Spike Island Spring 2016
Exhibitions CafĂŠ Events
Michael Beutler
OPEN STUDIOS
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Exhibitions Michael Beutler Pump House 16 April to 19 June 2016 Preview: Friday 15 April, 6–9pm
Beutler works in situ and always uses industrial materials, which he repurposes and reinterprets in modular makeshift constructions with the help of hand-built tools (or ‘proto-machines’ as the art critic Gregory Williams once called them). These tools are often shown alongside his installations as an integral part of the work. Beutler’s concern is with the process of production, and constitutes a subversion of industrial and serial manufacturing processes. Typically, the artist involves a great number of ‘human’ collaborators and the social structure of the team they form acts as a catalyst for the development of the exhibition as a whole. Pump House is a collaboration with Nottingham Contemporary, drawing upon the fact that the same architects who redeveloped Spike Island’s exhibition spaces in 2007 — namely Caruso St John — were also in charge of building Nottingham Contemporary from scratch soon after. Beutler has specifically conceived an
exhibition in two chapters which physically and conceptually links the two art galleries. Each exhibition is made from the same elements and yet is completely different: ‘the project could be described as building two very different things with the same Lego blocks’, to quote the artist. Titled after a site which itself alludes to a process (the action of pumping water to provide power), the exhibition is the result of a number of art-making methods including pumping air to inflate paper bricks. It is also a nod to the British industrial landscape where numerous disused pump houses are to be found, most of which have been redeveloped and converted into leisure venues (the Pump House is a well-known gastropub and restaurant in Bristol, only a short walk from Spike Island). As with two of his most recent exhibitions, Haus Beutler at Bielefelder Kunstverein (2014) and La Loge, Brussels (2014–2015), and Moby Dick, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2015), models, material studies, photo and video documentation as well as fragments of earlier projects are included in Beutler’s exhibition at Spike Island, demonstrating his inclination to respond to existing social or architectural structures and reaffirming his profound interest in recycling, DIY and prototyping.
Michael Beutler Moby Dick (2015) Installation view, Hamburger Bahnhof — Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin Photograph by Thomas Bruns Courtesy Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie
Michael Beutler Elefant und Schwein im 3D-Wandteppichstall (2010/2012) Installation view, Leopold-Hoesch-Museum, Düren Private collection, Cologne
Michael Beutler’s exhibition is co-produced by Spike Island and Nottingham Contemporary. Pump House at Nottingham Contemporary runs from 16 July to 25 September 2016.
For his first solo exhibition in a public art gallery in the UK, German artist Michael Beutler presents an ambitious large-scale site-specific commission in two chapters. The first chapter responds to Spike Island’s current use as a gallery and artists’ studio complex, and to its historic use as a tea packing factory.
Exhibitions
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Artspace’s 40th Anniversary Archival display and film 30 April to 19 June 2016 Preview: Friday 29 April, 6–9pm
Michael Beutler MMK Family Workshop (2011) Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am Main Courtesy MMK
Exhibition Tours Free, booking advised
Family Workshop Production Playground Saturday 30 April, Sunday 1 and Monday 2 May, 12–4pm Free, no need to book Join Michael Beutler for an afternoon of fun and collective effort. Use and operate hand-built tools with the artist and fellow producers to make ‘tea bag bricks’ with an ‘inflating machine’, cut cardboard sheets with a ‘slicing train’, and help the artist bring his exhibition to completion. Please note, Michael Beutler will not be present on Monday 2 May.
Tom Ketteringham Spike Island Technical Co-ordinator Saturday 14 May, 2pm Tom Ketteringham talks about how installing Michael Beutler’s exhibition involved turning the gallery back into a factory. Laura Bottin Spike Island/UWE MA Curating student Saturday 18 June, 2pm Laura Bottin leads a conversational exhibition tour reflecting on her experience of working as part of the Pump House installation team. Volunteer led tours, no need to book Every last Tuesday of the month (during exhibitions) at 1pm
Artspace was founded in the mid1970s by a group of painters, sculptors and printmakers who sought out and administered affordable studio spaces for artists in Bristol. Working co-operatively, the collective was able to reduce costs by sharing space and equipment, and securing discounts through bulk purchasing art materials. 2016 marks the 40th anniversary of the initial lease of Artspace’s first home, the McArthur’s Warehouse on the Harbourside. The Artspace artists converted and occupied this disused Victorian warehouse until 1998 when, due to the threat of increased rents and a proposed re-development of the site, the organisation moved to its current premises, a nearby former Brooke Bond tea packing factory, and changed its name to Spike Island. Today, Spike Island is an international art centre and one of Europe’s largest studio complexes.
newly commissioned film directed by artist Kypros Kyprianou weaves together archival and contemporary footage, from interviews with key figures in the development of Artspace, to footage of the industrial sites that Artspace repurposed, to trace how we got ‘from there to here’ and reveal the people, places and wider socio-political situation in which Artspace was founded.
To celebrate Artspace’s 40th anniversary, Spike Island presents an archival display of material selected from the recently catalogued records of Artspace held at the Bristol Record Office (BRO). Significant administrative documents are exhibited alongside letters, photographs, posters and slides showcasing the group’s diverse activities, including international exchanges, exhibitions and events. A
Discussion Event A City Without Artists
McArthur’s Warehouse, Artspace’s first home (1980s)
Saturday 18 June, 3–5pm Free, booking essential ‘What would a city without artists look like?’. This discussion event on the closing weekend of the exhibition addresses the future of studio provision in Britain.
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OPEN STUDIOS
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Friday 29 April 6–9pm (followed by a party till late) Saturday 30 April, 11am–5pm Sunday 1 May, 11am–5pm Monday 2 May, 11am–5pm Spike Island Open Studios sees artists and creative tenants throw open their doors for you to explore their working environment and learn about what they do. Discover how the Spike Island building (a former tea packing factory) is now home to hundreds of artists, designers and creative businesses. Taking place over the first May Bank Holiday weekend, Open Studios hosts a full programme of performances, exhibitions, pop-up kitchens, tours, screenings, and more. Join us for opening night celebrations on Friday 29 April, 6–9pm followed by a party in the sculpture yard with DJs.
Original Artspace poster (1975) Artist Dave Pole at Redland Station Photograph by Adrian Loveless a.k.a. Barbarossa
Spike Island’s galleries are open for you to visit the exhibition by Michael Beutler, who also hosts a special family workshop working with DIY machines. More highlights include a makeshift cinema, outdoor bingo-driven fitness activities,
disruptive public service announcements, stairwell installations of light and sound, and the live casting of bronze bells. Experience delicacies cooked up by some of Bristol’s best street food traders, including potato gnocchi and espresso coffee from Rolling Italy, wood-fired sourdough pizzas from Bertha’s Pizza, deliciously light donuts from The Big O Donut Co., and free-range smoky hotdogs from Underdogs, while our own Spike Island Café serves colourful salads, pulled bbq’d pork sandwiches and ice cream. To get here, catch a Bristol Ferry over to Spike Island and encounter some special artists’ commissions on board. Part of Bristol Food Connections fringe festival: www.bristolfoodconnections.com #OpenStudios @_SpikeIsland
Events
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Residencies
Film screening Mathieu K. Abonnenc
Artist’s Talk: Katie Holten
Tuesday 14 June, 6.30pm £5/£3 (free for Associates), booking advised Mathieu K. Abonnenc devotes his work to the forgotten or marginalised events, figures and areas of recent history associated with a twentieth century struggle for the emancipation of identity. He attempts to deconstruct — on the basis of investigations and documents — the representation of the geographical ‘other’. This screening programme includes his films Secteur IX B (2015), Ça va, ça va, on continue (2012) and An Italian Film (Africa Addio) (2012). This screening is presented as part of the ICA Moving Image Network. Mathieu K. Abonnenc Ça va, ça va, on continue (2012)
Test Space
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Tuesday 10 May, 6pm £5/£3 (free for Associates) Artist Katie Holten introduces her residency at Spike Island and outlines plans to develop her research into living outdoor landscapes. She presents recent projects, including her artist book About Trees, and describes her research into the relationship between humans and the natural world. Katie Holten Prologue: an introduction to About Trees at Büro BDP, Berlin (2015) Photograph by Andrea Bedouin
Tamarin Norwood Artist and writer Tamarin Norwood presents a series of events as part of her Spike Island residency throughout 2016. See www.spikeisland.org.uk for details of this event series. Free, booking advised.
Test Space is programmed by studio holders based at Spike Island and offers artists a chance to exhibit new works and test ideas. Artists from within the Spike Island community and beyond are included. Please ask at reception for access. Slider 29 April to 15 May 2016 Preview: Friday 29 April, 6–9pm Celebrating the initial energy that brought Artspace into being, Test Space presents a giant lightbox of photographic transparencies contributed by the founders of Artspace and current members of the Spike Island community.
Tom Chivers, Dark Islands Saturday 2 April, 6pm In a darkened room filled with words, ghosts, voices and the light of a single lamp, poet Tom Chivers reads from Dark Islands, adapting and re-setting his limited edition ‘black book’ as an intimate, unsettling performance. Chivers will also preview new work from Relic, a sequence of short lyrics about faith, confinement and the body. Writing Movement / Reading Movement Sunday 10 April, 2pm Beginning to Speak Tuesday 7 June, 6pm
movement.language.line.sign Sunday 1 May, 2pm What do sign languages have in common with drawing, writing and the space of the page? Tamarin Norwood is joined by British Sign Language interpreter, writer and artist Dr. Kyra Pollitt to consider how the use of space, time and movement in BSL and BSL poetry relates to the processes and products of drawing. The Ear and the Page Saturday 21 May, 2pm Composer Antonia Barnett-McIntosh joins Tamarin Norwood to present their recent collaboration; an examination of the intersections between drawing, writing, listening and making noise, supported by Hubbub at Wellcome Collection. See www.pointlinetime.net to follow Tamarin Norwood’s 2016 artist residency at Spike Island.
Literature
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Novel Writers £5/£3 concessions (unless otherwise stated), booking advised Each month we invite a debut novelist to read from and talk about their work in an informal setting. Extracts are available in advance but prior knowledge of the texts is not essential. These sessions are a great way to discover new writing talent and great books. In partnership with Bristol Festival of Ideas.
Kate Tempest, photograph by David Stewart
Kate Tempest The Bricks that Built the Houses Tuesday 12 April 2016, 6.30pm 2nd Floor, Rosalind Franklin Room At-Bristol, Anchor road, Harbourside, Bristol BS1 5DB £8/£7 concessions and At-Bristol members Call At-Bristol on 0117 915 1000 or visit www.at-bristol.org.uk to book Kate Tempest is an award-winning poet (Brand New Ancients won the Ted Hughes Prize for poetry in 2013) and rapper nominated for the Mercury Music Prize 2014. A storyteller of extraordinary power and humanity, she is rapidly becoming one of the most exciting and distinctive voices of her generation. Her debut novel, The Bricks that Built the Houses, explores a cross-section of contemporary urban life with a powerful moral microscope, giving us intimate stories of hidden lives, and showing us that good intentions don’t always lead to the right decisions.
Rachel B. Glaser Paulina and Fran Tuesday 24 April, 6.30pm Sharp-tongued, fearsome Paulina meets lovely, listless Fran one night at a houseparty held near their privileged New England art school. Together they drift through their classes, critique their fellow students and nurture their shared dreams of genius. But when their burgeoning friendship tips from intensity into enmity our two heroines find themselves cast out from the halcyon days of art school, divided from one another and set adrift in the increasingly disappointing world of adulthood.
Kit de Waal, photograph by Justine Stoddart
Kit de Waal My Name is Leon
Andrew Michael Hurley The Loney Thursday 26 May, 6.30pm The Loney, set on England’s north-west coast, it is a tale that sucks you in like the tide and envelops you in a thick fog which keeps you guessing which way the story will turn next. Winner of the 2015 Costa First Novel Book Award. ‘It’s not just good, it’s great. It’s an amazing piece of fiction.’ — Stephen King
In conversation with writer Nikesh Shukla Thursday 30 June, 6.30pm Leon is nine, and has a perfect baby brother called Jake. They have gone to live with Maureen, who has fuzzy red hair like a halo, and a belly like Father Christmas. But the adults are speaking in low voices, and wearing Pretend faces. They are threatening to give Jake to strangers. Since Jake is white and Leon is not. Evoking a Britain of the early eighties, My Name is Leon is a heart-breaking story of love, identity and learning to overcome unbearable loss, and how — just when we least expect it — we manage to find our way home.
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Activities
I am Making Art
Industrial Sculpture Saturday 7 May, 12–4pm Explore the industrial qualities of Michael Beutler’s show with Georgia Hall, as she leads a workshop using paper, tarpaulin, cardboard and plastic to create geometric arrangements which take inspiration from urban architecture. Making Stuff Saturday 4 June, 12–4pm Using recycled, repurposed and unconventional waste materials, Éilis Kirby leads a workshop in experimentation and improvisation.
Stuart Whipps 9 July to 18 September (Preview: Friday 8 July, 6–9pm) British artist Stuart Whipps’ photography, film and purpose-built displays consider the limitations of the archive; the ways in which we create order and how ideas are given form. Recent works have used found negatives from redundant photographic laboratories; the archive of Margaret Thatcher’s speeches, interviews and statements; a 1979 Mini; and a sixteenth century sign language devised by Sir Christopher Wren. His exhibition at Spike Island brings together a number of interconnected works made over several years whose relationships, though real, are unpredictable and often whimsical. Xavier Antin News From Nowhere (2014) Installation view, MABA Maison d’Art Bernard Anthonioz, France
Free, booking advised Materials provided, donations welcome These monthly activity sessions are led by artists and take place in the Spike Island Café. Visitors of all ages and abilities can try out new techniques and approaches to making art, from drawing and painting to collage, sculpture and animation, and are invited to drop in any time during the session.
Cardboard Costumes Saturday 2 April, 12–4pm Create imaginative costumes using reclaimed, colourful and unlikely materials in this session led by Beckie Upton. Take inspiration from hats, masks, shoes and jewellery available on the day.
Coming soon
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Images courtesy Éilis Kirby
Xavier Antin The Eternal Network Baby Art Hour Friday 15 April, 10–11am Friday 13 May, 10–11am Friday 10 June, 10–11am £3 for the first child in a family group, £1 for any additional children All materials provided, booking essential Led by artist Éilis Kirby, these monthly sessions in Spike Island Café are for under fives and their carers. Come play with colour, shape, texture and easy ways to create, using simple methods and materials. The gallery opens early at 11am so you can look around the current exhibitions after the session.
9 July to 18 September (Preview: Friday 8 July, 6–9pm) For his first solo exhibition in the UK, French artist Xavier Antin presents a series of newly commissioned works that take as their starting point the independent publishing and printing house Beau Geste Press (BGP). From 1971 to 1976, BGP operated from a remote farmhouse in Devon where its founders — the Mexican artist couple Felipe Ehrenberg and Martha Hellion and the art historian David Mayor — gathered a ‘community of duplicators, printers and artisans’. BGP, who published Fluxus-related artists’ books from their active international network, can be seen as a blueprint for the alternative circulation of art before our digital era. The Eternal Network will function simultaneously as a display system and a series of autonomous artworks that sketch a speculative narrative of BGP’s activity based on archival material.
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April
Calendar
Saturday 2 12–4pm I am Making Art: Cardboard Costumes 6pm Talk: Tom Chivers, Dark Islands Sunday 10 2pm Talk: Writing Movement / Reading Movement Tuesday 12 6.30pm Novel Writers: Kate Tempest This event takes place at At-Bristol (see p.10) Friday 15 10–11am Baby Art Hour 6–9pm Exhibition Preview: Michael Beutler, Pump House Tuesday 24 6.30pm Novel Writers: Rachel B. Glaser Friday 29 6–9pm Open Studios Launch and Party Exhibition Previews: Artspace’s 40th Anniversary Test Space: Slider Saturday 30 11am–5pm Open Studios 12–4pm Family Workshop: Production Playground
Support us Donate
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Spike Island is a registered charity (no.1003505) working to nurture artistic talent and bring artists and audiences together. Your gift, via our website or at one of our donations boxes, supports free entry to exhibitions, educational activities, subsidised studios and artists’ development.
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Volunteer
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Join our dynamic team of volunteers and make a significant contribution to the work we do, while gaining valuable work experience within the arts. Apply online at www.spikeisland.org.uk/opportunities
May Sunday 1 11am–5pm Open Studios 12–4pm Family Workshop: Production Playground 2pm Talk: movement.language.line.sign Monday 2 11am–5pm Open Studios 12–4pm Family Workshop: Production Playground Saturday 7 12–4pm I am Making Art: Industrial Sculpture Tuesday 10 6pm Artist’s Talk: Katie Holten Friday 13 10–11am Baby Art Hour Saturday 14 2pm Exhibition Tour Saturday 21 2pm Talk: The Ear and the Page Thursday 26 6.30pm Novel Writers: Andrew Michael Hurley
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June Saturday 4 12–4pm I am Making Art: Making Stuff Tuesday 7 6pm Talk: Beginning to Speak Friday 10 10–11am Baby Art Hour Tuesday 14 6.30pm Film Screening: Mathieu K. Abonnenc Saturday 18 2pm Exhibition Tour 3–5pm Discussion Event: A City without Artists Thursday 30 6.30pm Novel Writers: Kit de Waal
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Book for events online at www.spikeisland.org.uk, call 0117 929 2266 or visit reception.
Thank you Spike Island is a registered charity (no. 1003505). Spike Island gratefully acknowledges support from Arts Council England and Bristol City Council. We wish to thank Patrons of New Art Bristol for their support: Jerry Cowhig MBE, Professor Alex Gilkison, Mike Jackson, Lance Moir, Esther O’Callaghan OBE, Zoe Sear, Craig White, Iwan Wirth and those who wish to remain anonymous.
This programme is also available in large print. Ask at Spike reception, email admin@spikeisland.org.uk or call 0117 929 2266.
Cover image: Michael Beutler Haus Beutler (2014) Installation view, La Loge, Brussels Photograph courtesy La Loge
Spike Island
Visitor Information
Spike Island is an international centre for the development of contemporary art and design. A vibrant hub for production, presentation and debate, it invites audiences to engage directly with creative practices through participation and discussion.
Gallery open Tuesday to Sunday, 12–5pm (during exhibitions only). Admission to the gallery is free. Prices for events vary, please see individual listings for details.
133 Cumberland Road, Bristol BS1 6UX Tel. 0117 929 2266 www.spikeisland.org.uk admin@spikeisland.org.uk
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Café open Monday to Friday, 8.30am–5pm, Saturday and Sunday, 12–5pm.
Booking Information Book for events online at www.spikeisland.org.uk, call 0117 929 2266 or visit Reception.
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