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no barking aRt
make us human no barking aRt . issue oNe
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SHIZICO YI EDITOR IMOGEN EVESON ART DIRECTOR IMOGEN EVESON DESIGNER SHIZICO YI IMOGEN EVESON PHOTOGRAPHERS SHIZICO YI SHARON SONDH
no barking aRt . issue oNe
Editor’s note Welcome to the
first issue of the no barking aRt magazine, “make us human” and congratulations to all who have helped bring to
life the two parts of Material World in such a vibrant way.
What makes us human? Amongst many other things,
the need to connect makes us human; finding common ground to share with each other, whether friends,
loved ones or relative strangers. Anything in life that brings people together convention or football
–
–
whether it may be religion, music, a Star Trek
is surely a force for great good in the world and we have found that goodness in the inaugural no barking
aRt biennale. Art, in this instance, has brought together a disparate group of people from a wide range of nationalities, ages and artistic backgrounds. Photographers, sculptors, poets, painters and musicians have convened and formed a collective spirit of generosity and passion.
This
magazine is intended to celebrate this once more and act as a memento and souvenir for all artists involved, to thank them for
the time and energy they have dedicated to this project. We have taken inspiration from each artist and formed ideas and observa-
tions around them. In some cases we have given voice to the artists themselves, allowing us to view the artwork through their eyes and discover the different perspectives they find on their fellow artists.
It
is playful and experimental and
eclectic collective of artists.
–
we hope
–
has as much character infused in its pages as is contained in our wonderfully
Imogen Eveson
PERCEPTION Three of John Humphrey’s sculptures occupied the window space at the No Barking Art Biennale part one. A series of busts, they are at once incredibly lifelike but completely surreal; every day faces stretched and warped as though caught out-of-sync on a computer – an image resized wrongly on Adobe Photoshop. Yes, despite their three whole dimensions, there is something incredibly digital about them. Indeed, many visitors asked if they had been made with the use of a 3D printer. Not many suspected they had been rendered by hand.
Humphreys is no stranger to the art of deception. He is a sculptor with a colourful past in film and TV prosthetics, having worked on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alien Autopsy, Alexander and Doctor Who. But he also played a key role in a story that captured the world’s imagination when, in 1995, footage was released purporting to show a post mortem being carried out on an extra-terrestrial following an alleged UFO crash in the New Mexico desert in 1947. It was a secret he kept – even from his wife – for ten years; he made the Roswell Alien. The dichotomy between real and surreal in Humphrey’s sculptures is what stopped hundreds of passersby in their tracks everyday during the exhibition – beguiled and trying to make sense of what they’re seeing. And once inside the gallery, they were seen to interact with the artworks; moving around them and taking photographs of each other in between the sculptures, creating an even more uncanny line-up. Humans like to play with art, as an
accessible way to experience and understand it, and the more that art plays with us, the more we respond. Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich creates this same interaction and challenges audience perception in a playful, fantastical. In 2013, in a Barbican exhibition, he installed Dalston House in a disused lot in east London. Trading on the fairground ‘House of Mirrors’ illusion, visitors could scale the façade of a Victorian terraced house from the comfort of their own backs; watching their reflection in a mirror mounted at a 45-degree angle above them. “We usually take familiar spaces for granted; I find them important because this is where life actually happens,” Elrich told Time Out London last year. “The ambition is to create a fiction from the ordinary.” Roan Allen explores the nature and power of the object and the individual’s relationship to it. In a works-in-progress video clip, The Door, Allen incites viewers to attempt to get to the door, to open it, to walk through it. But as we circle the door and attempt to move closer, it remains inaccessible, always at an angle – surrealistic, like a recurring anxiety dream. Allen, like Elrich, is certainly creating fiction from the ordinary, just like Humphrey’s sculptures spark a hundred narratives on both first glance and further study. It is fantastic and fun to have our perspectives played with and warped, to be elevated for a moment from the mundane or prosaic. And art is the perfect vehicle to do this. by Imogen Eveson
Previous page John Humphreys in his studio Clockwise from top left John Humphreys; Roan Allen; John Humphreys; Roan Allen
Amidst four walls of eye-catching, hand-rendered artwork, a small computer screen at the No Barking Art Biennale kept visitors transfixed. There is something in the subversion of the familiar that is captivating and Silvio Severino achieves just this effect with his series of iconic album covers rendered as animated GIFs. The most contemporary; the most digital of art. Nirvana’s dollar-chasing baby is snapped up by a shark, The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers zip is undone and from within Andy Warhol’s screen-printed banana is pulled, a cameo, borrowed from another familiar oh-so-familiar record sleeve. The mountainous peaks in Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures are smoothed out by a pair of hands and David Bowie looks up from his Aladdin Sane sleeve, fixing his gaze straight on you. This is postmodernism on fine form; in the haemorrhage of images typical of contemporary culture, the past has been transformed into a mammoth lucky dip and Severino has created work that appeals to both our sense of nostalgia and our newly tuned Tumblr and Facebook sensibilities. Bricolage has always been subversive and thoughtprovoking – indeed, digital artist and photographer Jelena Perisic describes herself as sometimes practicing ‘recreative blasphemy’. Her collages recall the politically charged and challenging photomontages created by Dadaist Hannah Höch, described recently by Guardian journalist Brian Dillon as ‘art’s original punk’. Höch’s work is striking in its vision and appears almost contemporary.
Certainly, her pioneering style continues to influence those working in illustration, graphic and digital art today. Where Höch was dextrous with a knife, digital tools enable graphic artists to bring a tension to their work, transposing age-old techniques with a digital fluidity and giving wings to flights of fantasy. Chema Martínez’s digital illustrations evoke a Studio Ghiblilike dream world; at once familiar and altogether surreal and Holly Maslin’s illustrations conjure a singular vision of a re-imagined world. Victoria Rowley’s beautifully crafted botanical illustrations might at first appear innocent as Cicely Mary Barker ‘Flower Fairy’ drawings, upon closer inspection they are in fact composed using ‘exotic imagery’, as delicately put by Rowley herself. Hers works – with titles such as Cockasaurus Lilium, Flaccid Flora and Droopy Boob – make for rewarding viewing. While it is debatable if art can ever shock anymore or rock the status quo (so immune are we to even the most extreme news and imagery), these artists continue to explore, recycle and innovate; exploiting the myriad possibilities this digital era affords those with creative vision.
by Imogen Eveson
DIGITAL ART AND ILLUSTRATION
Opposite page Top left: Happy to See Me, Victoria Rowley Bottom right: Droopy Boob, Victoria Rowley This page Holly Maslen
This page Left A Glass of Milk by Jelena Perisic Right Elephant’s Kingdom by Chema Martínez Opposite page Crab and the Lighthouse by Chema Martínez Overleaf Bats in the Belfry by Jelena Perisic
SONJA’S ADVENTURES
I
IN TAXIDERMY
by Sonja Pena
A bit tired, a bit lazy... waking up on a Sunday morning is always about to try sleeping in, but this Sunday I was woken up by my Mac’s noise indicating incoming mails into my blog’s inbox! It was a mail about an offer of featuring an article about taxidermy written in my very own style. How fantastic is that? I had 9 days to search for artists and various uses of taxidermy and its strong existence in the art scene in present time. Taxidermy and stuffed animals with their own odd and bizarre phenomenon were somehow always in my mind. Thus this week of investigation was really interesting because I already had a wide knowledge about it, still exploring its new approaches. Nowadays at work I seem to be a bit of a weirdo in my colleagues’ eyes; , anytime someone hears that I am fond of taxidermy animals. However, taxidermy is back! Stuffed animals are popping up everywhere. Throughout this research -week of delving into taxidermy and its evolution to where it currently stands,: I found that it’s the new obsession to have! For me personally, the interest in taxidermy started early in my childhood. At my grandparents’ farm I was surrounded by animals that I always wanted to keep alive forever.! I still have very vivid
memories of that. Later in my life, biology and natural history played an equally important role as art history. Throughout my week of research I talked to many people. Amongst those who adore taxidermy, the love of nature and natural history were unanimously agreed, thus where else would I wanted to go first than to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington? I was interested in the mammal section, where I headed to immediately. The museum exhibits various taxidermy animals. Some are faded and discoloured, showing the signs of history because the museum is strongly against the killing of animals for the purpose of being exhibited. How old are these exhibited animals ? When did taxidermy appear and have its heyday? It all started in the Victorian era with hunting being a popular and stylish sport. Hunters wanted to display their trophies. This was also the time when science was flourishing. Returning from the exotic world, scientists brought back varied games that could not be found anywhere in England.
Duck Lamp , copyright : Sebastian Errazuriz, New York. Jaime Freestone Caught in a trap Taxidermy Jackdaw inside deer pelvis in Material World, Part I no barking aRt biennale 2014
Taxidermy was always an indicator of class and wealth as mostly the rich could afford to have them exotic pieces in their salons. Nowadays it still appears to be expensive, yet it creates a sort of bridge between the East End and West End, between rich and hipster. Amongst many couples, there appear to be a tendency to give taxidermy animals to the partner as presents because it is deemed cool. I found stuffed animals in pubs, where stag heads or animals like an armadillo or birds are displayed because of their aesthetically pleasing character, to fancy restaurants like Tramshed close to Old Street, which features a massive Damien Hirst installation of a cow and chicken preserved in formaldehyde. At first many of us could wonder: would not it be bizarre to eat beef or poultry in the company of their real yet lifeless counterparts watching us? Well, Tramshed’s popularity has certainly proved that the answer is no. In a short radius Les Trois Garçons is another chic restaurant showcasing a great deal of opulence achieved by its unique and lavish interior including many taxidermy masterpieces such as Dalmatians, a giraffe head and monkeys, amongst others. Furthermore its popularity can also be described by the rising number of artists. Besides the well-known Damien Hirst, there are many other very talented artists who use taxidermy to express their admiration towards natural history. In the past 10 years numerous contemporary artists integrated taxidermy into their art. One of the pioneering artists was Polly Morgan who has been having many exhibitions since. No barking aRt family member Jaime Freestone also combined it in his installations. At modern exhibitions , that include s taxidermy, I always have a strange sort of sensation that it stretches a fine balance between living and dead, capturing a very lively natural moment of the animal’s life but nevertheless being lifeless. It embraces eternity, preserving that eternal snapshot for the future. What’s more, in Hackney people can attend DIY taxidermy short courses, where they can learn the basics of taxidermy. Following Walter Potter’s anthropomorphic (animals dressed as humans) art, these dead mice can be dressed up, putting various objects in their little mouse hands, adding a hat on top of their head and they can be decorated with anything one can imagine. After the last finishing touches, the little mouse creatures can even be taken home to show or give to other interested friends.
On the contrary of it all being bizarre, triggering a shivery macabre feeling when entering a hall of dead animals, taxidermy also embodies fairy tale like;, kitschy and romantic features warming up people’s hearts. For example the 2012 Harrods Christmas shop window included many beautiful ‘stuffed’ birds: swans and rare white peacocks making the scenery appear softer, warmer and more delicate in its own terms although its colour scheme only included wintery cold colours. Tim Walker, master of fairy-tale-like photographs, and David LaChapelle, fashion photographer, both like to use taxidermy in some of their iconic images creating bold, rich and colourful atmospheres. Additionally, its ubiquitous presence in our time is not only manifested all over the hip restaurants. Interior designers are also keen to use them as decoration in luxurious apartments from Paris to New York through our very own capital; London. People would pay considerable sums for a unique piece of art involving dead animals. In addition to the aforementioned approaches and artists, designers started to use taxidermy to create inanimate functional items yet eternal living through these one of a kind pieces. For instance, Sebastian Errazuriz’ Duck Lamp. Errazuriz’ constructed something that conserves the organic shape of a duck, yet artificial in at the same time, forming a timeless piece that will live through. Lastly but most importantly, when considering taxidermy we might think that the animals were killed to be preserved and used for art. This was unfortunately true in the Victorian era, but this is not the case anymore as artists and museums want to keep wildlife and not to destroy any of its living beings. Then, where does all the supply come from to fulfil the increasing demand for taxidermy – in this niche market that encompasses art installations to romantic gifts? . We can all be relaxed; the answer is simple and ethical. Roadkills and animals deceased by natural causes. I hope you enjoyed reading my entry about the curiosities of taxidermy and if you are more interested go on a hunt for yourself! There are plenty of things to see and check out: forthcoming art exhibitions, museums, books, eateries, showrooms, movies and even classes to master this skill and make your own piece. !
SONJA’S ADVENTURES top, 1 Damien Hirst installation in Tramshed . East London, courtesy to Tramshed. center 2. and 4. pictures courticy to Natural History Museum, London. 3. Jaime Freestone , The Rabbit King Replica skull with feathers,bone and assorted embellishments inside a dome jar
PORTRAITUR NOW by Imogen Eveson
Doesportraiturerevealmoreaboutthesitterorthe artist?ConsiderFrancisBaconandLucianFreud’s respectiveportraitsofeachotherandyouseeboth personalities and lives entombed in each. Liz and Kevin Derbyshire are both artists with whollyidiosyncraticstyles.TheNoBarkingArt Biennale‘MaterialWorld’showcasedtheirdivergent butcomplementaryapproachesthroughtender observationalstudiesoftheirchildrenandrelatives. Twoexamplesbothcapturelovedonesbythelight of the TV, and while Kevin’s work is deft in its photorealism,Liz’sworkisdeftinitsimpressionistic broadbrushstrokes.Bothgivethesenseoffleeting andpreciousmomentsoffamilylife.Onestylisticpoint theydocometogetheristheirsubtleexperimentingwith saturatedcoloursthat–aswithPicasso–addahyper reality to the subjects. MaureenNathan’sstylesitsinbetweenthesetwo examples;herlineandmarkmakingunfetteredbut confident;expressionistic.Hertextures,angles, compositionsanduseofcolourrecallEgonSchielebut thestylethatemanatesfromallthemediasheemploys –pencil,charcoal,ink,oil–isentirelyherown.Inone moment,shecreatesanarrative;hersittersanimated and their stories made intriguing. ChrisMayoperatesonanaltogethermoreintrospective level.Arehispaintingsselfportraits?Oravisceral exerciseinpaintlayeringandplayingwithlightand shade?Hissubjectsareinscrutable,highlightsof facialfeaturesprotrudingoutoftheshadowycanvas, redolent more of Bacon than Picasso. Howrefreshinginallthesedisparateworkstoseethe markofthemaker,ofthehand?Inaworldawash– andsanitised–withtheflatplanesofvectordrawings andairbrushedskin(madevoidofanytone,animation orevencharacter),theseareworksthataretruly engaging.Theyinviteyoutokeeplooking,imaginingand making.
Previous page and above Point Up and Heady Study by Chris May Opposite page Catherine by Maureen Nathan, charcoal on paper
This page Belinda by Liz Derbyshire, acrylic on canvas Opposite page Sam by Kevin Derbyshire, coloured pencil and ink on board
Bryan Green and Pascale Pollier-Green
DOUBLE DOUBLE ACTS ACTS Doubleactsandcollaborationinart:in thehistoryofeverything,theseideashave beeninterpretedandformulatedinmany different ways. FromapprenticesworkingundertheOld Masters,tobrothersJakeandDinos ChapmanandloversGilbertandGeorge workingcollaborativelytoday.Indeed, asinglesoulisoftenenoughtowork collaborativelyandyouneedlookno furtherthanBobandRobertaSmithor GraysonPerry,ClaireandAlanMeasles for evidence. Wehave,amongstourownNoBarking Artists, a series of double acts. Two coupleswho,foralongtime,havelove, livedandworkalongsideeachother, hopefullywithmuchofthepassionof FridaKahloandDiegoRivera,butlessof the destructiveness. Liz and Kevin Derbyshire met as art studentsand–threegrownupchildren later–havebeentogethereversince.
Portraitsoftheirchildren,rendered intheirownidiosyncraticstyles,hung oppositeeachotherduringtheexhibitions, lockedinanunspokendialogue.Here,Liz paintsanevocativepictureoftheirlives together. Bryan Green is a sculptor and poet, while his wife Pascale Pollier-Green works as an artist – artem-medicalis – who explores the point at which art and science meld. Bryan shares with us ‘Two Artists Together’, a poem that betrays the symbiotic tenderness and frustrations involved in living as a creative couple.
And then there is a pair of artists – bothluminariesintheirfield–whose collaborationwastowinthemagold prize at the 2010 RHS Tatton Park FlowerShow.Sculptorandmodel-maker JohnHumphreysandartistandgarden designerTonySmithdescribetheirjoint
“Imagine... two art students from the south of Britain meet at art college in the far, far north live together, get married have three children who all grow up painting and drawing liberally and still continue in their twenties. Then imagine a house with all that artwork in! Crazy but we still just carry on. Strange perhaps and self indulgent, but I cannot imagine not having ‘it’ and I think we as a couple share ‘it’: that is the excitement of creating; the passion, love and sadness of life that can be caught in a moment forever and then when looked at by others hold different meanings and feelings. Thetopofourhousewasconvertedtoastudioandoffthatisaverysmallroomwhich has a bed to sleep in… ha! Webothretainthatsenseofwonderattheworldlikesmallchildrenandperhapshave nevergrownupdespitehavingafamilyetc.Likesmallchildren,wereachforsomething to make our mark on life. Perhaps all creative individuals retain this. Webothlovegoingtoartexhibitionsandgetenthralledandgreatlyinspiredbythe vast amount of talent. Incredible.” Liz Derbyshire “Weareprobablyslightlydifferentartiststhanwewouldhavebeenifweweren’t together,aswemayhavebeeninfluencedbyeachother’sstylesandexperiments (successful and unsuccessful). But I would think that we are not that much different as artists than we would have been ultimatelyartisanindividualthingandeachpersonhastofollowtheirowncourse.” Kevin Derbyshire
TWO ARTISTS TOGETHER two artists together isn’t easy how would I know? two artists together isn’t easy how would you know? some have done it I love you stop looking in the mirror when you say that but I love you stop looking in the mirror when you say that you are my self portrait stop looking at your self portrait when you say that without you I would be nothing nothing what are you looking at now? do you love me? of course I do I was talking to the cat many artist couples have lived happily together what do you think has kept you together all these years? I’m sorry we don’t understand the question one likes Andreas Vesalius and one likes Alfred Jarry how did we bridge this gap? respect do you admire my work? what work? when you paint do you think of me? always! but you paint nothing but bottles why can’t you love me in my way? I love you in my way
yes but why can’t you love me in my way? why can’t you love me in my way? and now rest I think you stop me thinking well I dream of the day when I can dream again Tea and not too strong the one you made this morning would‘ve melted a bus take this away whatever it is and bring me tea I knead you I am dough in your hands but I knead you I am dough in your hands without you I’d be lost in a world of derelict words without you I’d be dissecting cadavers in a mortuary you are my A to Z of love and all roads lead to me I wanted to be your motorway I wanted to be your spaghetti junction you are my jolly renaissance graveyard and you are my endless cul-de-sac herd it all before and we have left the gate open and the cows have come home and now we’ve cracked it, the mirror of the milky way another seventy thousand years you are my cosmic snug and you my cosy void if I wasn’t some sort of artist I’d become one for you and if I wasn’t some sort of artist I’d become one for you By Bryan Green
DOUBLE ACTS
“WecreatedashowgardenattheRHS TattonParkFlowerShowin2010andit wasawardedagoldmedal.Aboutthree yearsbeforethiswehadbeentalking abouttheAliensculpturethatJohn madefortheAlienAutopsyfilmsandhe saidasathrowawayremarkthatifIever needed an alien, let him know!! WellIthoughthewasoffhisheadand didn’tthinkaboutitagainuntilIwasat Tatton Park in 2009 creating a show garden for Quilted Velvet, the loo paperpeople.Iwasonmykneesplanting lettuceplantsandglancedovertothe gardensthatwerebeingbuiltonthe slopinggroundoppositeandtheidea hit me instantly. We would make an 11mdiameter,3mdeepimpactcraterin the grass, line it with 12000 lettuce plantsandplacethealieninthebottom. IphonedJohnthereandthenandsaid ‘canIstillusethealien?’Herepliedwith a yes and a year later it happened.’ A strangecollaborationbutthat’swhat happened.John planteda seedandit eventuallygerminated.Heisaverypatient man and a natural gardener! It was calledAMatterOfTime.Asin,it’sonly amatteroftimeuntilwemeetaliens.But inreality,timeisthereasonwecan’tever meetaliens.Theyaretoofarawayand itwouldtaketoolongtogetthereor here!” Tony Smith
A Matter of Time by Tony Smith and John Humphreys previous page: John Humphreys and his sculpture Tony Smith in Chelsea Flower Show 2010
BODY BODY EXPLORATION EXPLORATION By No茅mi Szab贸
The four sections of the No Barking Art Biennale ’Material World’ were composed of photography, painting, video and installation, providing the opportunity for visitors and art lovers to explore the body from the individual perspectives of an international group of contemporary artists. A clear theme running through the exhibition is the human body, something which has engaged artists throughout the history of art. Throughout the different ages the exchange of visual dialogue about the changes of body image transforms our earlier views of the relationship between body and soul, their place and role of the aims of the investigation . But we might never be so close to the understanding of the deeper layers of the body as the clay of the soul than we are today. Today, the human body is one of the main sources of inspiration for artists, acting as the expression of identity, so much so that the artworks are regarded as the mental and physical drawing of age by many artists. The artists of previous eras depicted the
Previous page Sinclair Watkins This page Well-ness 1 by Naomi Szabo
Clockwise from top left Steffen Kindt; Ana Cvejić;jSteffen Kindtc
human body in its perfection, according to the holy canons as an ancient harmony, whereas our present age more typically presents an unvarnished honesty, without any idealisations. The body appears with its weaknesses, defects and deformations together, unlike the ideal and perfect young body suggested by the media. This is an honest resolution, where the faithful presentation of the artists’ own reality is the only yardstick. The works of the invited artists from several countries are displayed in the exhibition, thus emphasising the art of limitless. Moreover, another important directive was that the almost inexhaustible topic could be shown/approached from several different perspectives, regardless of age, gender, cultural and religious affiliation. I wanted to emphasize that the dividing line or the main difference in contemporary art is not between man or woman, but people started to concentrate on themselves, began to deal with the smaller world, their closer surrounding, other people and society. This specific point of view in art is equally
important for a woman and a man as well. The dividing line between contemporary art is not between art made by man or woman, but rather comes down to an individualist perspective, as artists concentrate on their own inner world, or at least their close surroundings. This specific point of view is equally important for both men and women..The best example is that to interpret the art of Steffen Kindt and Ana Cvejić. Both of them selected the opposite gender as their focus point from quite different point of view. The Danish-born artist, Steffen Kindt emphasises the modern woman in his art, and works in the genre of classic pop art. Without conscious thought, great predecessors such as Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol come to our mind when watching looking at his large images. The representation of the female body and face in art and society is a strong focus for Kindt. He explores it through his simplification of his figures; using thick contours and powerful, clean colours of the comic and graphic novel genres. The cynical behaviour of his art is the protest against the alienation
BODY of modern society, separating the woman’s body. In the international sphere, gender issues have been occupied by artists since the 1970s, and this has become an integral part of the representation of the body as well. At that time, the intentions for the establishment of gender identity began to appear. One specific example of the artistic display of vulnerability labeled by the female body is the ’Crucifixion’ plastic statue from 1965, painted by Niki de Saint Phalle, which puts the large female body showing genitals and decorated with flowers to the vulnerable position of the full crucifixion. We adopt a very different mood in the picures of Serbia-born Ana Cvejić. The central problem of her art is the sexual aspects of man’s figure. The gain experience of emotions, sadness, fear, pain in everyday situations and leave a trail in the wounds of man’s face made by Ana. One of the most eminent proponents of research into the human body is Egon Schiele, the outstanding creative genius of Austrian art. He reached the ultimate liberation of state through distorted and wounded
Opposite page:wise from top l Flora by Gianluca Pisano
representations of self-nudes and the largest number of self-portraits which was found in art history. The Italian-born artist, Gianluca Pisano’s body fragments, by displaying disadvantageous and twisted poses, emphasise the wrong, corruptible body which has been deprived of the classical ideal of beauty with some grotesque undertones. Here I should mention the undisputed giants of English realist art, Lucian Freud. His nudes present an unvarnished honesty, without any idealised bytes, and he has become one of the most essential figures of the world’s art through his realist techniques. Pisano is a virtuos painter, and paints with much confidence; his work bringing to mind Rubens’ obese female models and Goya’s spooky visions bursting from dark. Pisano’s nudes pay tribute to the classic traditions of art and reflect the consciously-built individual vision. The human body almost explodes from the black darkness of his paintings made with classic oil technique, like the explored shadows of mystery which is perceived irresistible by the human mind.
EXPLORATION
The young Hungarian-born painter Naomi Szabo started her research of the Woman in her undergraduate years, She found her muse, the Woman, and by extension, the body became her favourite means of expression. She is preparing her individual unanimous faceless body images by this investigation. She often sacrifices the form, by cutting the figures and divides her paintings: one picture is a compound of two or more pieces, the body is usually incomplete and it remains scarred. The experimental artist found unity in combining the different materials with each other. The ’Well-ness 1-2.’ (2012) consists of two pieces condensing the human and natural values into one composition. Seemingly these are two incongruous worlds. The choosen body is a symbol for time travel as the viewer looks at the image by the position shows a typical beauty ideal. The distance is defined consciously between the two parts of the images part of the whole composition. A kind of absence and the promise of the longed state created by the symbiosis of the two worlds, stretches the image. Her other painting, prepared on wood and canvas, named ‘Mimicry 1’ (2013) is an eccentric piece according to
the previous images in the subject of female body. The picture is a testimony of the capacity of change embodied in the form of the boy clinging to the skirt. The Greek-born artist, Daphne Bampanioti is currently living in London and despite her young age, a unique tone characterises her creative style. During her process she uses her own drawings as the basis of her sculpture, linking the bridge between the plane and spatial representation. The individual lines which are found in her graphic studies eventually won a realisation in the 3D space as the form of the female figure shapes her wire sculptures. In our modern world her strange smiling female objects are the reinterpretations of the Venus of Willendorf, the most ancient symbol of fertility. While observing them, thoughts of beauty, the female engagement and motherhood be considered.
Previous pagew Detail from Well-ness II by Naomi Szabo is e from top l Clockwise from top left Prozac Happy People Series Untitled #6 by Daphne Bampanioti Wired Happy Women Series Untitled #3 by Daphne Bampanioti Detail from Close to You by Naomi Szabo is
FEMALE PHOTOGRAPHERS NOW
In the eyes of photographer Ebru Varol ‘memory fades and the camera captures but a moment’. Looking at photography in all its forms such as mixed media, abstraction and art, the ability to express these methods through various mediums all stem from an inner passion and desire to capture and create. At the root of it all, lies emotion. As artists we react to experiences, which provoke thought, love, passion and conflict, to name but a few. Photographic artists in today’s world are pushing boundaries with their images, incorporating mixed media to communicate new meaning and creating a narrative rather than simply recording. Photography is no longer considered an art but a craft. Photographer Hannah Dakin is no stranger to using mixed media; her work exudes complex practice and experimentation. In her project, Wax Blocks, she documents the re-imagined memories of her childhood, and presents with a combination of mediums such as collage, Giclee prints, wax, tracing paper and box, ‘combining photography and sculpture, allegorically attempting further preservation’, says Previous page Imogen Eveson Left Alice Marcelino Right Aster Reem David
Hannah about this particular body of work. Photographer Ebru Varol states: ‘Art and photography are an essential way in and provide us access to the central, contrasting, conflicting nature of the human experience’. Similarly photographer Imogen Eveson speaks of her images: ‘in my work I am looking at the environment around me. I do not take literal self-portraits but my
photos depict my environment and so by extension myself ’. Travel, environment and nature play a key role for illustration. Photographer Aava Anttinen’s images are a careful study of human behaviour and the mind and relationship that the two form naturally. ‘For me Texas was all about roads and places they lead to’, Aava describing her project ‘Picture Texas’. Documenting surroundings, social interaction and human response, remains a common theme and practice amongst these thriving photographers. Photographer Alice Marcelino, photographs people in their element and places in their natural surroundings.
Her style is a blend of classic candid shots with a contemporary elegance to it. I believe photographer Georgina Howard’s statement nicely sums up the motive for any artist: ‘…and because I am interested in human interaction and reaction, my art is all around me’. These photographers have a personal touch and reason behind their methods but they all share emotion for the everyday and mundane. Photographer Carla Mylius Fleck explains, ‘Abstract gives a vast potential for our imagination. It is interesting to acknowledge the different interpretations’.
There are many variants that are practiced and used between these photographers; however there is also a tie that bonds them. The strongest one being that of expressing personal emotions and instincts and tunnelling them through the various mediums used. Female photographers have instincts that are separate from any other; the heart and soul that is expressed can be seen in any format. Perhaps I may be a little bias in observation but a strong connection is felt when observing female photographers and their methods of preservation of experience and environment.
Written by Aster Reem David and Jassie Alamwala Clockwise from top left Ebru Varol Hannah Dakin
Aava Anttinen Ebru Varol
11:59 by curator shizico yi
MATERIAL WORLD SPECIAL FEATURE
Artist Tony Smith arrives with his fellow friend, the sculptor John Humphreys to the studio for the preparation of no barking’s biennale exhibition; here we are, three of us, finally getting to sit down to chat. Then one cuppa tea turns into an extraordinary afternoon of peeking into the keyhole of one’s truthful state, one’s intimate state of being. Over the years, I had learned often there is more to artists than meets the eye. One might look normal on the outside, but once you start to talk to the person, they take you to another island in the same way that their art does. Great artists often bear a universe within each of them that makes their material world of clothes, cars, food, taste or even the location they live in seem out of sync with the depth of the person you are standing in front of. During many late nights, what Tony Smith constantly sees between silent bedtime moments is this digital alarm clock: “ there is this tension, right before the clock turns into 12:00, it is in these seconds that make you “wanting”, …
Tony continues “ Christmas Eve is by far the best day of the year, not Christmas day; …my children love Kipper, once he says to his other doggy friends at Christmas: “” what do you think is the best? Getting presents or thinking about getting presents?…. humans at the happiest state is not [once we found it], …the moment just before the 11:59 is the best bit,…nothing you’ve ever done in life is as good as what you build up in your mind, …like the anticipation of the Christmas,…” I often thought these articles which are written in an interview format is a result of the writers’ laziness; but with these conversations in full flow, …I realise, this is one of those pieces that I should give up the pen for and give the pages back to the featured artists; let them do the talking. Because what they are sharing in this teatime break is way ahead and beyond what my hand can translate. And here you are:
Tony Smith: ( T: ) “Time is a funny peculiar thing. We frame it because we see meaning in things; we divide it into centuries and decades, which is meaningless. But we need to do that or we can’t cope with it. Because everything is too big, we can’t cope everything at once,… The moment you break everything into bits, you are not seeing what’s really there. Because of “what’s really there” is big and complex. We can either look at the whole world to see as it is and it blows your mind then you go insane, …or we break it up into small bits and look one bit at a time…. which means you have no understanding of what’s really going on. You can’t win it, it’s a paradox.”
time you are making it, it makes life more tolerable, it stops you considering the realities. You build around that project a whole web of meaning. And life becomes easier. When there isn’t a project on, when there isn’t an immediate goal, then I feel a bit lost.” J: “ …the first time in my life I had real connections is the day I walked into the art collage and for the first time, I was in step….because everyone else was as mad as I was.” ....
Shizico: (S:) “ does this mean, human is incapable of being happy? It’s like whatever you do, it is never enough. You just want to get to the next thing you are wanting …..” T: “ this one is, yes, never could be absolutely happy…” Tony continues “ I like things I don’t understand, I like “not to understand”… The fact that the world is so unknown makes me want to look into the stars ( then he poses) ….wonder. I don’t actually want to know what’s up there, it’s much more fun to wonder” John: ( J: ) “Everything we evolve to do is to discover, to explore. I am like a hamster, I have to get in that wheel every day and do it. Once you had achieved it, it satisfies some inner drive, then I can relax…. I always think I can do something better and I am confident I can do better every time. I want to see it, I want to visualise it.” T: “That is why when John and I got to the Chelsea flower show and got a gold medal, it starts to make sense of this life. The winning of that gold makes the life in between this and that,… more tolerable. Making something, whether is an art work or a bridge; for the
previous page 11:59 art work by by Tony Smith back ground: Tony Smith at work, hanging the Sand Series next page John Humphreys at work in his studio. picture credit : Peter Searle
It is now very understandable why John Humphreys is responsible for starting the riot of Alien Autopsy’ Hoax back in 1995. ( more details see page …) Three of us laugh, three aliens in the room; my dog sleeps on the floor and I am sure he has his own version of truth in his head too. Tony and John relax next to the tea table with their giant mugs which given to them accidentally by an American cultured dish collector as I ; it’s the worst kind of china one can serve in such an elegant conversation with English gentlemen. It is easy to see why Tony builds sands into surfaces to make sculptures on the wall as paintings. It must have been his way of putting bits together to see the whole pictures in order to cope with this life we are all living in. The process of making becomes the only reality to artists and to embrace the fact that “we don’t know” “ can also become the fundamental thing for any creative process. If these are true then that explains why artists need exhibitions and need to be able to create. It makes this life more tolerable for all of us. Like great artists ahead of our time, artists like Rothko who searched for the meanings and answers through brushes, through the hands of an artist; Tony, John and all other great contemporary artists are sculpting the truth into materials, wishing to fill this material world with more good art. Galleries and museums are the visualisation of human mind; they represent the heaven of this material world. Next time when you walk into one, you will see art differently. You will see the visualisation of the truth, the good bits and not so good bits of the human condition. We wish you to, for the first time, to start to..” wonder”. Back to John’s Hamster Wheel Theory, Tony adds, “ that wheel could be the church, could be the singing group or it could be piano lessons… it could also be visiting elderly people and helping them…” I couldn’t help to laugh out loud and thought he was joking….
“--He in fact does that all the time,” John tenderly addresses me and consequently puts my laughter to shame… Tony comforts me by saying “ funnily enough I do, that just shows there is more depth to ourselves than you thought, there is quite a lot going on that you don’t see, some is good and some of it is not so good, so it’s probably best to leave it there…”
Art, music and language often seem to be separated out into different strands of artistic effort, but they are nearly always combined at some point of delivery or other. Many artists are exploring several types of art form, including poetry, theatre and, principally, visual art. The old saying, “Jack of all trades, master of none”, was always a nagging doubt at the back of mind during these forays, and I always remembered the advice a fine old baritone singer once gave me about the arts some years ago - stick to your discipline, and spend a lifetime getting better at it. All the same, the temptation to wander has always been great and difficult to resist. many have always felt that the arts are completely interrelated, so that creativity in one so called field of practice can easily cross over into another - writing a poem seems to me very similar to the process of creating a painting, or creating a new piece of music. The wonderful thing about art today is the ease which we can cross over these media and fuse them all together, with the aid of relatively simple video editing equipment, available on all home computers.
FEM PHOTOGR NO
The life long love of the guitar eventually brought Lawrence Mathias to the point where he was creating his own music, a kind of hybrid of country blues and whatever else seemed to work itself through, and having for some time been a dabbler in poetry, the words would come quite easily to these simple little tunes. It was at this point that the music for him would begin to gain more resonance, as a story or situation or feeling would begin to wind its way through the simple melody lines. Hidekazu Sogabe had found his medium of making art in sound. Many find it hard to grasp such an abstract form; other than melody, Hide’s music is a series of “ children play” of joy and an adventure on constantly experiment with various material. Through exploring the materials such as bass and containers, Hide has been able to make “ noise” into poetry that goes directly to listeners’ inner heart.
by Lawrence Mathias
MALE SOUND ART RAPHERS OW
1. top Hide’s sculpture has been inspired by how he listened to the sound. 2-3 A still from “Spell Over the Land” By Lawrence Mathias and Lawrence performed with his video installation
Curator: shizico yi Painters
Installation artists
Kevin Derbyshire Liz Derbyshire Lulu Hancock Toko Yamamoto Harris Lucy SM Johnston Chris May Ben Mellor Boo Pala Gianluca Pisano Hidekazu A-wa Sogabe Ira Upin Sinclair Watkins Tess Rachel Williams
Ana Cockerill Jaime Freestone Bryan Green Eloise Green Veronica A. Shimanovskaya [shi-man-of-sky]
Sculptors/ mixed mediums Daphne Bampanioti John Humphreys John Humphreys Steffen Kindt Pascale Pollier Tony Smith
Digital/Video artists: Lawrence Mathias Jelena Perisic Silvio Severino Photographers Aava Anttinen Hannah Dakin Imogen Eveson Georgina Howard Ebru Varol
no barking aRt biennale 2014 Exhibitors Directory part I
Painters Ivy Aubynn Colin Binns Swaroop Biswas Laura Colantonio Ana Cvejić Naomi Davis Kevin Derbyshire Liz Derbyshire Eloise Green Lulu Hancock Toko Yamamoto Harris Lucy SM Johnston Andrew McNeile Jones Steffen Kindt Yuni Ko Olga Mikhaseva Chris May Zahid Mayo Maureen Nathan Gianluca Pisano Betty Ritschel Tony Smith Hidekazu Sogabe Sharon Sondh Noémi Szabó Alexandra Sinopoulou Ira Upin Sinclair Watkins
Installation Artists Roan Allen Ana Cockerill Lawrence Mathias Silvio Severino Veronica A. Shimanovskaya David Whiting Jane Woollatt
Illustrators Chema Martínez Holly Maslen Victoria Starlight Rowley
Photographers Hannah Dakin Aster Reem David Imogen Eveson Georgina Howard Alan Ruddle Ebru Varol
Sculptors
Film, Digital artists
Daphne Bampanioti Sandra Dakin Jaime Freestone Bryan Green John Humphreys Clemence Hemard AnnyRose Nahapetian Pascale Pollier
Mk Ceesay Carla Mylius Fleck Jonathan Grauel Pelagie-May Green Gerald Odowd Jelena Perisic Richard Weston
no barking aRt biennale 2014 Exhibitors Directory part II
Curator shizico yi