The Art of Mapping - installation shots

The Art of Mapping Exhibition is now over but I thought i would share some photos of me installing my piece of work.

The birds waiting...

I start by sticking the birds up with blu tack, to work out the right arrangement

Once I am happy with the arrangement, I can then start pining

Which can be quite tricky, especially if the birds are up high

The main thing is to avoid ripping the birds.

And here they are all pinned.

I took the photos before the lighting had been sorted

But I had been at the gallery for 6 hours and felt the need to go home

Valencia - Street Art

The BF and I went on a trip to Valencia a couple of months ago.  It's a very beautiful place, with great food and a beach (which we took much advantage of).  There was also a lot of street art, here are some of my favourites.

This chap was across the street from our apartment

Falling cars

I think this might be political but am not sure

I love the mixtures of textures a patterns and the way the paintings are linked

Not sure what this is about...

Nor this one, it could be a religious comment, I love the attention to detail though

He had to sneak in

not strictly intentional street art, but it looks like a painting I'd like to make

The Art of Mapping

I am exhibiting a large installation in The Art of Mapping, and exhibition organised by TAG Fine Arts at The Air Gallery in Mayfair in London.  You can find the full details of the exhibition here .

The installation is called 'The Harbingers'.  It is a flock of over 60 Sparrows cut from Geological maps of the UK.

Sparrows are generally seen as pests and their numbers have declined rapidly.  They used to be a common site in London, but now are very rare. 

I love them, they are such feisty birds.  They really punch above their weight, taking on much bigger birds in the fight for food and are very cheeky.

They are also very beautiful, their markings are very beautiful.

I cut each bird by hand from old geological maps.  The colours on the maps are amazing.  I wanted highlight the beauty of the sparrows and hope that I can go some way to rehabilitate them and encourage people to see them in a different light.

Questions, Questions, Questions - Why do you cut them by Hand?

Detail of When do we stop counting - hand cut map

There are many reasons why I cut by hand, but mostly because I enjoy it.  I love the process involved with cutting, working with my hands to make something.  Yes my work could be cut by a machine but that would be a different type of art work.  Part of the enjoyment of cutting by hand is the ability to change things as I go along, to make mistakes, which lead me down different paths.

I'm not against using a laser cutting machine or a cutting machine that uses a knife for creating work, but my practice will always be about working by hand.  I enjoy the low-fi aspect of taking a knife and cutting, I like the control of it.  For me adding in a machine to the process will put a barrier between me and the work.

Next time, where my ideas come from (question from Kitty Killian)

Zumtor Pavillion at the Serpentine

I went to this a while ago, in our glorious summer!, there was a terrential rain storm whilst I was on my way there (I got absolutely soaked).  It was worth it though, it was such a beautiful place.

Here are some of the photos I took.  The garden was amazing, so tranquil. The planting was by Piet Oudolf, if you don't know his work he is well worth checking out if you like natural planting. I went a bit crazy with the zoom, but am quite happy with the results.

Ghosts of Gone Birds

I have a piece of work in this amazing exhibition Ghosts of Gone Birds.  It is all about highlighting the alarming rate that birds are becoming extinct.  Over 100 artists, musicians and writers were approached to make pieces for the exhibition.  The selection  is amazing with the likes of Margaret Atwood, Sir Peter Blake, Adam Brigland, Abigail Brown, Ralph Steadman, Polly Morgan, Billy Childish, Rob Ryan and Su Blackwell involved, I feel very honoured to be included. You can find more information here

And a sneak a peak at the piece I have made, it is of the Great and Lesser Koa Finch, from Hawaii.

Questions, Questions, Questions - How long do they take?

Detail of We are lost somewhere - hand cut map

Exhibiting at Origin is a great opportunity to chat to people and get feedback on your work.

People ask a lot of questions and I thought it would be interesting to start a series of posts where I answer some of the most common ones.

The first question and I think the most common, not just for me but other artists as well.

How long does it take to make the work?

This is a difficult question to answer because I don't really know, but that is not really a satisfactory answer.  Time is not really something I think about when making work, I work on something until its finished, that could be 2 hours, 2 weeks or 2 years.  Some pieces resolve themselves quickly and some have to be worked on then left for a while and returned to.  There can be a space of months or even years before some pieces are finally completed.  I also don't time myself when I work, I always think that it would be a good idea but once I start working I forget, because I become so involved in the work time passes without me noticing. 

It would nice to have a neat and tidy answer to this question but making work is not really a neat and tidy process, well not for me anyway!

I would be interested to know if you have any questions you would like me to answer about my work.

Ai Wei Wei

I found these photos on my camera and realised I had forgotten all about them.  They were taken at the Ai Wei Wei exhibition at the Lisson Gallery, ages ago.  It was a great exhibition but I really loved these dipped pots, the colours were amazing.

I did say I had a lot of posts to be catching up on!

Origin 2011 - Final Verdict

I made it through Origin for another year and here are some photos of my stand.  It's a great thing to do and its great to meet all the artists and makers and all the amazing people that come to visit.  But I'm glad its over and I can get back to my studio I have lots of amazing things coming up this Autumn so have lots to be getting on with. And lots of blog posts to catch up on.

All packed up and ready to go

The stand before

Installation in progress

More progress

My 2 hard working helpers!

The finished stand

The finished stand part 2

A flock of birds

One final view of the finished stand

My Recent Basel Trip

I recently spent a beautiful day in Basel and here are some of photos of my wanderings

a shop window

A Calder mobile in the Kunst museum

A beautiful painting in the Kunst Museum, can't remember who its by though

Reflections in a window

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