Three Points of Contact international artist residency by Judit Bodor

glasgow

york

penzance

artist residency 2012 | 2013

Published online by Three Points of Contact, 2013 Three Points of Contact is an artist residency and network project devised and curated by Judit Bodor, Jenny Brownrigg and Blair Todd. Publication edited by Judit Bodor Authors © Judit Bodor, Jenny Brownrigg, Blair Todd and participating artists. Layout and design © Roddy Hunter Photography © Richard Ballinger, Judit Bodor, Jenny Brownrigg, Jon Greenland, Roddy Hunter, Janet McEwan, Thomas Rodgers, Catherine Scriven, Saule Zukaityte © Three Points of Contact, writers and photographers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publishers, artists and photographers.

von Calhau!, Trying Von Angles. 2012. Courtesy the artists.

three points of contact is a curatorial collaboration by Judit Bodor, Jenny Brownrigg and Blair Todd borne out of research around the importance of nomadism, mobility and dialogue in supporting creative practice. As a roving residency model and an evolving network it provides the opportunity for both independent and institutional curators as well as different types of art organisations to work together, share resources and bring international artists into contact with UK artists at contrasting locations and outside of London. Three Points of Contact focuses on building secure, long-term cultural networks and sustained relationships with the place, community and audience. The residency was set up as an experimental space at different galleries, where the artists could research and develop ideas through collaborative experiments, dialogue and public interaction. In the pilot year, the threemonth residency happened in York (The New School House Gallery, 13–23 November 2012), Glasgow (The Glasgow School of Art, 3–14 December 2012) and Penzance (The Exchange, 15–26 January 2013). The research and the pilot year was supported by The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and Portuguese duo von Calhau! was selected to come to the UK and work alongside selected regional artists. von Calhau! spent three months in the UK, travelling between three visual arts venues, meeting local artists and audiences. Their presence at all three venues connected the different points of the decentralised network through research, experimentation and interactive work. von Calhau!’s interest in rituals,

myths, landscape and sound was used as key themes to recruit artists from different parts of the UK. Six artists (two from each place) spent four weeks on the residency splitting their time between their local venue and another of their choice. Other artists joined the group at their own local venue for the duration of their choice. This structure enabled artists who had other commitments, or could not travel to still engage with the project. Three Points of Contact residency balanced the participating artists’ public and private time in a dynamic way. Artists were working alongside each other in galleries-turned-openstudio spaces, spent social time in shared accommodation and researched independently at home between residency slots. The main purpose of the shared and public studio space was to encourage chance encounters, sharing of thoughts, knowledge and skills and finding links between practices which could later be further developed into collaborative projects. As well as nurturing collaborative relationships between the artists, the project invited the public to get involved – the studios were accessible during gallery opening hours, participatory events were scheduled at each venue, and an interactive blog and Facebook page offered live updates and opportunities to participate while archiving the project.

Artists: von Calhau!

from Porto

with

Dominick Allen Sue Bleakley

in Penzance

Stuart Gurden

in York and Glasgow

Hrafnhildur Halld贸rsd贸ttir Michelle Hannah Ann Haycock

in Glasgow

in York and Penzance

Delpha Hudson

in Penzance

Martha Jurksaitis Rachel Maclean Janet McEwan

in Glasgow

in York and Penzance

in Glasgow

in Penzance

Thomas Rodgers

in York

Catherine Scriven

in York

TAap (Richard Ballinger & Jesse Leroy Smith)

Glasgow and Penzance

york Kate Walters glasgow Megan Wellington penzance Emma Saffy Wilson Mark Vernon

in Glasgow and Penzance

in Penzance

in York and Glasgow in Penzance

“This model as in any curatorial model could have been like ‘The Bed of Procustes’ (Penguin, 2010), where Nassim Nicholas Taleb re-tells the story of Procrustes who in Greek mythology ‘had a peculiar sense of hospitality: he abducted travellers, provided them with a generous dinner, then invited them to spend the night in a rather special bed’. He promised that the bed would be a perfect fit for the traveller. ‘Those who were too tall had their legs chopped off with a hatchet; those who were too short were stretched’. Eventually one traveller called Theseus made Procrustes lie in his own bed and chopped off his landlord’s head. Taleb concludes that this aphorism is how we as humans ‘facing limits of knowledge and things we do not observe, the unseen and the unknown, resolve the tension by squeezing life and the world into crisp commoditized ideas, reductive categories, specific vocabularies and pre-packaged narratives’. The residency has avoided any curatorial ‘pre-packaged’ narrative as it took on a life of its own at each venue, led by individuals, the group and the location. Initially, we the curators had envisaged collaboration might come through initial ideas during workshops in the residency but we soon saw that this was too prescriptive and that any connections between the artists came more naturally through discussions about their own work or by the symbiosis of working alongside each other.” /Excerpt from Jenny Brownrigg’s blog post on This Is Central Station,18 December 2012. Available from www.thisiscentralstation.com /

von Calhau! at Spurn Lighthouse, Spurn Point, Yorkshire, 2012.

york glasgow penzance Photography: Roddy Hunter

von Calhau! von Calhau! is the name that covers all musical, sound, text and visual projects of Portuguese duo Marta Ângela and João Alves, who have worked together since 2006. Calhau means stone or pebble in Portuguese. It was taken from the popular saying ‘Stupid like a stone!’ and was also informed conceptually by the word EINSTEIN = EIN STEIN = ONE STONE. They have shown their work across Portugal and Europe in places such as NetMage Festival (Bologna), RIAM Festival (Marseille), MUSAC (Leon), Cristina Guerra Gallery (Lisbon) and Serralves Museum (Porto), amongst others.

know what you are going to discover. It is an open process where anything can happen. We prepare space rather than forcing things to happen and then wait for the Blind Conduction to happen. The second concept is playing with the words ‘landspace’ and ‘landscape’. Landscape is the ‘portrait of the place’ we are going to, how we try to portray it. ‘Landspace’ on the other hand is a space for the land to show up, which is the opposite of landscape, where the land escapes from space…

Finally the concept of The Cannibalist As part of Three Points of Contact, von Effect is referring to the movement which Calhau! spent three months in the UK, makes the contact between the three travelling between three visual arts ven- points, the triangle. It is a constant moveues, meeting local artists and audiences. ment, which we force to speed up until the Their presence at all the three venues whole thing ‘eats’ itself. We can also think connected the different points of the about other triangles like the Bermuda decentralised network through research, Triangle, where movement stops, no experimentation and interactive work. von one can get out. Nothing happens, while Calhau!’s interest in rituals, myths, land- something is still happening inside. Not scape and sound was used as key themes being able to get out is the force of moveto recruit artists from different parts of ment within. the UK who joined the mobile residency It was a great opportunity to bring from project for a certain period. Portugal, particular information, ideas and ‘Our conceptual scheme for the residency thoughts, we hold precious to build our was based on a triangle, because of the work/life ....To share ideas in a different residency title, Three Points of Contact. language make us look our own thoughts We made a diagram of three points on a in a different way.’ map, which responded to our three concepts: Blind Conduction, Landscape vs /von Calhau! in conversation with Judit Bodor as part of the programme ‘Artistic Landspace and The Cannibalist Effect. Internationalization Strategies’, Guimarães Blind Conduction is how we approach European Capital of Culture, Fábrica ASA, work. It is the discovery principle — when 29 September 2012./ you want to discover something, you never

york glasgow penzance

von Calhau!, Blind Conduction. 2012. Courtesy the artists.

the city through its long-term relationship with Fine Arts at York St John University and other education programmes tailored for different schools and families. Jackson and Teed are also using film as a curatorial tool, creating short films on artists at the New School House Gallery (Jane McAdam The New School House Gallery was Freud (2012), Kelly Jayne (2013), Michael co-founded by artists Paula Jackson Lyons and Jake Attree (2013)). and Robert Teed in 2009 with a vision to establish the gallery as one of the key Since establishing the gallery, Jackson independent venues in the UK. Since its and Teed have been developing a collabopening the gallery’s programme has orative artistic practice that is frequently included a series of solo and group exhibi- concerned with human rights issues – in tions by internationally established visual particular, they are interested in finding artists, designers and makers and provided an artistic voice to articulate individual a platform for new talent from universities experiences of physical, emotional and of the North of England. Locally the gal- moral violation. Their ‘Holocaust Survivors’ lery plays a key role in arts education in Library’ installation (2011) was exhibited at In York the residency was curated by independent curator, Judit Bodor, and hosted jointly by The New School House Gallery and York St John University providing studio space, facilities and technical expertise.

Image: The New Schoolhouse Gallery, York. Courtesy The New Schoolhouse Gallery

Huddersfield Art Gallery between January and March 2012, and their immersive film ‘The Defender’s Voice’ was selected for the Australian Human Rights Arts and Film Festival 2012. York St John University is a prestigious university with roots going back to the 1840’s as York Diocesan Training School. Today the University is based on an award winning campus in the centre of York with almost 6,000 students studying on a wide range of subjects. It has a wide network of regional, national and international partnerships with a highly recognised reputation for its teaching and learning. Students studying Fine Arts within the Faculty of Arts receive specialist tuition in

both conceptual and practical aspects of contemporary fine art practice. The programme is geared towards developing students’ understanding of the location of fine art within contemporary society. This helps them unlock their potential as emerging art practitioners. Students are exposed to a wide variety of historical and theoretical material while simultaneously accessing a wide variety of contemporary art practices. Students take part in dedicated history and theory modules and specialist studio based classes and workshops. Both aspects of the course typically include skills workshops, talks by visiting arts professionals, trips to exhibitions and opportunities to participate in international exchange programmes.

Image: De Grey Court, York St John University Courtesy York St John University

13.11.12

Judit Bodor writes: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I was an independent curator in York when the residency started in November 2012. Although I had the support of the two other curators, I had to organise a team on the ground around me to provide appropriate studio space for artists as well as facilities and technical expertise. I approached two organisations in the city and invited them to work with us as associate partners. The New School House Gallery is a domestic-scale arts venue very close to the city centre but in the middle of a quiet garden. Although it is a commercial gallery, its co-founders, Paula Jackson and Robert Teed are practicing artists themselves interested in the social value of arts and critical dialogue through collaborative practices. The gallery also had a well-established relationship with staff at Fine Arts at York St John University, through which our resident artists got access to a range of facilities and technical expertise. The gallery had an exhibition in its main space at the time so we decided to convert its backspace into a small open studio for the artists. Having another exhibition for the public meant the resident artists had more freedom to leave their studio during opening hours. This flexibility became advantageous in the first two weeks as artists needed time to bond with each other, collect materials to work with and have uninterrupted time for research. 10

23.11.12

As the residency was set out to be open-ended allowing things to happen gradually throughout the three-months, the first two weeks were especially challenging in terms of outcomes. After all the preparation, planning and development with Jenny and Blair, I was suddenly apart, on the ground, kicking it off. Six artists who had never met were now sharing days and nights in each othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; company for two weeks. No escape. As this was the first venue for this experiment I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what to expect, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how the group would feel about being together or how the work would develop. On the first day I organised a day trip to Spurn Point and cooked a big dinner that seemed to break the ice. After this I was just there to provide space, time and companionship to artists, watching them work and responding to their needs. Interestingly, everything Jenny, Blair and I imagined about their collaboration went out the window on the first day. I had to take a step back and build plans for the two weeks again from scratch and together with the artists. Slowly but surely everything seemed to fall into place. Every day brought something different, some magical moments. Although the artists worked

york glasgow penzance

mostly on their own, sharing space and having time together led to the realisation of shared interests followed by experimentation, which in turn then fed into making new artworks or developing new plans. Often everyday activities merged with creative time and developed into spontaneous performances. Other times it was just about sharing the space, quietly working alongside each other, listening to records found in charity shops. At the end of the two weeks the intensive work and play somehow fed into a surprisingly packed one-day-only â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;research exhibition.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; The exhibition was a work-in-progress and included photographic documentation, materials, objects and documents collected and used for experiments as well as notebooks and sound, text and video fragments which will feed into developing new works in the future. As a surprise to everybody von Calhau! also presented a sound performance of a poem from words the Portuguese artists heard from other artists during the days in the studio.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

york glasgow penzance 13

york glasgow penzance Photography: Judit Bodor, Thomas Rodgers, Catherine Scriven

G L

A S G O W

The Mackintosh Museum is located in Charles Rennie Mackintoshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s iconic building, The Glasgow School of Art, which was completed in 1909. The Glasgow School of Art is internationally recognised as one of Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foremost universitylevel institutions for creative education and research in fine art, design and architecture. We foster the conditions for creativity in order to promote critical thinking, experimentation, discovery and innovation. Our distinctive pedagogy and research promote studio culture as the basis for creative communities, the meeting ground for diversity of opinion, independence of thought and learning from each other.

Proudly independent and outwardlooking, we continuously extend the boundaries of our knowledge, geographic reach and impact through collaboration and partnership locally, nationally and internationally. We are socially and environmentally responsible in our organisational culture and academic provision. We seek to be exceptional but not exclusive, aspirational but accessible. Drawing on our heritage, we promote a mutually-enriching relationship between tradition and innovation. Rooted in Glasgow, with a strong international and intercultural perspective underpinning all that we do, the city is both a focus for our work and the platform

from which our international relationships The Mackintosh Museum at The Glasgow grow, strengthening our role in the world. School of Art was the second site for the residency. 100 years ago this arts The Glasgow School of Art Exhibitions and crafts inspired space designed by curates a public programme that works Charles Rennie Mackintosh, was the art with contemporary artists, designers and schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawing studio. All the plaster architects from the UK and abroad, as casts were sited there, to be drawn by well as supporting teaching activity and students learning their craft. Within the developing opportunities with staff and context of a Higher Education Institution, students. Our innovative programme of Three Points of Contact Residency gave exhibitions, performance, seminars, art- us the occasion to reference this past ist talks and outreach, aims to explore history of the museum as studio. It also the creative, social and educational gave our audience the unique opportuimpact of contemporary arts practice. nity to see how a studio works and how artistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; practice and processes unfold.

Image: Mackintosh Building, The Glasgow School of Art Courtesy McAteer Photography

03.12.12

Jenny Brownrigg writes: ‘The Museum holds specific tensions for making work in. The life of the building ebbs and flows through this space; tour groups routinely pass through; students on their way to the studios; doors creak; the reception’s radio carries up through the stairwell. To combat this we built the studio space in the Mackintosh Museum with some open space but also ‘spaces of shelter’ including a black box room where the artists could show films on or make film work in. We also ran an exhibition ‘The Interzone’ (3-30 Nov 2012), before the residency, introducing our community and visitors to the work of the core artists participating. Over the fortnight I became very self-aware of the perceived role of the curator and the role of the artists. Was it my role to quickly work through ‘tasks’ to resolve any issues that came up?

14.12.12

Should scheduling and the basic requirements of the institutional context make way for a more people-specific approach? Should I hover to see what work was being made in order to analyse it or find a way to tell a story about it to the public? So often, curators come in at the end stage of the making process to carry forward finished works into a further re-interpretation. How should I react to the everyday challenges of working in such a community? The time became intense, with the human nature of all individuals involved becoming just as important as the work made. The creative process throws up the enlightenment when something works and the tension when something is unresolved. Creativity travels at different speeds. Issue-solving needs to sometimes step aside for tension to settle naturally in the time it takes. The vitality of a living process of making art brings with it the dialectic of both challenging versus channelling the

york glasgow penzance

creative space. As a co-curator on this project I also greatly benefited from being able to discuss the residency with my curatorial peers. ‘The Last Supper’, the concluding event at the GSA, channelled much of the atmosphere of this residency and the museum space. TAap concluded their black gaffa tape rendition of the Last Supper on one wall of the Museum, creating a huge mural of the group of artists and curators involved, and called it ‘The Last Buffaye’. von Calhau! with Stuart Gurden and Mark Vernon performed a version of Caledonia by Cromagnon, a 1960s’ USA experimental band who used primitive instruments such as sticks and stones. The sound lifted right up to the Arts & Crafts rafters, rendering the Mackintosh Museum as strangely monastic, another type of space for both group and individual endeavour. As Marta from von Calhau! rang the Mackintosh ‘bell that does not ring’ in the atrium of the Mackintosh Museum, and played the studio table as a drum, it metaphorically ‘struck’ that art is more about raw moments than outcomes. Through the commitment and leap of faith taken by all the artists and those involved Three Points of Contact Residency it provided an exhilarating enquiry into creativity and the conditions it requires.’

G L

A S G O W

york glasgow penzance 21

Photography: Judit Bodor, Jenny Brownrigg, Michelle Hannah, Megan Wellington, von Calhau!, Saule Zukaityte

york glasgow penzance 23

Image: ‘The Last Supper’ featurung TAap’s mural The Last Buffaye. The Mackintosh Museum, The Glasgiow School of Art , 1 4 . 1 2 . 1 2 Photography: Saule Zukaityte

york glasgow penzance 25

P E N Z A N C E Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange exists because of a unique history of art making in the far west of Cornwall and have celebrated contemporary art and supported the artists that produce it, for over 100 years. From our two venues we enable the research, development and presentation of work by national and international artists, including those from our region, and seek to encourage the direct participation of visitors in our programmes.

and launched a new venue in the centre of Penzance. The Exchange has enabled the organisation to take on larger, more ambitious projects across two sites.

The galleries stage both group and solo exhibitions that support the careers of emerging artists as well as showcasing the work of nationally and internationally renowned artists. At Newlyn Art Gallery there is a focus on painting and drawing, while The Exchange is well suited to instalNewlyn Art Gallery was built in 1895 by phi- lation and social participation projects. lanthropist Passmore Edwards to exhibit the work of contemporary artists. In 2007 The galleriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; international reputation the gallery reopened after a period of ren- allows us to bring some of the best art ovation with the addition of an extension being produced around the globe to

Cornwall and among the artists who have presented solo exhibitions include John Armleder, Marcus Coates, Tacita Dean, Tania Kovats, Bruce Lacey, Mona Hatoum, Tatsumi Orimoto, James Turrell and Lawrence Weiner. Organisations we have recently worked with include Camden Arts Centre, Chapter, Falmouth University, The Glasgow School of Art, Modern Art Oxford, Tate St Ives, Harris Museum. Central to the galleriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; activities is its participation and learning programme based on our desire to develop an open, accessible and integrated organisation, with a responsive approach to working with existing, new and potential audiences / participants.

The gallery has a long and important history of supporting performance art within the programme with projects such as Live Platform, Tract and Fluxus Now providing an arena for live art in our region. Established in 2000, Transition is an annual project that gives artists the opportunity to experiment and try out ideas in the gallery space for a week, without the restraints of presenting a finalised show. The gallery has a strong reputation for devising and hosting short duration projects for emerging artists in the region including New Works, Alternate, Invigorate and Out of Bounds and Three Points of Contact at The Exchange continues this approach to working with artists.

Image: The Exchange, Penzance Courtesy Simon Cook and Peter Freeman

15.01.13

Blair Todd writes: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The third and final stage of the residency was in Penzance, at the far west of the UK; twelve hours by train from Glasgow and eight from York. I rented a large townhouse for Marta and Joao of von Calhau!, Martha Jurksaitis (York) and Mark Vernon (Glasgow). Understanding the value of the artists meeting socially before the residency began, everyone was invited to the house on Sunday and we took various cars for a tour of the area including Merry Maidens stone circle, Porthcurno beach and the cliffs at Zennor. The Exchange, a former telephone exchange, still retains an industrial look and the 200ms exhibition space is larger than either The New School House Gallery or The Glasgow School of Art. The gallery was divided into three areas; an introductory display of documentation of time spent in York on one wall and Glasgow on the facing wall; an open studio area with ten work stations; and a temporary wall created an installation/rehearsal/ performance space. The Cornwall based artists working alongside the visiting artists were Ann Haycock who had been to York and Richard Ballinger & Jesse Leroy Smith from TAap who had spent time in Glasgow, with Dominick Allen, Susan Bleakley, Delpha Hudson, Janet McEwan, Kate Walters and Emma Saffy Wilson. Each of

26.01.13

them were familiar with, or had participated in “Transition” over the years so the residency being open to the public was a natural way of working for them. Collaborations between the artists and dialogue with visitors began from the first day. Martha and von Calhau! were making work with Super 8 and set up impromptu dark rooms in store rooms and toilets; Ann and Janet collaborated on sculptural costumes and videoed each others’ actions and performances; Dominick, Mark and von Calhau! had mutual interests in sound art and created an evening event called “Children of The Stones” on the second Wednesday. Sue introduced the visiting artists to sacred sites; Saffy’s sculptures appeared in Kate’s drawings and Delpha asked each of the artists of make a figure in clay while they described themselves to camera. Jesse used the time to finalise the final threads of “The Dark Rooms”, a series of video and light installations in the old Passmore Edwards School of Science and Art in nearby Helston that involved many of the Three Points of Contact artists from each stage of the residency.

york glasgow penzance

Richard involved all of the artists, gallery staff and volunteers in a video work that required them to embrace in pairs for 30 seconds, part and then look face on to the camera; the results were in turn awkward, touching and hilarious. To maximise the social time between the artists, I set up a long communal table where they could step away from their work place to talk with other artists or visitors. And each lunch time everyone came together for a group meal, soup or stew and bread made by Jon Greenland who runs the gallery cafĂŠ and who also took the photographs of the fortnight. Other staff members, and any artists or curators visiting that day, were invited to join us. The penultimate day of the residency, when Jenny, Judit and Megan, Robert and Paula from York had travelled down to join us for the whole residency projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s final weekend, coincided with Burns Night, so a Cornish take on a haggis lunch was laid on, with Jenny leading the ceremonies. On the last Saturday, we brought the two weeks to a close with a Grand Finale Event which featured a live performance by von Calhau! and an improvised programme of projected video works by artists who had participated in all three stages. It was the end of an extraordinary nomadic residency, but just the beginning of continued inspiration, correspondence and collaborations between all eighteen artists and, of course, the three curators.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

P E N Z A N C E

york glasgow penzance 31

york glasgow penzance Photography: Jon Greenland, Janet McEwan

Dominick Allen

Suntia dolupti aeprore erferrum velis ditate dolore quides volliqui reiciiscidis sitet erciunt restorr ovidus et ut que nectur aceaque necum alisti qui que prempos nis mint ut lit doluptusda prae. Nam invelectorem que sapidig entibusam quis a sinisquid quistium volut fuga. Ugit quam, totaqui quo et, saepta vollabo. Ossinimus dolent quam endi sendani minullatus ex excepudiDominick Allen. Studio work, Penzance, 2013. cia debitiae odicil modis et aborit voluptam sed eos et exceperum alis aborpore ipit laborrum, volorerum, I find new and unintended uses for into complex semi-randomized patterns, odignis erem quisit vides ute id ea conem reprates as obsolete technology. I create electro- as if each item of assorted electronic junk mechanical sonic assemblages from the that had become sentient was attempting machines I build and continually adapt. to converse with its associates. These display complex and unpredictable Sedipid quae iur, quaest ium eoste este Tatust, inis et odit, etur, optat elita ped behaviours derived from intentional errors, Central to harvesting these normally inaumoloratetur repudipitias audi ut verit unti maxim fugiti ut lab ilicimus eium re si unexpected glitches and hyper-chaotic dible sounds was a homemade device that qui sanias que velis a doluptur? occaborecus, ut eum vere, in ressint, converts fluctuations in light into audible feedback loops. officie nihillit vernatiore prerundae. Et sound, which I had built previously but omnitae suntemo luptatquos nam quiata Ad minverspeles pernam venihita am iur re During my residency in Penzance I never really spent any time working with. quas est est, occus alitati ustrumquo core quid est re dolupta tempor acea susa explored micro-sounds generated from The culmination of this part of the project solor aut expella borerro qui rehendignis con cuptatibus. a small collection of electronic devices. was a performance at The Exchange which de porporum venis audi sinci core volupit These sounds included electro-magnetic included performances from Mark Vernon Suntia dolupti aeprore erferrum velis audisque susaerem acesequi adi rerum interference from flickering florescent and von Calhau!. ratur restisque poressita dollupt inimus et ditate dolore quides volliqui reiciiscidis lights; amplified mechanical relay switches sitet erciunt restorr ovidus et ut que necfaccus aut modit doluptatum labore aut and cine-projectors. Towards the end acesequo core necabo. Ut miniatis ma et tur aceaque necum alisti qui que prempos of the two weeks I began using a homeeatempo sseque venis esti aped eiciurest nis mint ut lit doluptusda prae. Nam www.domallen.co.uk made analogue sequencer to arrange invelectorem que sapidig entibusam quis ut qui ut quae voluptatem aborehenes these normally inaudible clicks and hums a sinisquid quistium volut fuga. Ugit McEwan quam, essus aciaspi tisimpere consequat. Photography: Jon Greenland and Janet totaqui quo et, saepta vollabo. Ossinimus

Sue Bleakley

Sue Bleakly. Studio work, Penzance, 2013.

I am interested in the dialogue between the robust and the delicate, which echoes the world of ‘in-between’ biological forms essay various states of infection, mainly joyous. Seen as a whole, the body of work may be plotted as one piece affecting another – a model of collaboration through infectious process. My silicone sculptures are ‘drawn’ with a silicone gun, producing highly tactile and sticky objects. These objects seem to be in a state of readiness for reproduction, promising a colony, as an expression of life forms based on silicone rather than carbon.

glowed with the blue light. This was then projected low down against a white pillar in the gallery. I also explored sticking metal spikes into a constructed form.

The shared space worked well for me and I enjoyed the company of other artists. Artists were helpful and friendly, skills and expertise were readily shared. I really connected with Joao and Marta from von Calhau!, Martha from York and Mark from Glasgow. We spent time together socially while driving around Penzance which, being local, was an essential part of my commitment to the residency and allowing During the residency in Penzance, I made a space for creative conversation outside video using a brush that I had constructed the gallery space. with blue fibre optics. I filmed the sound www.axisweb.org/p/susanbleakley of the brushing up of rough crystals from the floor in a darkened space. Everything Photography: Jon Greenland 36

Hrafnhildur Halldórsdóttir Tatust, inis et odit, etur, optat elita ped maxim fugiti ut lab ilicimus eium re si occaborecus, ut eum vere, in ressint, officie nihillit vernatiore prerundae. Et omnitae suntemo luptatquos nam quiata quid est re dolupta tempor acea susa solor aut expella borerro qui rehendignis de porporum venis audi sinci core volupit audisque susaerem acesequi adi rerum ratur restisque poressita dollupt inimus et faccus aut modit doluptatum labore aut acesequo core necabo. Ut miniatis ma et eatempo sseque venis esti aped eiciurest ut qui ut quae voluptatem aborehenes essus aciaspi tisimpere consequat. Sedipid quae iur, quaest ium eoste este moloratetur repudipitias audi ut verit unti qui sanias que velis a doluptur? Ad minverspeles pernam venihita am iur re quas est est, occus alitati ustrumquo core con cuptatibus. Suntia dolupti aeprore erferrum velis ditate dolore quides volliqui reiciiscidis sitet erciunt restorr ovidus et ut que nectur aceaque necum alisti qui que prempos nis mint ut lit doluptusda prae. Nam invelectorem que sapidig entibusam quis a sinisquid quistium volut fuga. Ugit quam, totaqui quo et, saepta vollabo. Ossinimus dolent quam endi sendani minullatus ex excepudiHrafnhildur Halldórsdóttir. Photographic sketches for sculpture, 2013. Courtesy the artist cia debitiae odicil modis et aborit voluptam sed eos et exceperum alis aborpore ipit laborrum, volorerum, I work with sculptural installation. The work, enjoyed the opportunities for dialogue whilst odignis erem quisit vides ute id ea conem reprates as both physically and conceptually, occupies a everyone carried on with their work. It was series of contradictory territories – chaos and an unusual working situation for me as I control, the delicate and the brutal, and dis- normally work from home, by myself. These plays formal qualities that are both detailed dialogues sparked off some new ideas and and imposing, and it is within the tension of directions. Specifically during the residency those elements, that the objects emerge from I was working on some wearable pieces of being merely exercises in patience, stubborn- sculpture and with the help of one of the other ness and material indulgence and become residents I was able to take some initial phoobjects of presence and importance. At the tographs and further think about how these core lies a degree of conceptualism, which ideas could develop into either photographic stems from a working process that involves works or become more performance-based. improvisation within a set framework and is It helped the process of these ideas to be intertwined with an approach based in craft surrounded by other artists who were willtechniques and folk art, and relies heavily on ing to help out, either in a practical way or through discussion. an instinctual material engagement. During my time on the Three Points of Contact residency in Glasgow I took advantage of the communal studio situation and

www.artnews.org/hrafnhildurhalldorsdottir 37

Stuart Gurden

I work primarily with video, sound and installation. My work flows from a combination of research, chance connections and an intuitive play with materials and references. I am drawn to unresolved debates and arguments, and implicit in my work is a cultural tendency to atavism, and recuperation - the constant recycling that feeds and defines our creative limits. At its core the work exists in the intersections and contradictions between poetry and music, and science and engineering, and these different forms of knowledge and creativity guide the changing themes in the work.

I approached the residency in York and Glasgow as a means of exploring and generating new material both individually, and to feed into a collaborative discussion with the other artists. I wanted to avoid over-thinking my processes, and expose things I’d been exploring in other contexts to a new situation. In York I concentrated on gathering audio recordings, primarily of naturally occurring ‘tremolo’ effects created by the crenellations of York’s historic walls, made walking along the battlements at different speeds with a microphone, with ambient sound and traffic noise cut up into varying rhythms/modulations by the regular gaps in the walls. Supplemented by additional binaural recordings - organ recitals in the Minster, a street seller of bamboo bird pipes, hat buying in the market - I produced a short audio sketch Tremolo Walks.

At GSA I gathered more video footage – making a jig to attach to the camera, to hold an angled support for combinations of reflective mylar sheet and black foil, so that the camera focussed entirely on these secondary surfaces as it gathered light from within the Art School’s Macintosh library. I made a new short film Apple Mackintosh Blackwrap Mylar and participated in a final impromptu audio collaboration with Mark and von Calhau! at the closing event in Glasgow – including a ramshackle, noisy cover of Cromagnon’s ‘Caledonia’ – a fitting end to an openended month of talking and making.

Stuart Gurden, sound recording firledwork, Spurn Point, Yorkshire 2012. Photography: Judit Bodor

Ann Haycock

Ann Haycock exploring boundaries and co

I am an artist based in Penzance. My practice subversively challenges the culturally acceptable. It engages with the Gothic, the uncanny and the macabre along with childlike and idiosyncratic behaviour. The exigent elements are not necessarily found in any one performance, but are found throughout the whole of my practice. The performances often respond to a specific environment and moment in time. I am interested in examining boundaries, containment, edges and breaking free from these exigent elements. In York I explored the ancient wall. An edge, that divided the city into two. The inner area was contained, protected, wealthy and beautiful, the outer much less so. I used childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bubbles, cling film, ultra violet 40

Michelle Hannah

Michelle Hannah. Sonne, [film still], 2013. Courtesy the artist

I am a Glasgow based artist and graduate of the MFA programme at The Glasgow School of Art. There is a strong sense of Romanticism in my practice, mainly in how performance and video can help understand - in my own finite way - society’s obsession with technology, identity and perpetual fame while addressing our innate longing for resolving existential questions of individuality, lack of faith and purposeful meaning. Taking part in the residency at GSA as a former student was a fantastic challenge. I don’t have a studio. I do performance. I don’t need one. I don’t really know what to do in them apart from making tea and trying my best to annoy the crap out of other people. But the appeal to venture back into the Mack building and use it as ‘studio’ was far too tempting. 42

I mainly focused on appropriating new songs for a performance to camera. I sing these in the electronic vein of Laurie Anderson with a sprinkling of gender bending like Genesis P- Orridge, Linder and Kalup Linzy. I wear manga contacts, paint my hair, wear customized evening gowns in the most ‘Twin Peakism’ format, to become metallic, ethereal, vocal and hopefully emotive. This performance became SONNE, which I filmed and edited in a day. A distilled cover of The Smiths’ ‘How Soon is Now?’ My face is glistening with 24kt gold dust as if staring into the last flickers of a dying star. I change lyrics for my own means. Instead of ‘Son and Heir’ in Morrissey’s vocal pain, this is now ‘I am the Sun and Air.’ http://michellehannah.org

Delpha Hudson

www.delphahudson.co.uk Photography: Jon Greenland

Martha Jurksaitis

Martha Jurksaitis. Studio

Phot

o work, Penzance, 2013.

tography: Jon Greenland

Tatust, inis et odit, etur, optat elita ped maxim fugiti ut lab ilicimus eium re si occaborecus, ut eum vere, in ressint, officie nihillit vernatiore prerundae. Et omnitae suntemo luptatquos nam quiata quid est re dolupta tempor acea susa solor aut expella borerro qui rehendignis de porporum venis audi sinci core volupit audisque susaerem acesequi adi rerum ratur restisque poressita dollupt inimus et faccus aut modit doluptatum labore aut acesequo core necabo. Ut miniatis ma et eatempo sseque venis esti aped eiciurest ut qui ut quae voluptatem aborehenes essus aciaspi tisimpere consequat. Sedipid quae iur, quaest ium eoste este moloratetur repudipitias audi ut verit unti qui sanias que velis a doluptur? Ad minverspeles pernam venihita am iur re quas est est, occus alitati ustrumquo core con cuptatibus. Suntia dolupti aeprore erferrum velis ditate dolore quides volliqui reiciiscidis sitet erciunt restorr ovidus et utAnningella que nectur necum alistihttp://vimeo.com/61966175 qui que prempos Martha Jurksaitis. Queenaceaque of Cups, [film still], 2013. nis mint ut lit doluptusda prae. Nam invelectorem que Courtesy the artist sapidig entibusam quis a sinisquid quistium volut fuga. Ugit quam, totaqui quo et, saepta vollabo. Ossinimus dolent quam endi sendani minullatus ex excepudidebitiae odicil aborit voluptam sed eos trip toet Spurn Point, and my feelings I’m an analogue filmciaartist based in modis et exceperum alis aborpore ipitresidency laborrum,about volorerum, during the some transYorkshire, working primarily with Super odignis ute idthat ea conem reprates as formations were happening in my life 8 and 16mm cine film and erem stills quisit pho- vides tography. My approach is artisanal and and the influences of the artists around extremely hands-on, and I chemically me at that time. process all my work by hand as I find that new ideas open up through the material- In Penzance, I worked in more of a ity of the process to give birth to fresh sketch-like manner, creating a number of works and creative growth. Fascinated by sketches that I am only now starting to the phenomenal experience of film spec- form into a film. I found myself becomtatorship, I seek to materialise my visions ing much more open in my approach to and emotions in the sensual body of the my material, and I explored more collaborative strategies as well as some new spectator. forms of presenting my work, including In York, I created a short film on the experimenting with reading live poetry Super 8 film format, which I chemically while projecting the sketches. The work processed and edited entirely by hand I’m refining now comes from the material using analogue film equipment. Entitled I made in Penzance, and its working title ‘Anningella Queen of Cups’, it is a creative is ‘Portuguese Woman O War’. response to a dream I had, the residency www.cherrykino.blogspot.co.uk 45

Rachel MacLean

Rachel MacLean. Germs, 2013. Courtesy Bold Yin Ltd.

I am a Glasgow based artist working largely in green screen composite video and digital print, often exhibiting this alongside props, costumes and related sculpture and painting. I am the only actor or model in my work and invent a variety of characters that mime to appropriated audio and toy with age and gender. These clones embody unstable identities: conversing, interacting and shifting between cartoonish archetypes, ghostly apparitions and hollow inhuman playthings. My videos attempt to unify the aesthetic of Poundland, YouTube, Manga, Hieronymus Bosch and High Renaissance painting with MTV style green screen and channel changing cuts.

During the residency in Glasgow I worked on the costumes, props, script and storyboard for a 3-minute, green-screen video titled Germs, in which I am the only actor. The idea for the film was that it followed a glamorous female protagonist through a series of advertising tropes. Moving from a perfume to a bathroom cleaner commercial, she converses with a persuasive masked woman and becomes increasingly paranoid about the omnipresence of microscopic germs. The main costume I was working on during my time on the residency was a large, bright pink germ suit, with six arms and rubber glove antenna. The outfit was padded out using the contents of almost three double duvets, which was fun, if not formidably hot to wear. www.rachelmaclean.com

Janet McEwan

Thomas Rodgers

Thomas Rodgers. Many Points of Contact, [exhibion view}, 2012. Courtesy the artist.

I am a photographer based in York, teaching at York College and currently studying MA Photography at Edinburgh College of Art. I use images and aesthetics to affect perception and accepted notions of beauty. For Three Points of Contact, I made a photographic record of the artists and their days during their time in York. I was lucky to develop relationships through which we could discuss ideas and potential outcomes. Initially, I played the role of observer and tried to avoid influencing how the artists might behave. As I would only be a part of the residency in York I didn’t want to construct a process or working relationship that we couldn’t prolong afterward. Nevertheless, the more time I spent with the artists, the more influenced I became in my approach to image making.

By the end of two weeks, I had many images that represented both the artists’ practices as well as my own and I wanted to produce something to culminate our time together but that would also allow me scope to develop further work in time. I printed all the images I had shot as large ‘contact sheet’ prints and hung them in the gallery space. Traditionally, contact sheets allow photographers the chance to annotate and assess their imagery. In this instance, I wanted the artists and exhibition visitors to write comments and thoughts on the contact sheets to assist in the production of a collaborative whole. The comments will be used as guidance in the creation of experimental photographic pieces in the future.

http://thomasrodgers.wordpress.com 48

Catherine Scriven

TAap (Richard Ballinger and Jesse Leroy Smith)

TAap. Second Epitaph, 2012. Courtesy the artists

We are TAap, we give and we take and maketh of many mistake. We are men of no shame and liking of whim. Wear trousers of mirth whilst holding brushes of dissent. Whereabouts we burn Christmas trees and kindle the neighbours wares.  In dark country with costume and woody things to make. 50

TAap. one hug of many, [fil

In Glasgow we worked on an artist book using a city guidebook which we reworked into our own TAap scrapbook. We also created a series of one off posters and collages as well as photo works using images we took at the Necropolis and Loch Lomond. We continued impromptu performances and interactions across Glasgow and the Art School and for the final event we made a large scale wall frieze from gaffer tape. The Last Buffaye was based on the theme of the Last Supper but playing with the words ‘buffet’ and ‘aye’. This wall frieze gave the background for the final event involving all the artists and curators sitting around the buffet table sharing food and drink and celebrating the time spent together.

lm still] 2013. Courtesy the artists

In Penzance we made two films, called the TAap Therapies. They reflected the camaraderie and social energy of the gallery. The depth and diversity of characters was a rich source of inspiration. All the underlying dynamics and ideas circling seemed to be expressed in a simple but emotive portray of couples hugging in our film. This sense of sprawling collaboration was further explored in the ambitious Art event â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Dark Roomsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. We managed to use a boarded up school to transform every room into an individual work of art that formed part of a narrative explored by torches and the projections of films.

A brooding cacophony of sound and dissonant imagery, reflecting the psychology, politics and complex identities of the human condition gave way to embrace expansive and dreamlike landscapes. To be able to invite many artists from Three Points into this project proved invaluable, the films of von Calhau!, Rachel MacLean, Michelle Hannah and Janet McEwan were key contributions, and Emma Wilson and Dominick Allen created unique installations. The way Three Points of Contact brought together artists from disparate places to form powerful connections and artworks has been so rewarding and will be a template for how TAap develop and collaborate. www.jesseleroysmith.co.uk Photography: TAap and Saule Zukaityte

Mark Vernon

Dictaphone tapes I found in a flea market in Lisbon. I began working these voice recordings into a composition combining them with field recordings I made in Portugal earlier that year. Along with von Calhau! and Stuart Gurden I performed a short live set that included a cover version of ‘Caledonia’ – a track by cult experimental band Cromagnon. Also as a one-off special we were lucky to host that month’s Lights Out Listening Group event in the Mack lecture theatre at the art school – In the Glasgow leg of the residency I the programme included audio work and enlisted the help of von Calhau! to assist live performances by other Three Points of with translations of old reel to reel and Contact artists.

I am a sound artist and radio producer based in Glasgow. I have produced programmes for both national and independent art stations and have set up several RSL art radio projects in the UK. As well as my various solo projects I also record and perform in the groups Vernon & Burns and Hassle Hound and organise the ‘Lights Out Listening Group’ - a bi-monthly listening event at The Old Hairdressers, Glasgow.

Whilst based in Penzance I made field recordings in various locations in Cornwall and continued to work with other artists on the residency. Recordings of readings from Kate Walters’ dream diary have subsequently been used in the radio piece ‘Deep Sleep Trawler’. With von Calhau!, Cornish artist Dominick Allen and Leeds-based artist Martha Jurksaitis we put together an evening of live performance including screenings, improvised soundtracks to silent films and sound performances. The piece I performed incorporated elements from all the different things I had been working on

over the residency period - found tapes and field recordings from Lisbon, Kate’s dreams, extracts from improvised music sessions and electronic experiments and other sounds and field recordings recorded in and around Penzance.

Mark Venrnon. Studio work, Glasgow and Penzance, 2013. Photography: Jon Greenland and Saule Zukaityte

https://archive.org/details/ ThreePointsOfContact 53

Megan Wellington

Megan Wellington. Spurn, 2013. Courtesy the artist.

I live and work in York, where I am working towards my MA in Fine Arts at York St John University. My practice lies mainly within photography, although I have also recently begun experimenting with installation, film and sound. My work is concerned with ‘the everyday’, themes of domesticity and memory. The process of an image fascinates me, and the journey often overcomes the final product. I work with analogue processes that I find highly rewarding, both artistically and personally.

The starting point to my work during TPC began with our research visit to Spurn Point. I had an initial plan of creating some kind of story, a mythical basis to information that then didn’t exist. Whilst at Spurn, I gathered discarded rubbish and pieces of debris. With these items, and a bank of images from the day, I spent my time at The New School House Gallery creating memories of an event that never happened and putting them on display in some kind of curiosity cabinet for visitors to make their own theory about why they existed and what they were.

Tatust, inis et odit, etur, optat elita ped maxim fugiti ut lab ilicimus eium re si occaborecus, ut eum vere, in ressint, officie nihillit vernatiore prerundae. Et omnitae suntemo luptatquos nam quiata quid est re dolupta tempor acea susa solor aut expella borerro qui rehendignis de porporum venis audi sinci core volupit audisque susaerem acesequi adi rerum ratur restisque poressita dollupt inimus et faccus aut modit doluptatum labore aut acesequo core necabo. Ut miniatis ma et eatempo sseque venis esti aped eiciurest ut qui ut quae voluptatem aborehenes essus aciaspi tisimpere consequat. Sedipid quae iur, quaest ium eoste este moloratetur repudipitias audi ut verit unti qui sanias que velis a doluptur? Ad minverspeles pernam venihita am iur re quas est est, occus alitati ustrumquo core con cuptatibus. Suntia dolupti aeprore erferrum velis ditate dolore quides volliqui reiciiscidis sitet erciunt restorr ovidus et ut que nectur aceaque necum alisti qui que prempos nis mint ut lit doluptusda prae. Nam invelectorem que sapidig entibusam quis a sinisquid quistium volut fuga. Ugit quam, totaqui quo et, saepta vollabo. Ossinimus dolent quam endi sendani minullatus ex excepudiMegan Wellington. The Barras, 2013. Courtesy the artist. cia debitiae odicil modis et aborit voluptam sed eos et exceperum alis aborpore ipit laborrum, volorerum, I believe this then laid foundations for my I then compiled a number of different odignis erem quisit vides ute id ea conem reprates as work in Glasgow, where I paid extra atten- pieces, including lino prints, collages and tion to minor details that would normally finally, a photobook which I distributed have been ignored. I was working around back to the visitors who attended the the conversations I was having with peo- closing event. The people I met through ple whilst exploring the city. Aimlessly the residency gave me so much in terms searching with a completely different of inspiration and interaction, I wanted to initial idea in mind, each time I wasn’t give something back, similar to the princi‘working’ I found myself being more and ples of Three Points of Contact itself. TPC more inspired by ‘the everyday’ Glasgow. was a cultural exchange between different I began to record my encounters, and artists that wouldn’t have normally collabeventually, photograph the people who I orated, and I really wanted to give them was interacting with, alongside their sur- my take on such a unique city. roundings. The journey I began looking for another idea, was becoming my destination. Using my camera as a first response,

Kate Walters

Kate Walters. Spinning Drawing; planets inside; this orbit expands. 2013. Courtesy the artist.

My practice involves working with the living net of connection that I feel extends to all species and all phenomena. I work with watercolour, film, photography, and sound. I am interested in asking for the vision, strength and perceptive gifts of various animals and plants; for example, climbing inside the belly of a horse one can ask to be â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;cookedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by the inward heat, and gain the gift of learning the steady focus for this life. I used the time in Penzance to re-visit my dream diaries and to use my findings to help me let go more fully into the process of drawing. I have vivid dreams and I have recorded them for many years. I have wanted for a long time to be able to focus

on them, and to see how I can find a way to utilise them more fully in my practice. I spent some time with Mark Vernon from Glasgow. He recorded me speaking about my dreams for his own sound work. I also made drawings, and a small clay piece initiated by Delpha Hudson, fellow artist. I used the time to recover from a hard yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; working towards my solo show at the Newlyn Art Gallery, by just being, reading, and reflecting. It was good! I enjoyed the two weeks enormously.

www.katewalters.co.uk 56

Emma Saffy Wilson Tatust, inis et odit, etur, optat elita ped maxim fugiti ut lab ilicimus eium re si occaborecus, ut eum vere, in ressint, officie nihillit vernatiore prerundae. Et omnitae suntemo luptatquos nam quiata quid est re dolupta tempor acea susa solor aut expella borerro qui rehendignis de porporum venis audi sinci core volupit audisque susaerem acesequi adi rerum ratur restisque poressita dollupt inimus et faccus aut modit doluptatum labore aut acesequo core necabo. Ut miniatis ma et eatempo sseque venis esti aped eiciurest ut qui ut quae voluptatem aborehenes essus aciaspi tisimpere consequat. Sedipid quae iur, quaest ium eoste este moloratetur repudipitias audi ut verit unti qui sanias que velis a doluptur? Ad minverspeles pernam venihita am iur re quas est est, occus alitati ustrumquo core con cuptatibus. Suntia dolupti aeprore erferrum velis ditate dolore quides volliqui reiciiscidis sitet erciunt restorr ovidus et ut que nectur aceaque necum alisti qui que prempos nis mint ut lit doluptusda prae. Nam invelectorem que sapidig entibusam quis a sinisquid quistium volut fuga. Ugit quam, totaqui quo et, saepta vollabo. Ossinimus dolent quam endi sendani minullatus ex excepudiEmma Saffy Wilson. Work-in-progress, Penxzance, 2013. Courtesy the artist. cia debitiae odicil modis et aborit voluptam sed eos et exceperum alis aborpore ipit laborrum, volorerum, My work often starts out as a story or alongside others in the open studio I was odignis erem quisit vides ute id ea conem reprates as ends up as one. My natural instinct is to fascinated to discover that others use respond in a 3 dimensional way, play- these methods too. I also shared some ing with objects and creating a narrative. of my materials with another artist, Kate Sometimes the story gets lost in the mak- Walters, who used my sticks and twigs ing or it takes on a new meaning.Out of as drawing tools. Surprisingly our work the comfort of the solitude of my studio started to compliment each other. For the I spent a lot of the time observing the final event I decided to connect all the artactivities of the artists involved in the res- ists involved using thread from the space idency in Penzance. For my own work I I was working from. I worked out who was had brought some work-in-progress from more directly connected than others and my own studio. I grew mold on sticks and where points met or overlapped. I realized branches that I then used to create figures. there were many threads that connected My work often involves techniques such us all, creating a tangled, but quite beautias wrapping, binding and shrouding using ful network. fabrics, threads and wires. While working

www.emmasaffywilson.com 57

three off points of spring contact projects For participating artists the residency provided a new network and created several new opportunities for collaboration and showing new work together especially outside London. ‘Lights Out Listening Group’, 13 December 2012, The Glasgow School of Art. Co-organised by Mark Vernon and included live performance by Michelle Hannah.

Jesse Leroy Smith curated ‘The Dark Rooms’ inviting artists to transform the rooms of an old school building’s into individual artworks. Helston, Cornwall, 2-3 February 2013. Included works by Michelle Hannah, Rachael MacLean, Emma Saffy Wilson and von Calhau!

Stuart Gurden and Michelle Hannah showed works as part of ‘Green Screen’, Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh, 15-31 March 2013. Green Screen questioned the semantics of art and the moving image with particular reference to the ongoing discourse surrounding the convergence of documentary, poetic cinema and performance practices. Rachael MacLean’s new film ‘Germs’ was shown as part of Random Acts (No.276), a short-form daily arts strand on Channel 4, late nights.

Martha Jurksaitis’ film ‘Anningella Queen of Cups’, which she made during the residency, Michelle Hannah curated ‘Nite Flights’, an was shown as part of The Open-Air Filmfest, evening of video and performance. The Old Weiterstadt. Germany, 15-19 August 2013. Hairdressers, Glasgow, 6 February 2013. The Dominick Allen curated Rachael Maclean’s event included Rachel Maclean’s work. 58

film as part of Penryn Arts Festival, 19-28 July 2013. Kate Walters solo show ‘The Secret Worth A Thousand’ will travel to at The New School House Gallery, York, 7 March – 26 April 2014

Janet McEwan and Ann Haycock had an exhibition ‘We Are Petrified’. Helston Folk Museum, 12 August-6 September 2013.

Dominick Allen (aka Crumble Slab) was invited by Janet McEwan to perform as part of ‘Gaslighting’, an exhibition & a programme of events produced in association with Freedom from Torture. CMR, Redruth, Cornwall, 14-21 June 2013.

york glasgow penzance

Michelle Hannah showed her video SONNE as part of the group exhibition ‘R-U-Dead Yet?’ Curated by Dane Sutherland. Summerhall, Edinburgh. 31 May – 19 July 2013. Susan Bleakley had a solo exhibition, ‘North of Dominick Allen took part in an event curated by Normal’, at Frankfurter Kunstverein Galerie B. Jesse Leroy Smith as part of Limbo, a series 3-26 September 2013. of events and exhibitions at The Coffin Store, Truro. 28 March – 14 April 2013. 59

three points of contact L

exploring the notions of ‘desert’ both sensually and imaginatively as space and tradition conceived through both heart and mind. In ’We Are Not Petrified’ Ann Haycock and Janet McEwan From our initial curatorial trip to Lisbon, and our invite guests and visitors to the gallery to conmeeting with Joao Mourao, (Coordenador de tribute to an ongoing collaborative intermedia Galerias Municipais), Glasgow artist Alex Frost response to the Merry Maidens Stone Circle, applied for the Townhall Residency, Lisbon, also known as Dans Maen: the Dancing Stones. and completed the residency in March 2013. His research on civic public art can be seen: Glasgow-based Mark Vernon, Martha Jurksaitis from Leeds and Portuguese duo von Calhau! http://polymernotepad.tumblr.com/. will work together in Almendres, Portugal to GSA Exhibitions screened on 13 March 2013 develop a ‘modular film’ which will be rearan excerpt of Extraction: Projection, a pro- ranged by the artists every time it is presented gramme of projected image work conceived in public. originally for The Penzance Convention. The Penzance Convention was a three-day confer- Participating artists highlighted belonging to a critical community within a broader network as ence, hosted at The Exchange in May 2012. an important legacy of the project. Inspired by the residency The New School House in York decided to build non-outcome- Catherine Scriven, for instance, reflected:‘For specific artistic research projects in the gallery’s me the most important part of the residency was enjoying research as a way of making art, own programme of residencies in the future. the exploration of ideas and form. It was the Three Points of Contact residency funded three reason I wanted to participate in the project follow-up projects grown out of the residency and has contributed to a change of attitude. It and developed in collaboration by participating doesn’t come naturally yet, but I have a format to develop and explore in my own work. It has artists: changed the way I perceive collaboration and In November 2013 four Penzance-based art- collaborative research, something I found difists worked in pairs as part of ‘Transition’ 10 ficult to consider before.’ at Newlyn Art Gallery, Penzance. Kate Walters & Sue Bleakley ‘s ‘The Arena’ is an installation The residency provided new ways of curatorial collaboration and new directions of building a networked community.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The residency situation was stimulating, nourishing, and definitely sparked several [Janet McEwan] trajectories ...â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

york glasgow penzance

Photography: Emma Saffy Wilson

C U R A T O R S

“The most important reason for going framework we needed, working apart and from one place to another is to see what’s with many artists. in between, and they took great pleasure Between 2010 and 2012 we researched in doing just that.” existing residency models, submitted two funding applications, selected artists from Norton Juster, ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’ Portugal and UK and invited two more organisations to become our Associates November 2010 and work with Judit in York who in the We met on a research visit for British meantime became independent. It was curators to Portugal organised by Gill exhausting and exciting at the same time, Hedley and Filipa Oliviera on behalf of all for the same goal but with not much The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The idea about how the whole thing will end. week was packed with a full programme, we visited galleries, studios and many February 2013 artists, we ate, we talked, we realised we have a shared interest in residencies. A Three years have passed since we first couple of months after the trip our funders met. We completed the 3-months long invited us to come up with ideas how to pilot residency, including 4 organisations, strengthen the relationship between 3 curators, 2 Portuguese and 18 UK artthe Portugal and the UK through artistic ists. We commissioned a film, organised exchange. By this time we already had a 3 exhibitions, 6 public events and 4 talks. We became good friends and continue to plan: a residency, with a difference… work together. We wanted a new model, one which welcomed international artists in regional December 2013 venues in the UK, one which involved emerging, mid-career and established art- We finished the publication which visists, one which didn’t focus on a single ually documents the process so far outcome but encouraged experimenta- to accompany our project website tion and collaborative approach hopefully www.threepointsofcontact.info. leading to multiple outcomes. A residency supported by different types of organisa- The future … tions, one where artists engaged with different publics as part of the process The long-term goal of Three Points of through open studio environment, events Contact was always to create a new netand social media, one which supported work through this residency project. The artists’ professional development and residency itself enabled artists, curators created further opportunities for collabora- from different background and organisation, one that was mobile and networked, tions of different nature to work together one where no one felt isolated, one where but the network survives through new off long-term friendships and working rela- spring projects grown from working relationships could start. tionships formed during the residency. This network can be expanded through We decided to call it Three Points of repeating the residency, involving new Contact, which refers to best practice organisations, new curators who are willin climbing. You should never fall if you ing to collaborate and share resources to keep three limbs attached to the climb- support artists in the UK and abroad. The ing surface at any one time. It suited the future is open …

Judit Bodor

Jenny Brownrigg

Blair Todd

Judit is an independent Jenny has been Exhibitions Blair Todd is Exhibitions curator based in Cardiff. Director at The Glasgow Curator and Deputy Director She has previously worked School of Art since 2009. of Newlyn Art Gallery & The as researcher, lecturer and Previous posts included Exchange, Penzance where curator across academic, C u r a t o r a t D u n c a n o f the exhibitions programme archival, professional and Jordanstone College of Art presents group and solo social contexts including & Design, Dundee, Project exhibitions of international, Artpool Art Research Center, Officer at Grizedale Arts, n a t i o n a l a n d re g i o n a l Budapest, East Street Arts, C u m b r i a , a n d G a l l e r y v i s u a l a r t . A l o n g s i d e Leeds, Dartington College Co-ordinator at Changing the main exhibition and of Arts and York St John Room Gallery, Stirling, learning programme, the University. Judit is inter- Scotland. Jenny continued galleries present social/ ested in collaborative and to be fascinated by the interactive projects, live networked practices and group residency structure a r t , p e r f o r m a n c e a n d the historicisation of imper- as a model, working with p l a t f o r m s f o r a r t i s t s ’ manent and marginal art medievalists and artists on development, including through ‘the curatorial’. Her ‘Convocation: Colm Cille’s the annual ‘Transition’ previous projects included Spiral’, a re-imagination projects that he initiated ‘Market of Hidden Labours’ of the legacy of sixth-cen- and curated since 2000. (2013), ‘Milky Way You Will tury Irish monk Colm Cille, Other major exhibitions he Hear Me Call’ (2011 - ongo- or St Columba, through a devised and co-curated ing), ‘Under The Paving residency and exhibition were ‘Tract’ (three weekStones, the Beach’ (2011), format in 2013- see www. ends of live art in and and ‘Civil Twilight and Other colmcillespiral.net for wider around Penzance, 2006), Social Works’ (2004-2007). project. Her previ¬ous ‘Exquisite Trove’ (collaboraJudit’s latest publication is projects included a year- tion with ten museums and ‘Art, Meeting and Encounter: long off-site project in House of Fairy Tales, 2010) The Art of Action in Great the city of Dundee called and ‘An Urban Silence’ Britain’, co-written with ‘Nine Trades of Dundee’ (five Portuguese artists, Roddy Hunter in Heddon, (2009), The Young Artists’ 2011) and ‘Performance D. – Klein, J eds. (2012) Biennial, ‘Absent Without Transition’ (a live exhibition Histories and Practices of Leave (AWOL)’, 2nd Edition, of performance and phoLive Art, She is currently Bucharest, Romania (2006). tography, 2011). Blair has an AHRC funded doctoral Jenny is also a writer, a also been involved with researcher at Aberystwyth selection of her texts and number of artist led groups University working in col- publications are collected and course tutor on the laboration with National on her website at http://jen- Curatorial Practice MA at Museum of Wales, Cardiff nybrownrigg.word¬press. Falmouth University com and artist Ivor Davies.

for The New Schoolhouse Gallery, York Paula Jackson & Robert Teed

for York St John University Nathan Chenery, Georgia Dearden, Roddy Hunter, Penny Whitworth

for The Glasgow School of Art Talitha KotzĂŠ and exhibition invigilators

for The Exchange, Penzance Jon Greenland, Cat Gibbard and all staff and volunteers

for The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Isabel Lucena and with thanks to Gill Hedley and Filipa Oliveira