bailey to photograph and video document the resulting mutations. The work with Ian Bailey will form the final stage of a series of mentoring sessions provided by a DigitalCity, Middlesbrough scheme.
The results of these separate strands of research will feed visual information into the work. Elements of other recent collaborations with Durham University Professor of Archaeology Charlotte Roberts and Bill Earnshaw at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology in Edinburgh will also feed into the work. I will document the residency process on a project blog.
Base Elements
Residency Opportunities
open to national and international artists working in all media
"BASE ELEMENTS"
'The properties of elements often reflect the properties of life itself - volatile, inert, lustrous, precious, brittle…' Primo Levi
RESIDENCY BRIEF
Allenheads Contemporary Arts (ACA) would like to receive proposals from artists interested in following a line of research into the earth's base elements. The project aims to explore in broad terms, how we comprehend and relate to the matter of our planet.
About 'Base Elements'
It is for the artist to determine how they might approach the subject of the 'Base Elements '. ACA is looking for a range of projects that could derive from the scientific to the spiritual or mythical. Above all we are inviting artists to consider this subject in a way, which satisfies their own curiosity about the world while feeding into a broader understandings of it.
There is no universal definition or conclusive list of 'base elements'.
Ancient and traditional scholars looked/look at the characteristics of the four 'basic elements' of earth wind water and fire in an attempt to understand or engage with our planet (and the universe).
One could distinguish between the physical understanding of the universe, the cosmology of science and physics (e.g. the 'Big Bang' theory) or, the metaphysical or esoteric Cosmology which not only refers to the physical universe but also to psychic or spiritual realms of existence.
The atomic elements of modern science also offer much scope for debate. 'Each of the elements is vital for life to exist on Earth in a closed loop of cyclical changes' (Dr. Art's Guide to Planet Earth). Elements are the building blocks of all matter, with over 100 identified. The majority of scientists would probably agree that Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, Sulphur, Hydrogen and Silicon are central and make up most of the matter in the universe. However, this is very much a life scientist's list - geologists would probably include other peculiar elements in there and nuclear physicists would have a different list - e.g. uranium. (Includes extracts from the writing of project consultant Prof. Nick Owens, Director of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory.)
There are connections between specific elements and topical global issues or developments; silicon and artificial intelligence being one example with carbon and global warming another.
The examples given throughout this text are by no means conclusive but are used to demonstrate the potential of this project.About ACA:
ACA is an independent contemporary Arts venue established in 1995 by Helen Ratcliffe and Alan Smith. Over the last 11 years it has commissioned, presented and distributed a diverse collection of innovative work by national and international artists. It is situated in the North Pennines in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and at 1540 feet is England's highest village and is at the geographical centre of Britain. While based in a small rural village, its scope of interest and resources is much broader, connecting the local community and environment with geographical, political, personal and cultural concerns globally. Please visit ACA's other web pages for more information www.acart.org.uk
Allenheads village is accessible by car or by a train and bus connection. While artists entering this rural setting will need to demonstrate a personal desire and willingness to work in a remote area, their social, professional and creative networks will by no means be isolated.
Resident artists are treated as part of Alan and Helen's extended family often sharing meals and leisure time. Artists have their own private quarters for sleeping, cooking and working and there is an open policy that respects the need for both privacy and companionship. Allenheads has a welcoming community with a pub, café, heritage centre. Alan and Helen work and live in the building with their two young children. Professionally and socially they have regular contact with many regional and national artists and curators with whom they share ongoing projects and interests.
Saturday, 7 March 2009
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