The Great Change by William Hibberd

The Great Change Plymouth Arts & Culture

Nom de Strip - Issue 1 - Sept/Oct 2011

4 In the Days of the Comet A book review.

6 PAST & PRESENT How can the past help us understand the present? 8 The Way we Want to Live? How can the public help plan the future of the city? Nom de Strip has been set up to inform people about Plymouth’s cultural landscape, with a special focus on the promotion of culture across the arts, regeneration, and creative entrepreneurship outside of the mainstream. We explore, express, connect and communicate ideas, initiatives and opportunities to attract people to the city, as well as retain those who are already here. Contact hello @ nomdestrip.co.uk Nom de Strip Devonport Guildhall Ker Street Plymouth Devon PL1 4EL Advertising advertise @ nomdestrip.co.uk

10 Re–up Demport Devonport: regeneration or gentrification? 13 How I Fell in Love with a Concrete Monster Jack Watney on the hidden beauty of the Civic Centre. 16 PARALLEL REALITIES Can we imagine worlds different from our own? 18 Fear of the unknown How can art help us understand the other and the strange. 19 Its Art, Jim... The British Art Show – a personal view by Francis Mallett. 20 Have You Heard of the British Art Show? What do the general public think of the British Art Show. 26 THE ORDER OF THINGS How are the elements that make up our world categorised? 28 Fringe Events Our pick of the best British Art Show fringe events.

Co-director/Editor Pamela Peter-Agbia

32 New Spaces Introducing the Slaughterhouse and the new Plymouth Arts Centre. 33 The British Art Show What we are looking forward to seeing at The British Art Show.

Co-director/ Art Director William Rupert Hibberd Contributors Alexandra Higlett, Ashley May, Dom Moore, Edith Doove, Emma Weatherhead, Francis Mallett, Hannah Sloggett, Helena Coard, Jack Watney, Jay Bing, Josh Greet, Pablo Jones-Soler, Simon Gomery, Simon Keitch Special Thanks to: Emma Weatherhead, James Pascoe, Kate Sparshatt, Houman Momtazian, Ed Whitelaw, Chris Hutchinson, Claire Burgess, Kyle Turner, Hannah Prothero, Paula Orrell, Dan Jones, Dwain Lucktung Individual artists retain the copyright to their work. Permission must be sought before reproducing any part of this magazine via the appropriate copyright holder. ©Nom de Strip

ISSN 2047-7074

38 Meanwhile What can we do about redundant spaces in Plymouth? 42 FRESH MEAT New faces. New projects. New ideas. 43 James Eden + Broken Boat 44 Jay Bing 45 Ben Osborn 46 Knee Deep Festival 47 Bristol Diving School Nom de S t r ip - I s s ue 1 - T he Gr e a t Ch ang e

The Great Change Plymouth Arts & Culture

Nom de Strip - Issue 1 - Sept/Oct 2011

Nom de Strip - The Great Change Issue 1 - Sept/Oct 2011

"I have set myself to write the story of the great change so far as it has affected my own life and the lives of one or two people closely connected with me primarily to please myself." H.G. Wells, In the days of the comet. 1906

CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES Hello, I had planned to provide, in this editor’s letter, some elaborate intellectual analysis and philosophical musings on ‘change’ - all borrowed from various thinkers and philosophers much more profound than I am - it was going to be DEEEP, but I got sidetracked by this video on YouTube. It was a David Bowie performance from 1971, he’s singing ‘Changes’ and the audience are loving it. It’s the seventies, so of course, Bowie is in full Ziggy Stardust attire: platform heels, outlandish makeup, and an iridescent snake-skin onesie that clashes terribly with his red mullet, and leaves nothing to the imagination. He’s thrusting and gyrating his gangly frame about the stage, whilst simultaneously playing guitar. It’s an impressive feat.

I was further distracted by the heated argument taking place in the video’s comment thread; various Bowie over-enthusiasts are arguing over whether Bowie sings ‘turn and face the strange’, or ‘turn and face the strain’ in the song. It’s getting pretty violent and weird. What are these aggressive YouTube commenters like? I’m almost sure it's 'strange', but if it is indeed ‘strain’, my entire world won’t collapse and the song will still be a good and poignant soundtrack for this issue. Still, if anyone knows, get in touch.

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This is the new, first full feature of Nom de Strip, inspired by the British Art Show’s arrival in Plymouth, and entitled The Great Change. As you may have guessed, this issue is all about change, in its many myriad forms and we hope you enjoy it. A huge thanks to all the good and great people who helped us put this together. You know who you are.

In the Days of the Comet A book review. By Emma Weatherhead Illustration by Pablo Jones-Soler

H G Wells is considered to be a pioneer in the genre of science fiction, and I self-admittedly have a rather limp grasp of this particular genre, which explains why I was anticipating something bordering on the Star Wars-esque when I picked up â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;In the Days of the Cometâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. I was expecting a wacky sci-fi novel involving lots of intergalactic, supernatural excitement, probably including laser battles, Martian invasions, and hidden doors to parallel universes.

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H G Wells is considered to be a pioneer in the genre of science fiction. Admittedly, I have a rather limp grasp of this particular genre, which explains why I was anticipating something bordering on Star Wars when I picked up ‘In the Days of the Comet’. I was expecting a wacky sci-fi novel involving lots of intergalactic, supernatural excitement, Martian invasions, and maybe laser battles. What I was confronted with, however, was the densely political, fervent, but often verging on preachy, account of a corrupt and torn world on the verge of war. The country is in the midst of industrial oppression, and our first person narrative is the voice of an angsty socialist protagonist, William Leadford. The climate is stifling, the atmosphere is grim, and it doesn’t get any cheerier as our antihero loses his job and simultaneously discovers that his childhood sweetheart is having an affair. The first half of the book is a bit of a tedious slog, but it has some redeeming features, like the ample scatterings of poetic and eloquent observations about the dynamics of society. I also felt an unexpected empathy towards the main character – I vaguely identified with Leadford’s defiant ‘up in arms’ stance against everything and everyone from my teenage years. As a teenager I was undeniably a rebel without a cause , however, I didn’t go on to develop any murderous tendencies. The book is divided into three main sections, of which the first is entitled ‘The Comet’. Following the increasingly manic emotional journey of William Leadford, left me worn out. He stalks his beloved and her new beau to their seaside honeymoon retreat, with the intention of killing them both in an act of blind jealousy. I’m also left wondering, 90 pages in, what the significance of the comet is - so far it has been an ominous, brooding presence in the background of all the unfolding action. I also wonder when the sci-fi element of the novel is going to kick in to relieve the heavy socio-political tension. The second part of the novel, ‘The Green Vapours’, was my reward for ploughing through ‘The Comet’, which begins to melt as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. It engulfs everything with an otherworldly green curtain of dust and gas, knocking all the world’s inhabitants unconscious. When the world wakes up a few hours later, the vapours have created an immediate utopia. Mankind

has become wiser, stronger, and clear-sighted; all jealousies, prejudices, and insecurities have vanished. The war is cancelled and the previously money-grabbing landowners turn their glorious mansions into homes for the elderly. Leadford’s adulterous ex declares her renewed love for him and tries to offer him some form of ménage a trios, which he respectfully declines. I’ll leave the shorter third section, ‘The New World’, unspoiled, but the title gives away most of its content. At some of the more far-fetched, sugar-coated moments, I considered whether Wells had simply used the comet as a contrived device, labouring under the guise of science fiction, to solve the insolvable problems of human society. But I’m a sucker for happy endings, and when all the injustices in the first half of the book are dispelled by the comet’s vapours, the feeling of relief is overwhelming. The comet is a symbol of a change in perspectives and attitudes, and alludes to the idea that as time passes, history, society and culture are altered by influences that are not in our control. Here, in Plymouth, we are more in control of our destinies than the residents of Clayton, who are plunged into an unprecedented - yet welcome - cultural revolution, following the comet’s arrival into the Earth’s atmosphere. As the British Art Show speeds imminently towards us, people have taken the initiative to maximise the positive impact it will have on our city. Raising awareness of the existing contemporary art scene in Plymouth will increase the likelihood of the local public, and those from further afield, taking an active interest in the British Art Show, and our city. At the forefront of these initiatives is Plymouth Visual Arts Consortium (PVAC), a conglomeration of the main organisations that cater for the public provision of visual art in the city. They have devised a series of events, workshops, artist talks, and training courses, all operating under the topical name of ‘Constellation’. PVAC have also put on an impressive education programme of contemporary art-based activities which aim to incite the interest of students to visual art. Other positive contributions, which showcase the city’s artistic talent come from the fringe events running alongside the British Art Show. ‘Come To Ours’ is a notable addition to the Plymouth Fringe; a programme

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of artist-led events which aim to specialise in the unconventional; using atypical spaces and methods to present local art to the public. These are just a handful of developments that have been generated by Plymouth’s cultural community, whose unified goal is to entice a broader and more diverse audience to the city, to take full advantage of the exciting prospects that the British Art Show holds for us. The recurrent theme of the British Art Show, and also of ‘In the Days of the Comet’, is how history can be used to highlight our current perception of the present. As host to the finale of British Art Show 7, Plymouth has not only been recognised as a city with unique historical significance, but also a city in the midst of artistic, creative and cultural change, with the potential to be synonymous with those cities widely recognised and established in the sphere of contemporary art. Am I being over-optimistic? I hope not. I would like to imagine that when we are left in the gaping wake of the British Art Show, we will all experience “the dewy newness of sensation that set bells rejoicing in one’s brain”; that we will be inspired to use our city’s rapidly developing cultural landscape as a backbone for a new and improved Plymouth. However, the future is uncertain, and largely depends on our level of active participation and ambition. But the comet is coming and hopefully we can look to H G Well’s novel as an indication of what’s in store for us.

NB Emma Weatherhead studies English Literature at the University of Plymouth Pablo Jones-Soler is Graphic Design student at Central Saint Martins. pablojonessoler.co.uk

Past & Present Illustration by Alexandra Higlett

How can the past help us understand the present? Can we imagine time as anything other than a line? What role might memory play in this?

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The Way we Want to Live? How can the public help plan the future of the city? By Hannah Sloggett Photographs by Simon Keitch

‘This is the tale of a town and of the towns folk, the lord mayor and the corporation, big business and little business, the fishermen and the mothers. The heroes or villains, depending on your point of view, are two men with a plan what they have to offer is a challenge to the way we live…’ The Way We Live, 1946

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Who came to Cinema City in July? It was so good, wasn’t it? Outdoor film screenings are always great but Plymouth Arts Centre outdid themselves with the Tinside Lido setting for the showing of Jill Craigie's film, 'The Way We Live'. It was magical, it’s one of those quietly amazing, understated films that you wouldn’t really think to watch - it is about town planning after all. But having watched the film in such a perfect setting, Nom de Strip has a new found appreciation for Plymouth’s modern day architecture. Watch the film. We guarantee that afterwards you will you walk around the city and see everything with a fresh pair of eyes. We were really excited when Hannah Sloggett sent in this article, having watched the film too. What better way to spend a summer evening than watching the rarely-seen documentary, The Way We Live (1946) by filmmaker Jill Craigie, projected on one of the most iconic parts of Plymouth – Tinside Lido. The film documents the journey the city went on to develop the Abercrombie Plan for Plymouth which guided the city’s recovery after World War II. Watching the film on a building that itself is a gem of city architecture added a whole new layer of poignancy and relevance to the film. It wasn’t just a relaxing evening, it also fired up a discussion about Plymouth, its importance, its future and questions about the role of Town Planning today. So we wondered…50 years on are we stuck in the past? We interviewed Paul Barnard, the Assistant Director for Development, he runs the Planning Service and shapes the future of the city – or does he?

Planning responds to the pressures of the market. We have a capitalist system. Development comes forward by developers wanting a return on their investment, but there are obviously some public sector projects too. So the planning system is an intervention in that market to achieve wider public benefits that protect and enhance the city. If the planning system was not there, it is debatable if the market would deliver anything that wouldn’t generate a profit. All sorts of community benefits are secured through developments including community facilities, green spaces, cultural facilities that wouldn’t otherwise happen. Why do you think planning is often seen as a negative process? I think the system has become more complex and people have chosen to interpret that as bureaucratic for that reason, but as I was saying the basic principle of the planning system is to make things happen and guide that change that happens anyway in any city. It’s sometimes perceived as negative if a developer doesn’t get planning permission for something that they want to do, and sometimes communities will feel that permission should have been refused when it is granted. So planning mediates between different interests in the public interest, of course at any one point in time and any one space in the city those views would be different. There is a set of procedures that go with planning but those safe guard everybody’s rights in the process. This is something that I think in Plymouth is very much integral to our work. Plymouth has obviously lost a lot of its history before and during the war, as you see in the film. So obviously we have to be very sensitive about what is left and take a balanced view considering the needs of the city in the future. The Council is actively looking for new uses for many important buildings in the city and the Civic Centre is a good current example of that. So how can the more creative sectors in the city help to make sure the city meets the needs for today and tomorrow? The creative sector is one of the key industries we are trying to attract and nurture in Plymouth and we absolutely understand the value it can bring to the city. A growing number of new local companies and entrepeneurs setting up in the city, such as digital media companies and artists add a new layer of vibrancy, passion and change to the city.

Plymouth in recent times has a very strong track record in delivering what it says it will do. The changes you can see at now Millbay, Devonport and Central Park were all planned for. In the last twenty years or so, there have been a number of projects that had a high media profile that haven’t happened. People have been disappointed that much celebrated projects haven’t seen the light of day. So one can understand that feeling. There will always be projects that get planning permission that for a variety of reasons won’t happen, but it never ceases to amaze me, certainly when I look at other cities, that they are proud of what they achieve rather than perhaps dwelling on what’s not been achieved. Plymouth is a fabulous city and I think everyone has a role to play in how it’s taken forward. And what about the view that planning takes a long time and limits people making changes now? What advice would you have to someone with a project in mind? They need to actually identify the opportunities and the potential for projects and ensure they are drawn to our attention when we are preparing plans. There are fantastic opportunities in the city centre and across Plymouth that we would fully support. People need to let us know about their idea very early on so that the planning issues can be addressed and we can bring forward those projects successfully. Too often the projects are just not drawn to the attention to the landowner or the city council to help facilitate making them a reality. Given the current economic circumstances there are lots of opportunities to make short term use of unused spaces as developments are not coming forward at the speed they originally intended. There’s the great example of the Jigsaw Garden at Drake Circus, there are loads of opportunities working with the community to bring forward uses that meet short term community needs, whether that’s for markets, open spaces or events spaces. Land or buildings can play a useful role in the short term whilst bigger regeneration projects are brought forward. We support that where we can. We all have our part to play in this city, it’s easy to sit back with opinions, our challenge is to make sure that a wide range of communities get involved, to make it a place we all love to live in.

They need to get involved in plans that steer the city – we are shortly starting to prepare something called the Plymouth Plan that will use a form of collaborative planning seeking to engage all sections of the community. People who are interested in having a voice, who perhaps might have been inspired by some of the plans produced in 1943 should get involved in the modern version of that plan for the future of the city. It is their plan as much as anybody else’s.

NDS : Do you think planning is still as relevant and exciting for the city as it was back in the 1940’s? Planning is particularly exciting in Plymouth because we have a history and a legacy from that Abercrombie Plan which was responding to the need to design a modern city. Today we have that legacy to respond to and the challenges we face as a modern city today. Does planning really shape the way we live? A city is an organic thing, a living thing which we have to steer through its life, and that’s one of the things we do as planners. The 1940’s Plan was being written as bombs were being dropped – which is inspirational, it’s well worth a look, there’s a copy at the Central Library. We don’t exactly have that kind of pressure as we write plans today, but our expectations are high and we want to make sure Plymouth continues to be a fantastic city to live and work in.

Will you really consider peoples opinions, or are all the major decisions made behind closed doors? Decisions are perceived as being behind closed doors but it’s not true. Planning is very much a public process lead by our democratic system. I think the issues is that we all have competing pressures on our time and our interest, often the last thing someone wants to do when they get home from a long day is to sit down and comment on a plan. Perhaps it did have a higher profile in the past although I think people are taking more and more interest now too. In a sense, as planners, it’s in our interest to raise its profile – the planning of our city is a very important thing. Planning plays an important role in changing the city – we hope – for the best, and that gets even better as more people are involved. What would you say to the people who think nothing ever happens in the city so there’s no point in getting involved?

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NB Hannah Sloggett is Community Planning & Partnership Co-ordinator for Plymouth City Council. For more info on the city’s planning initiatives visit: www.plymouth.gov.uk/planning

Re–up Demport Devonport: regeneration or gentrification? By Pamela Peter-Agbia Photographs by Simon Gomery

‘A neighbourhood’s architectural distinctiveness has in itself an effect on group identity. Through day-to-day visual experience the inhabitants of a neighbourhood know when and where they have crossed the line from a region that is ‘us’ to a region that is ‘them’. Any sharply circumscribed town can thus be a unifying landmark for its inhabitants. It performs this role by simply being there for everyone to see and experience. A town favoured with architectural monuments enjoys added advantage of symbolic resonance - a resonance that is further heightened when ceremonies are conducted around them and stories are told about them.’ Yi-Fu Tuan, Place

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Simon Gomery is waiting for me in his flat. I’m running late. I’m literally running, fast, through Devonport. I’m only five minutes away from my house when I get to his place, wondering where the hell I am. Is this still Devonport? I’m in completely unfamiliar territory. As I press the buzzer to get into Lynher House, I realise just how limited my knowledge of the area is and what an unadventurous explorer I’ve been - my Devonport is the few streets I use to get to the city centre, and to work each day. This is in stark contrast to Simon, who has an encyclopedic, savant-like knowledge of the area. What he doesn’t know about Devonport probably isn’t worth knowing. He knows it like the back of his hand, and I, like the back of my neck. During our interview he will

recall dates, place names, facts, and figures about the area’s history. Obscure tales from bygone eras roll off his tongue, off the cuff, as if they happened yesterday. This is a man in the midst of a love affair with ‘Demport’, and he captures it all on camera. ‘Devonport is a great place to photograph, what appeals to me is the character and history of the place. There’s still so much to look at and I’ve been here for five years. You learn something new every time.’ His first photos here were of the Devonport Wall, formerly owned by the Ministry of Defence, which separated the East and the West parts of the town. The wall was knocked down in February 2006. ‘It reminded me of the Berlin Wall coming down in 1989’, he tells me. ‘It’s less grandeur, but it’s similar contextually. That wall separated the East and the West. It separated communism from the

rest of the Western world.’ We are looking through photographs from Simon’s new exhibition, ‘Devonport, King of the City’. He has selected images from his living archive that provide a snap shot of the regeneration that has taken place over the past four years. I’m also being discretely nosey. ‘Hmm, yeah, I like that one’ I comment vaguely, with one eye on a photo and another on his flat. It’s filled with books on mod culture, pop culture, photography - as you’d expect - but also philosophy, music and architecture. There’s as much character and history in here as there is out there. It’s fascinating. ‘The time line of photography is very similar to the time line of Devonport’, he says. ‘Devonport got its name in 1824, and that was the period when photography started to develop in this country and in France. A pioneering photographer lived here - that was the Tripe household’, he points to St.Aubyns Street, which we can see from his living room window. He’s talking about Linnaeus Tripe, the British photographer best known for his photographs of Buddhist architecture in India and Burma during the 1850s. Photography was a nascent technology back then and Tripe, a contemporary of William Fox Talbot - inventor of the calotype process - made photographs that were new and novel. ‘His first still pictures would have been of the people in the Dockyard, but he wasn’t studying the people, it wasn’t social commentary. It was about the history and the architecture and that quite interests me.’ I ask Simon if he would say the same about his own work. ‘Yes, I’m interested in how the landscape is changing.’ How is the landscape changing? This is a good place to dwell upon that question. From Simon’s flat, the most recent changes to Devonport’s landscape can be seen. Evolve, a partnership between Linden Homes and Westco Properties Limited, is one of the latest and largest regeneration schemes to come to the area, providing modern, mixed tenure homes of up to 500 residential units around the Guildhall on Ker Street. When I moved here, 11 months ago, the street wasn’t much more than a grim, grey, building site, excluding the Guildhall and Ker Street Social Club, ‘two classic iconic places of architecture’. It was very odd to look at. To see it now, though, you can’t help but be impressed with the radical transformation. I think the new residential block is really pretty and complimentary of the architectural attractions that are there. The row of flats are minimalist in design, so as not to detract from the Guildhall, the ‘King of Devonport’, I imagine, which sits prominently at the head of the table. But Simon isn’t much of a fan. ‘They’re very…Eastern European, they remind me of the old social housing schemes I used to see in Berlin - very regimented.’ But, these aren’t social housing schemes. Most of the properties on the Evolve development are private ownership or part buy-part rent. They replace the social housing that was once there and naturally change the make-up of the people who live here - from people on benefits to people with mortgages. ‘They’ve migrated a lot of people to other parts of the city, like North Prospect and Whitley’ says Gomery. ‘There is less social housing here and different people are coming into the area’. It seems right and wrong.

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Social mixing initiatives that purposefully try to ‘deconcentrate’ poor and working-class communities by importing richer folk to the area whiff of gentrification. At the same time, the redevelopment generated by these schemes can offer serious benefits for formally deprived communities. Look at Salford, for example. The transformation of the former derelict Manchester Docks into the award-winning Salford Quays has been a catalyst for regeneration across the whole city. The BBC's decision to relocate some of its key departments to the area is clear evidence of this.

On my street alone, there’s a bakery, a hair salon, and a new cafe has just opened. They’re all run by local residents. The community also has a great resource in the guildhall, itself the beneficiary of significant regeneration investment led by Real Ideas Organisation, and home to Nom de Strip. Devonport is totally on the up. I like it here - although, I’m still waiting for someone to build me a Boots, a bank and a farmers market. I’m sure in time these will come, and when they do Simon Gomery will be there to capture it all on camera.

Plus, says Gomery, ‘Poor communities are generated through a lack of opportunities. The whole of this area was one of the poorest in Europe at one stage. A lot of people worked in the dockyard and when that industry died there was a huge downturn in employment. Regeneration and investment have created opportunities. It’s about capital at the end of the day; it’s about having employed people who pay taxes in the area.’ He’s right. Gentrification or not, Devonport is undeniably a better place than it was before. There is still work to be done, but in the short time I’ve been here, the atmosphere has changed a lot, it’s more cosmopolitan and more diverse.

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NB Simon's photos from Devonport; King of the city, are currenty on show at the Devonport Guild hall. For more on Simon and his photos visit: photographiesimongomery.carbonmade.com

How I fell in love with a concrete monster Jack Watney on the hidden beauty of the Civic Centre.

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It took me two years to notice the Civic Centre building. Having finally taken the time to stare up at it, I can tell you exactly what I thought: BIG AND GREY. About a year ago, I began to take interest in the unique architectural arrangement of Plymouth’s city centre. I would spend my lunch hours walking up and down the grid formation of streets, photographing the incredible Portland stone facades. I had never been interested in architectural photography before, but something about these buildings urged me to start shooting. I’d never seen such a large collection of similar looking buildings in one city. As I documented each road and building, I developed an urge to find out how this perfectly aligned grid work came to be. Plymouth was basically flattened during the Second World War. Hundreds of years of history were wiped out amongst huge clouds of smoke and deafening explosions. The city was targeted due to its military significance; it was considered a serious threat. When the dust eventually settled and the streets were finally cleared, there wasn’t much left. The Luftwaffe had bulldozed the entire city centre. Britain emerged from the war tattered but triumphant. It was time for a new beginning. The slate had been wiped clean; the time for change had arrived, now anything was possible. All that was needed was a plan. The new plan for Plymouth was designed by the internationally renowned architect and town planner, Patrick Abercrombie. What he offered was an entirely perfect and beautifully arranged modern city. Shopping areas would not mingle with industry, residential areas would be split into neat estates, with central precincts to help build strong communities. Everything was considered and organised. A number of buildings that had survived the bombing were cleared to accommodate the Abercrombie grid. With this completed, the ‘Plan for Plymouth’ began to take physical shape. Future owners of new buildings were given creative control of how they wanted them to look, making each building unique. Next time you stroll down Royal Parade take a proper look at the building exteriors, you can find sculptures of seahorses, mermaids, glass bricks and beautiful Art Deco inspired window surrounds. All of this progressive energy and enthusiasm needed to be tied together in an area from which the council could run the city. The previously disparate council offices and public services were conveniently grouped in one proud monument to keep watch over the new city. The architect, Hector Stirling designed the original plans for the Civic Centre building, based on the groundbreaking Lever building in New York. It was situated at the bottom of the town, exactly opposite the train station, and perfectly aligned to the central vein of the Abercrombie grid. The Civic Centre needed to be a truly grand reminder of everything that had been achieved in the rebuilding of Plymouth. It marked change, progression, and a bright, hopeful future. The evolutionary design included the finest, newest materials. Here was a giant fourteen story tower of concrete and glass; a sharp, sleek beacon of innovation and progress.

The design and implementation was later taken over by a group of architects called Jellicoe, Ballantyne and Coleridge. The exterior of the Civic Centre was a fantastic mix of modernist influences with a gull wing roof and elevated walkways. The landscaping included two large reflecting pools and plenty of room for the public to move between and enjoy. The landscape design even incorporated existing trees from the park which previously stood in its place. The interior of the Civic Centre was a decadent display of contrasting coloured marble, polished veneers and specially commissioned art work. There were incredible details including large sections of colourful mosaic titles, modern chandelier style light fittings and large enamelled arrow designs on each lift door. There was even a luxurious rooftop restaurant which boasted the best views in Plymouth. This lavish new building was clearly a thing of beauty and distinction, so much so that it was given a royal opening, by Queen Elizabeth II on the 26th July 1962. Obviously a lot has changed since then. Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the Civic Centre’s completion. I believe this is a cause for celebration. Unfortunately,

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the Civic Centre’s future hangs in the balance. It was almost demolished in 2007, until it was awarded grade II listed certification, which has temporarily held the bulldozers at bay. It is currently up for private sale as a redevelopment opportunity. There are numerous redevelopment options including; a hotel, commercial units, flats, offices, and even an arts centre, with a large exhibition space and a built-in cinema. I would be happy with any of the redevelopment options although, I know there is a lot of work to be done. Over time the interior and exterior have been slowly spoiled and neglected by various retrofits and additional installations. Although most of the original interiors remain, they are in dire need of replacement and repair. What’s needed is a heavy dose of sympathetic architecture, and a new design which uses its current strong sense of style and mixes it with a more modern aesthetic. We’ve seen this happen plenty of times in Plymouth. Take for example, Plymouth College of Art - it was hard to find a more dominating grey box of a building but it’s recent face lift brings it up to date. Another example is the additional two stories added

to the top of the old Barclay’s bank on Notte Street. A less successful example of city development is the former NAAFI centre, an impressive red brick post war building which was used as the Design College in more recent years. It was unfortunately demolished this year to make way for a new build. The city can’t afford to keep losing such significant pieces of architecture.. Plymouth’s architecture is something to be proud of. We have the largest collection of post war listed buildings of any city outside of London. Plymouth was the first city to start post war reconstruction on such a grand scale. The civic centre is the sum of all these achievements. It’s worth saving, once you begin to find layers of history hidden amongst these concrete slabs. It’s original dream of uniting Plymouth in a spirit of optimism and change can still be regained. In order to grow as a city, Plymouth needs to change. The world is constantly moving and sometimes, Plymouth struggles to keep up. What we need is a symbol of our vision as a modern city and our commitment to an ever changing future. The city has inspired me to start using photography in new ways; it has allowed me to appreciate the aesthetic considerations of another age. So now when I stand and stare up at the fourteenth floor, I try to look past the grey facade, I don’t concentrate on its bad points, I imagine the possibilities. Almost 50 years ago, people in Plymouth stood gazing up at the same building, excited for the possibilities of tomorrow, ready to embrace change, and confident that their proud new city would take them there.

NB For more information on the Civic Centre building and 20th Century Architecture in Plymouth visit: 20thcenturycity.org.uk Jack Watney is a Plymouth based photographer, to see more of Jack’s work visit: jackwatney.co.uk

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Illustrations by Helena Coard

Can we imagine worlds different from our own? How might this help us to understand our own world?

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How can art help us understand the other and the strange? By Edith Dove

The recent happenings in Norway as well as here in the UK were a shocking example of how we still haven’t learned to care for ‘the other’. The shootings and bombings in Norway demonstrated an unabashed fear for the unknown. The riots showed us a part of society that we prefer not to think about. Both events were devastating, and the shock I felt was compounded by news from my former home country, Belgium. National Belgian newspaper, De Standaard, published research by Ipsos Mori stating that Belgians hold some of the strongest opinions against immigrants worldwide. A near conclusive 94% of those who took part in he survey, agreed there have been too many immigrants in the past five years. With such a high percentage of negative opinions on immigration in Belgium, I imagined, that some of the people I know have similar thoughts. This was sadly confirmed when I posted the article on Facebook, stating that I thought it was creepy news. There were only two people from Belgium that responded, which maybe says enough in itself, and from their response it became clear that there is a strange mix-up between immigration and criminality. Both respondents are active in the art world and so I had expected better from them. Art history is a story of immigration, as is the history of science – think of people like Duchamp or Einstein. Think of all the anonymous immigrants that have contributed largely and in positive ways to so many countries all around the world, to such an extend that one could state that immigration, or general migration, is an essential feature of who we are as human beings.

I first immigrated 24 years ago from Holland to Belgium and landed just one year ago in Plymouth, a city that I absolutely love and hope to spend a good amount of time in. The past year has been a wonderful journey of discovery, of a city that at first look does not seem to offer much. It has however, the tendency to slowly open itself up and reveal quite many hidden treasures. One of these is certainly the wide range of communities within the city, ranging from locals, Chinese, Indians, to the French and the Dutch; from merchants to marines

Plymouth is the home of immigration, so to speak, with the famous Pilgrim Fathers sailing for America in 1620. The city could set an example for tolerance towards the other and the seemingly strange.

other and the seemingly strange. Maybe the fact that the past riots did not affect Plymouth holds that promise already. The British Art Show will be seemingly strange and unknown for a number of communities in Plymouth. However, this presents a wonderful challenge to use it as a way to build bridges and work towards greater understanding. The French artist, JR, provides a great example of how art can connect communities. Have a look at his ‘Inside Out' project. I hope we can bring it to Plymouth at some point, but in the meantime we can use his spirit, and use art to start connecting.

NB Edith Doove is an independent curator. For more information visit: edprojects.be

and artists to academics. The variety should make us curious rather than afraid. Plymouth is the home of immigration, so to speak, with the famous Pilgrim Fathers sailing for America in 1620. The city could set an example for tolerance towards the

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To view the Ipsos Mori, research paper mentioned in this article visit: ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/ researcharchive/2833/Too-Many-Immigrants.aspx

The British Art Show – A personal view By Francis Mallett

“Hey, you there! What planet is this?” demands a confused Dr. McCoy, beamed down to a replica Prohibition-era Chicago in a classic episode of Star Trek. Lately I’ve been starting to ask the same question. Twenty five years ago I opened a small gallery in a city where no independent gallery dealing in contemporary art existed. Only Plymouth Arts Centre, originally run by pioneering volunteers, had been a flickering star in deep space. Now, heralded by a blaze of Arts Council publicity, British Art Show 7 has landed its spaceship in town. Titled ‘In the Days of the Comet’, British Art Show 7’s self-proclaimed mission is to seek out ‘current trends and new directions in contemporary British art’ – in other words, to boldly go where no art show in Plymouth has gone before. The theme is borrowed from an H.G. Wells novel ‘in which the vapours of a comet are used as a device to bring about a profound and lasting transformation in the attitudes and perspectives of humankind’. Having no doubt already successfully achieved this modest ambition in its previous three landings – Glasgow, London and Nottingham – British Art Show 7 now faces its ultimate challenge in Plymouth.

Undaunted, co-curator Lisa Le Feuvre explains that ‘the exhibition pays particular attention to the ways that artists deploy histories to illuminate our present moment’. She adds, ‘Importantly, this is an exhibition that stretches across time and space, developing over its tour.’ The 39 chosen artists, we are informed, ‘use different art forms to reflect on related themes of past and present, parallel realities, signs of change, order and orbits’. Disconcertingly, they ‘deploy’ a language closely resembling, but not quite English. The command structure seems to have been borrowed straight from the Prohibition-era gangsters, with the Commission (aka Arts Council England) operating numerous satellite ‘families’, like PVAC , in Plymouth. They serve to “unlock financial support”, “develop professional skills” and “form long-term sustainable networks”. The Chicago Mob extorted its money with Tommy guns, our new Syndicate coerces through social and political agendas, whose benefits no-one dares question, financed by a tax levied on all its citizens – in effect, a cultural protection racket.

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Who does it actually benefit, I’m left wondering? Should contemporary art, artists and their unelected hierarchies be publicly funded at all? Aren’t the claims of ‘social benefits and general well-being’ that the arts ‘deliver’ now discredited? What hard evidence is there that they have made any genuine difference to the society we live in? Haven’t they now been shown to be completely out of touch with our culture, as more recent events in London, Manchester and Nottingham have demonstrated? Or, worse, aren’t they merely another symptom of its slow demise, desperately clinging to a dubious economic argument as part of a state-run leisure and tourist industry? Aren’t they all….living on another planet? Sadly, only one answer occurs to me. You’ve guessed it: ‘Beam me up, Scotty!’

NB Francis Mallett runs New Street Gallery. 38 New Street, Plymouth PL1 2NA

Have You Heard of The British Art Show? 20

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to Cornwall’s coast. It’s a defiant moment of change for Plymouth, that although may not amount to much for others, unreservedly unlocks a sense of pride for Plymouth.

Gabriella Beckhurst, Art Student, Drake Circus

NDS : So yes then?

Mandy, Shop Trader at Mandies, Pannier Market

when we bumped into him, sorry, I mean when we stood and watched him for five full minutes until he noticed us and then rudely interrupted his conversation. It’s all coming back to me. He was in his nail-cum-piercing studio, which was a tiny tiny room which shouting pink walls in the market. NDS : HI. What’s your name and what do you do? M: My name’s Martin, I work in a piercing stall - I do the orders for the Internet stock. NDS : Is this a new shop you’ve got here? M: Yeah, we’re doing some nail bar thing. I’m not sure, it’s just nails. NDS: Have you heard of the British Art Show, Martin? M: I’ve heard of it. It was on Facebook, actually. I’ve never been to it though. NDS : It’s not open yet, it’s coming to Plymouth in September. It will be open by the time everyone reads this I guess. What do you think of arts and culture in Plymouth? M: Some of it’s alright. Some of the stuff that was going on over there, I don’t know if you saw it..

Gabriella has just started her second year at Norwich University, studying Fine Art. We met up with her at Drake Circus. Plymouth is her home town. Please don’t be alarmed by her scarily eloquent monologue - we don’t know anyone who talks like this either. This is an excerpt from the proposal Gabriella sent to us, we thought it was a really good proposal, which worked well as an indirect answer to our question, so we’ve included it in here. NDS : Have you heard of the British Art Show? GB: I’m a Fine Art student and I’ve always considered the South West to be home, no matter where I’ve lived. Before I completed my Foundation Diploma at Plymouth College of Art, I had this consistent desire to escape Plymouth. I felt the South West lacked the creative platform and environment I and so many crave. That one short but preciously valuable year changed so many of my preconceptions about the city and what it can bring to the table. I later moved to Norwich, readily awaiting the breath of fresh air, energy, and life that moving to a new city brings. However, the idea of ‘escaping’ and the desire to find new ground elsewhere couldn’t quite eclipse the place I knew and grew up in - the place that grew with me. When I found out that British Art Show 7 was coming to Plymouth, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of pride. A place that could previously be described as seemingly starved of contemporary art, will now host one of the most prestigious and groundbreaking exhibitions, showcasing art that mesmerises, whilst simultaneously critiquing the fundamentals of society and order.

We met Mandy in the Pannier Market, she runs a craft stall called Mandies with her friend, also called Mandy. They were both really sweet, and you could tell that the foundation of their friendship rested on the fact that they share the same name. Mandy no.1 had a friendlier smile and more voluminous hair, so we decided to interview her. NDS : Hi Mandy! What do you do here? M1: We do hand-made cards and hand-made crocheted baby items.

Colin, Good Value, Pannier Market

NDS : Cool, have you heard of the British Art Show? M1: I have, yes. It was in the newspaper. NDS : What newspaper? M1: It would’ve been The Herald, I think. NDS : What did it say? M1: Not very much. NDS : Ok, and what do you think of Plymouth’s cultural scene? M1: There isn’t very much in Plymouth really, is there? I’d like to see far more theatre shows come down here and concerts, and I’d even like things like the Edinburgh festival down here.

Martin, The Piercing Stall, Pannier Market

We loved Colin’s stall more than we loved Colin. He was a perfectly nice guy, but he owns one of those really cool shops that sells everything and nothing at the same time. ‘Good Value’ stocks an array of hardware, home ware, and all the mobile phone paraphernalia one could ever want in life. The stall was crammed full from wall to wall with STUFF, except for a small little spy hole, which we imagined was set up to keep an eye on would be thieves or something. Shops like these are a vanishing breed. NDS : Hi Colin. How long have you been working at the shop? C: I’ve been working here for 7 years. NDS : Have you heard of the British Art Show? C: I haven’t, no.

Plymouth’s fervent anticipation is evidence of the magnitude of this exhibition. Possibly it’s greatest allure is it’s relative access to all; the ability to challenge the public - those who have never engaged with anything like this before as well as those already immersed in the art world. I think it’s important that we all recognise the significance of this event to reach the South West, for once it appears to be encompassing the country as a whole, instead of stopping at London or skipping afar

NDS : We didn’t. M: That was pretty bad. I like the artwork by Central Park and all of that kind of stuff. I don’t really like some of the minimal stuff.

NDS : That’s a shame. What kind of arts and culture events do you go to? C: I don’t go to any of them, nothing at all.

I don’t really remember much about Martin. I was too lazy to get my note book out and now I’m seriously regretting it. All I remember is that Martin was deep in conversation with a friend

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NDS : Ok, what kind of things do you do when you’re not at work? C: Nothing. I just work and then go home. That’s it. NDS : Thanks Colin, you’re a man of few words,

but thanks. enthralled. He spoke with such great conviction. ‘Here is a self-assured man, with self-assured views’, we thought. So we decided to go and speak to him.

Drew Turner, Graphic Designer, Tesco Metro

NDS : What are you doing, Charles? C: Well I’m unemployed at the moment, but I go around preaching the word of God because I’m a devout Christian. Everyone needs to hear the message. NDS : Have you had much luck today? Have people been stopping by to hear your message? C: It’s not about luck, at the end of the day Jesus Christ says, ‘Go out and preach the word’. We’re not here to glorify ourselves, we’re here to glorify the Lord, Jesus Christ. We’re not here to gain popularity or anything, we’re just here to preach the word. Some people may like it, and some people might reject it. At the end of the day, everyone needs Jesus Christ in their lives, including yourself. NDS : And, have you heard about the British Art Show? C: No I haven’t.

Drew Turner is a graphic designer of the highest order, our friend, and an all round nice guy. We bumped into him while we were waiting to interview Charles. He was on his way to fix his computer. NDS : Have you heard about the British Art Show? DT:I have. NDS : What do you know about it? DT: It’s coming to Plymouth. NDS : And how do you feel about that? DT: Good. It’ll be good. NDS : What kind of things do you go to in Plymouth? DT: Anything that’s advertised really. Anything that I know about. NDS : You’re quite open-minded? DT: Yeah, I am. NDS : Yeah, you are. Thanks Drew.

Charles, currently unemployed, Tesco Metro

NDS : It’s an exhibition about contemporary art now, and it’s coming to Plymouth this month. It only happens every five years so quite a lot of people are excited about it. Do you go to many arts and cultural events? C: No, not really. No NDS : And what do you think of Plymouth in general? C: It’s a lovely city, but it’s also a dark city. It needs a wake up call; it needs Jesus Christ. That’s why we do this, to preach the word to the people. NDS : And what kind of stuff do you do? Do you go to gigs? Do you go out to eat? How do you spend your time? C: I occasionally go out with my brothers, we’ll go to a takeaway or go to a restaurant. We relax and eat with the Church. Apart from that I don’t do any clubbing or gigs or anything like that. NDS : Is an art exhibition something you’d ever be interested in? If a friend asked you to come to one, would you go? C: Probably, it depends on what kind of art it is. I mean, I do appreciate the beauty of things in life, I appreciate art in general but it depends what it is. There’s all sorts of art. I admire great paintings, as long as it’s nothing nude or anything like that. NDS : Thanks Charles. C: No problem.

Robert, Salvation Army Worker, Miss Selfridge

We heard Charles before we saw him. He was outside Tesco, with a large white megaphone, preaching the name of the good Lord. We stood and watched him for a couple of minutes, genuinely

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I walked past Robert on my way to meet Jay and instantly wanted to interview him. He just had a silent charisma about him, and looked out of this world in his Salvation Army get-up. Later I would discover that Jay had seen Robert around too, and had wanted to photograph him for a while. Here was the perfect opportunity. NDS : Hi Robert, you look great in your uniform. I know it’s pretty obvious, but for the purposes of the interview, please tell us what you do. R: Basically, we’re a team of Salvation workers doing the War Cry here in the city centre. I come down here a few days a week, to spread the news of the gospel. Hopefully we raise funds and the money is spent within the city to help the Salvation Army’s work. NDS : Brilliant. And how long have you been doing this for? R: Several years. NDS : How long have you been living in Plymouth? R: I actually live outside of Plymouth. I come into the city to work because I’m based with the Salvation Army here at Congress Hall. NDS : What do you think of Plymouth? R: I’ve got to admit, sometimes it just seems a little bit concrete and glass. There’s not a lot of beautiful architecture to be honest, it was all sadly destroyed. They tell me before the war there was really nice architecture here, but we have to live in the surroundings that we’re given don’t we? We have to make the best of it. Somebody said to me, it reminds them of an old Soviet style city NDS : Have you heard about the British Art Show? R: I don’t think I have, there was something on the radio now I come to think of it but it doesn’t ring too many bells to be honest with you. NDS : That’s fine.It’s a contemporary art exhibition organised by the Hayward Gallery, based in London. It only happens every five years and this year it’s coming down to Plymouth. R: Oh really? Well, hopefully you’ll get a nice number of people to come along. Like all cities in this day and age, we’re all suffering from the closures of shops. Maybe something like this will help to fill a void which the public require. Hopefully. It’s culture at the end of the day, without it what do we have? NDS : Not much. And is art something that interests you? R: I like art. I’m an old classic person as you can probably gather, some of the modern stuff just loses me. I like a picture to identify what it is, then, it speaks to me. You know?

Another day, another part of town. Next, we headed over to the Barbican to see what people there had to say for themselves. We went straight to the Antiques market, for no particular reason, and browsed around old things, stopping to talk to interesting shop owners who crossed our path. But for no apparent reason, the Barbican air was thick with mistrust. For a long while, nobody was up for answering our questions. ‘Do we have “menacing” tattooed across our foreheads or something? ’ I asked Jay, perplexed and a little deflated. Interest seemed to drain from people’s faces, leaving only fear and suspicion as soon as the words ‘newspaper’, and ‘interview’ were thrown into conversation. We were getting nowhere. After a full hour of being shut down by every person we approached, we finally found a friendly, accommodating face in Jan.

Jan, Shop Owner,

Atonya Marshall, Shop Owner,

Part-owner of 4orty 5ive, Southside Street NDS: Hi Mathias. 4orty 5ive, what is it all about? ML: We are specialists in three dimensional contemporary art - ceramics, glass, metal - we sell everything except paintings. They are locally made from Devon and Cornwall only. NDS: And how long have you been going? ML: Two and a half years now. NDS: Brilliant. Have you heard about the British Art Show? ML: Of course. NDS: How do you feel about it coming to town? ML: I think it’s great; it puts Plymouth on the map. I’m looking forward to it. We’re running two exhibitions to coincide with the British Art Show. We’re not directly involved with it but we hope it brings people who are interested in art down to the Barbican galleries.

The Tuck Shop NDS : Hi Jan, thanks for saving what has, so far, been a pathetically fruitless morning. Tell us about your shop? J: It’s called The Tuck Shop. I’ve owned it for five years. NDS : Do you enjoy it here? J: I do. It’s good fun. People like old sweets. NDS : They do, indeed. So tell me, have you heard about the British Art Show? J: No I haven’t. NDS : You haven’t heard anything about it? J: Not at all. It’s disappointing that I haven’t heard anything, has it been promoted? I refrained from telling Jan about the huge poster on the side of the Civic Centre building , the no.34 bus and the banners on Royal Parade, assumeing Jan hadn’t been to the city centre recently. NDS : It has a bit. The British Art Show is a contemporary art exhibition that happens every five years. This year it’s coming to Plymouth having already been to Nottingham, Glasgow and London. It’s one of the biggest art shows in the country, so some people are excited that it’s coming here. Anyway, what kind of cultural happenings do you go to in Plymouth? J: I go to the theatre and the Pavillions. That’s about it really. We also try to help promote things that are local. We put stuff in the windows for the Barbican Theatre which is very near

Purple Handbags, South Side Street NDS : Hi. What’s your name? AM: My name is Atonya Marshall. NDS : And what do you do here? AM: I run a little handbag shop on the Barbican and I make and sell handbags. She really does. Atonya was simultaneously making and selling a handbag when we met her. What a talented, multi-tasking lady.

NDS: What do you think of Plymouth’s cultural scene? ML: I’m not born and bred here but I think it’s growing. Through these exhibition events, I was surprised to discover there were 13 galleries on the Barbican. I knew some of them but not all of them. NDS: Have some more revealed themselves for the British Art Show? ML: Yes, three or four of them are new galleries, which have recently opened. That’s quite interesting.

Ian Hutchinson, Gallery Owner, Art 2

NDS : Brilliant. It’s looking good. AM: It’s alright. The business has been going for two years now and it’s going from strength to strength. NDS : Good. Have you heard of the British Art Show? AM: I haven’t no. NDS: It’s an art exhibition coming to Plymouth in two weeks. AM: I don’t really go to arts events, because I’m working here seven days a week. It’s hard to take time off, but something like the British Art Show should bring a different kind of interest to Plymouth. It should be good. It’ll elevate the city a little bit above what it is at the moment and give Plymouth a different feel. We welcome it.

Mathias Landwehr,

NDS : And what do you think of arts and culture in Plymouth? J: I think we may need a bit more.

Frame, The Parade Ian Hutchinson was an accidental find. We walked into his shop, at The Parade on the Barbican, thinking it was Michael Wood’s gallery, and that he was Michael Wood. To avoid offence and confusion we decided to interview him rather than leave straight away, it was the happiest accident of the day because Ian is interesting, his shop is interesting and so is what he had to say… NDS : Hi Ian? What’s the set up here? IH: We have two businesses running. Art 2 Frame is the framing side of the business and the gallery side is called Glass! Everything we sell is glass - we specialise in contemporary glass.

High in spirits from our first interview of the day. We decided to take our quest to Southside street, which is full of interesting galleries, and art and craft shops. We thought we would find some interesting opinions about the British Art Show here and we weren’t disappointed.

NDS : How did you get into the glass game? IH: How did I get into glass? We’ve been around for about seven and a half years now. We used to do paintings, ceramics, glass, and all sorts. The glass was very popular, so popular I decided to open up another gallery in Dartmouth, exclusively for glass. It went down a storm, so we ditched the paintings and the ceramics, and did the same in Plymouth. That’s how we

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came about. NDS : It’s good to hear you’re doing quite well? IH: Yes, we’ve found it opens up a much wider audience to us. A gallery doing paintings can put people off sometimes - not everyone wants a painting or understands paintings. With us, you haven’t really got to have an understanding of art. NDS : That’s interesting. Have you heard of the British Art Show? IH: Yes. NDS : What do you know about it? IH: I’ll be honest, very little. My knowledge of it is very limited, probably because I don’t think it affects me directly, so I haven’t delved into it or paid much attention. NDS : But is it something you might go and see when it’s here out of curiousity? IH: We might take a look. These things sometimes bring in artists that you wouldn’t have normally seen or heard of, so from that point of view it always pays to go and have a look. But, to be honest, it’s not something that’s my priority. I’m not thinking ‘Oh, I must go and look at this’. NDS : And what do you think about arts and culture here at the moment? IH: It’s very slow. It just hasn’t taken off in Plymouth, as far as I’m concerned. We have a college of art and design here but I don’t think people grasp it. There are people who do, don’t get me wrong, but most don’t. You can go to other cities and art and culture is the centre of everything that’s going on, but in Plymouth it isn’t. I don’t know whether people truly appreciate and embrace art in Plymouth. Although, there are thirteen galleries on the Barbican!

attract the people who don’t appreciate it. Very often the organisers of something like this don’t fully grasp that there are people out there who genuinely do not understand art,they’re labelled and pushed aside but if you’re prepared to embrace that you should be able to bring them in. Jay goes beyond the call of duty as photographer and asks whether Ian thinks the British Art Show is elitist? IH: Elitist is a good term. I own a gallery, I’ve dealt with artists and I’ve done exhibitions. I know what I like and I know what I don’t like. I like a painting that creates some sort of conversation and makes you talk about it. When shows are put together and work is shown, people should be encouraged to debate it more. In other words, if you’ve got an opinion, express it. Maybe you will stand there and say, ‘I think this is the biggest load of crap going’, but you’re entitled to that opinion, it doesn’t make you a lesser person. Others should come back with a valid discussion as to why they can justify the work. Explain and show, don’t assume people don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve often been in a situation where I’ve asked an artist, ‘Why is that painting so much better than this painting? Why is this painting drawing more attention than that one?’ It’s quite surprising how often an artist can’t even answer that.

Andy,

NDS : I think it’s an experiment. The whole point is to test what an exhibition like the British Art Show in a city like Plymouth can do. Do you not think it could potentially be a catalyst to improve Plymouth’s profile as a creative city? IH: I think it could, but until I’ve seen what the show actually brings together, my answer to that would be: I think the British Art Show might need to adapt itself and open up more to embrace, encourage and

NDS : Do you know how many books there are here? A: Between here and the two warehouses, there are a quarter of a million, give or take. NDS : That’s crazy. You must have a real passion for books? A: Do you think I’d be sat here if I didn’t? Come on. Let’s put it this way, these days I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I’ve forgotten what you girls are all about. I stick to what I know, which is books, fly fishing when I get the chance, and a game of football on the television when it’s on. Other than that, it’s a nice quiet life. NDS : And what do you say to people who say books are dead? A: I say ‘rubbish’. Irate yet calm, Andy picks up a book. I wonder if he’s going to throw it at me? A: This can’t be beaten by any computer. The feel of it, the smell of it, the smell when you walk into an old bookshop. I could bottle up the smell of this place and make an absolute bloody fortune. We all laugh, Andy is a funny guy.

One of the first things people notice when they walk in is the smell. They’ll stand there and breathe it in, they like the smell of the bookshop. I don’t sell on the Internet, I’m quite happy for my customers to come in and wonder around. If they buy something, great. If they don’t, there’s always tomorrow.

NDS : Oh really? So you’re doing that off the back of the British Art Show? IH: Myself and Francis Mallett, from New Street Gallery.

NDS : Yeah, I guess it would seem that Plymouth is a weird venue for this exhibition - it’s been in Glasgow, Nottingham and at the Hayward in London. IH: Which brings about the question: Why Plymouth?

NDS : Where do they come from? A: All over. Mainly house calls. When people die, or move to smaller houses, I get a call. I go out and have a look and if I’m interested I make an offer. If they say yes, I purchase them. If they say no, they can always try somebody else.

A: I am not joking.

NDS : Are you part of the Barbican galleries collaboration? IH: Yes, we’re the ones organising it.

NDS : Interesting. It’s strange, Plymouth Arts Centre (who I work for) one of the organisations involved with the British Art Show, is only just down the road but walking around the Barbican today, and speaking with various people, there seems to be this feeling of ‘Oh, we’re not part of this’. Is that a deliberate thing? IH: I don’t think it’s deliberate. I just think the level and type of art that would be at the fore in this art show is not the norm for Plymouth. There are a select few that will follow it. For years I have been involved in art but I can look at a painting and it will go straight over my head. I don’t deny it. Just because I own a gallery it doesn’t mean I’ve got to pretend. At the same time, I think the general perception of people in Plymouth is that they don’t open their minds to think ‘OK, let’s look at this’. I think the general perception is that they look at art and think ‘Oh, that’s a load of rubbish’ and walk off. I think that’s unfair, although I do know a few people like that.

A: I’ve got nowhere to put them at the moment.

NDS : Yes, there’s always tomorrow. That’s a great rule to live by.

The Book Cupboard, The Parade Most people who love books love bookshops. I stumbled across the Book Cupboard a few months ago and instantly fell in love with the place. It has three modest-sized floors of books, books, and more books, all linked together by a curling central staircase. It’s a very special and truly unique place, if you like books you should definitely go and see it. We met up with Andy who owns the store. Yes, Andy, he’s a man. Andy was very forthcoming with his opinions, but reluctant to have his photo taken, so we got one of the lovely Audrey, who volunteers in the shop. NDS : Your book shop is amazing, Andy. How did you get into all of this? A: It started off as a hobby, as far as I’m concerned it’s still a hobby. It keeps me occupied for six days a week and on the seventh day I go fly fishing. NDS : Fly fishing? Jay explains: fishing with a rod. A: I catch trout and salmon. Yes, this started off as a hobby and it just grew out of hand. NDS : Yeah, there are quite a lot of books here. A: Yep, that pile has just come in. Andy points to a mountain of books which could hardly be called a pile.

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Have you heard of British Art Show 7? A: No not particularly. I can’t even sell art books, I can’t even give them away. I’ve got art books here and a lot more down the warehouse, it’s one of the subjects that doesn’t sell. Plymouth isn’t a book place as far as I’m concerned. Most of my customers come from out of town. Most of the people in Plymouth don’t even know I’m here and I’ve been here for seven and a half years. NDS : So what do you think of Plymouth as a creative and cultural city? A: What world do you live in? Creative and cultural city? I don’t think so. Next we met up with Michael Wood’s wife. The infamous Michael Wood was nowhere to be seen. Still our journey wasn’t wasted because we got to chat with Nardi. We instantly liked her. She was wearing sunglasses in doors and completely pulling it off.

five years? MB: I’ve been in various spaces around the Yard, they move me around at will.

Nardi Wood, Gallery Manager,

Michael Wood Fine Art, The Parade NDS : So tell me about the gallery here? NW: It’s mixed. NDS : I see you’ve got some Lenkiewicz down there, that’s cool. NW: Yes. NDS : What else have you got? NW: The main new artist we have is Ian Tapy, he’s a local boy who does urban art. We sell a lot of his work. We are trying to help and encourage him. He’s doing good. NDS : So as a gallery you like to support local talent? NW: Yes, we love to. We also have Lee Woods, another local boy who moved to France. We have Terry Frost too, but also African art from Ethiopia, because I’m from Ethiopia. It’s national and international, it’s mixed. NDS : Brilliant. How did you get into the art gallery game? NW: Michael supplied galleries for 35 years, but in 1990 he decided to open his own gallery, which we extended seven years ago. NDS : And you’ve heard of the British Art Show? NW: Yes, we are delighted to have it coming to Plymouth. It’s a big deal for us. NDS : Are you going to go and see the exhibition when it opens? NW: Yes, I think Michael is involved in some way.

NDS : So where were you before here? MB: A few years ago, I was in the building that Urban Splash are doing up now, called The Cooperage. They’re turning that space into commercial units for let. I’m now in The Brewhouse, which is a nice polished finished space. NDS : Indeed, it’s very plush. Do you get many people coming down here? MB: Yes, it’s been picking up with the Yard building developments. There are more restaurants and more will be coming. There will be two more in October or November, which will bring in a larger footfall. Of course, people come here to see the art as well! NDS : Excellent. Have you heard of the British Art Show? MB: Of course I have. I’ve been following it from the very first meeting back in November. I also follow it on Twitter and Facebook. NDS : Do you know much about the works that are going to be in exhibition? MB: I’m waiting for them to arrive. That’s the best way forward. I’ve seen visuals, up and down the site. We’re excited about getting the clock here. I know it’s award winning; I think it’s top of the tree. NDS : Yeah, it’s a crazy concept isn’t it? Are you going to attempt watching all 24 hours of The Clock? MB: I don’t think I’ll be able to. NDS : What do you think the British Art Show will do for Plymouth, if anything at all? MB: It’s one of those interesting subject matters isn’t it? I think in the long run, it will be awesome. Having two major events in Plymouth is exciting. It will be interesting to see how the public respond to it. It’s not a very ‘arts and culture’ public, but that’s not what this is about, it’s about bringing arts and culture to the city, helping the city to breathe and become something. This is the start of many things, one hopes. I came here six or seven years ago, seeing Plymouth as a growing city modernising. As an abstract modernist painter, I wanted to grow and develop with something. This is a milestone for this part of Devon’s history, that could push us into a nice place in the..

John Smith,

NDS : So you’ve been here in this space for the past

NDS : Really? JS: Yes. I don’t know if you know the history of the place but herds of cattle were taken here to be butchered. Hence the floor in the slaughterhouse slopes downward for obvious reasons. NDS : To drain cow blood? JS: Yes. NDS : Gross. JS: So we had to level the floor to use the scissor lifts. It’s my understanding that after the show has finished, the whole installation will remain for the operators of the site, Urban Splash, whereas in the City Art Gallery and the College, we’ll have to go in and take everything that we’ve done down again after the show has finished. NDS : I bet that feels painful, having to undo all of your hard work so soon? JS: Yes. NDS : So aside from fitting out most of the venues, do you know much about the British Art Show? JS: I know some of the work. I know what’s going into the College and I’ve also seen some of the pieces in the City Museum and Art Gallery, because they’re already up on the walls. There are a couple of really big pieces up there. It’s all very good and thought-provoking. It’s been quite interesting listening to some of the guys that work here, because normally they don’t come into contact with contemporary art in any way. I’ve been trying to encourage them to make the effort to come down and see the work when the show is open, and I think most of them will. There have only been 15 people working on the job and I would say at least ten of them will make an effort to come and see it. Whilst their initial reaction was ‘what a waste of time and money’, I’m encouraging them to come along with a little bit of an open mind, to see what it is and to see what it does for them.

NDS : Do you think the British Art Show will change Plymouth? What are the biggest changes you have already seen? JS: I’ve lived in Plymouth all of my life. The biggest change, of course, is the University. That has replaced the economic contributions that were largely provided by the Navy. The reduction of the Navy, the Dockyard, and various naval units leaving the city left Plymouth in the doldrums. The University has been one of the best things to happen to the city in a long time.

Next stop, Royal William Yard. We went to see Martin Bush at his happening gallery.

NDS : Hi Martin, what do you do? MB: I’m an artist in residence at the Royal William Yard. That has been my title for five years. I run my own gallery here and show my work, occasionally inviting a few other artists to show work here too.

NDS : Brilliant. Quids in. How have the developments been going? You guys look pretty busy here. JS : It’s been very hectic. The electrical installation has probably been the largest part of the job, because of the nature of the building. You may have seen all the lighting and heating is at a high level, which means we need scissor lifts to get to the top. We’ve had to fit in a completely new floor.

For this to coincide with the Fastnet race that brought interest to the Barbican, and the America’s Cup is great. Plymouth is buzzing at the moment. It’s really good for the city.

NDS : What do you think of Plymouth arts and culture? NW: We’re opening our eyes. We’re looking more diverse. I hope people will be happy about it, we are happy.

Martin Bush, Martin Bush Gallery, The Brewhouse Royal William Yard

them: here, the College, and the City Museum and Art Gallery.

Site Manager, Royal William Yard. NDS : Hi. What’s your name and what do you do? JS : My name’s John Smith, I’m the site manager for the Slaughterhouse. I work for a company called Timberbuild UK Ltd. We’ve done a number of other works in Royal William Yard and it was the connection with those other projects that gave us the opportunity to tender for this contract. There are five galleryies galleries in total for the British Art Sshow and we’ve worked on three of

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NDS : What do you think of Plymouth Arts & Culture? I don’t think an awful lot comes here. This, I would imagine, would be by far the largest art show to come to the city. The last exhibition I went to was the Sir Joshua Reynolds exhibition at the City Museum and Art Gallery. I think that was last summer or the one before, but generally speaking it’s a little bit barren. This was fun.

The Order of Things Illustrations by Ashley May

How are the elements that make up our world categorised? How is knowledge structured? Who decides these things? What are the alternatives?

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Fringe Events Our pick of the best British Art Show fringe events.

WE ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT:

Vessel Plymouth Who? Independent curator’s, Glen Johnston and Carl Slater and Project Manager, Emma Corkey What? Vessel is a site-specific exhibition and project of contemporary art taking place in a disused industrial space in Stonehouse. It will showcase the work of emerging and established international artists as well as run a small collaboration program in its designated Project Space. The aim of the project is to engage in a creative exchange and further enrich the visual arts experience which will take place during the British Art Show. When? September 22 - 30 October 2011 Where? George Place, Stonehouse We admire the sheer tenacity of everyone behind the Vessel project. They have quietly and confidently orchestrated an ambitious and innovative program, which we’re sure will become one of the Fringe's most successful and exciting prospects. We have had a sneak preview of the exhibition space and it’s truly special. The space is simple in layout, a large open-plan warehouse, structurally supported by 30 vertical pillars. Vessel will also be running a project space from the venue, delivering a programme of events, exhibitions and workshops co-ordinated with a number of creative partners. Have a look on their website: www. vessel2011.com for further details.

The Handcuff King Who? Artist, Beth Emily Richards What? The Handcuff King is a video work exploring the ideas of heroism, hidden histories and attempting the impossible, commissioned by Plymouth Visual Arts Consortium (PVAC). When? Friday 16 September - Sunday 4 December Where? The Big Screen, Armada Way, Plymouth City Centre Who loves Houdini? We do! Watch Beth perform her version of an escapology act the famous magician, performed at Plymouth’s Palace Theatre in 1909. Houdini commissioned shipwright joiners from Devonport Dockyard to make an inescapable box for his act at the Palace – and then proceeded to escape from it! Beth has worked with local craftsmen, including locksmiths and shipwrights to create a modern version of the box. The video shows her attempts to free herself from it in less than 12 minutes – the time it took Houdini to escape from the original. Beth’s work re-presents a fascinating and little-known historical performance that took place here in Plymouth just over 100 years ago. The work veers from parodying to emulating the macho acts of bravery and showmanship demonstrated by Houdini, and aims to celebrate the local history of the Union Street area.

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Libary of Independent Exhange Who? Independent curator, Mark James and artist, Christopher Green. What? The Library of Independent Exchange ( L.I.E ) is a Temporary Reference Library that will present interesting and significant works from contemporary independent arts publishers and artists spanning 14 countries. L.I.E provides a rare opportunity in Plymouth to encounter and explore work of this kind.

Video Takeaway

The aim of L.I.E is to develop discussions and exchange through a series of events including workshops, talks, and seminars. The library will provide an informal, open space for visitors to explore the processes of publishing, collaboration and dissemination, highlighting the wealth of resources available.

Who? Come to Ours What? Video Takeaway presents a series of exciting moving image works from a range of national and international artists. The curated programme is presented on existing TV monitors located in two of the Come to Our’s teams favourite takeaways in Plymouth. The project aims to help acquaint visiting art audiences, unfamiliar with the city, with what Plymouth has to offer. When? Ali Baba’s New York Express, Mondays - Thursdays / 7pm - close Jakes, Fridays and Saturdays / 7pm - close Look at the range of artists who have made work for this event: Rebecca Ballard, Rachael Haines, Tony Hill, Charlotte Jackman, Jamie Lobb, More Soon, Roy Menahem Markovich, Sophie Michael, Aaron Oldenburg, Guy Oliver, Thomas Smith, Tim Steer, Emily Warren, Ryan Whittier Hale, Matthew Williamson. Using a Takeaway restaurant as a venue to showcase contemporary art is a genius idea. We look forward to seeing these around.

When? 17 September - 17 October Where? Unit 11 Cargo Millbay, Hobart Street, Plymouth, L.I.E is not a typical library but it shares the values of traditional libraries in providing an informal social space and free fountains of knowledge for the artistic community. ‘I’ve always been interested in the idea of the book as a means to document and present art’ says co-director, Mark James. This is a great opportunity to discover how independent publishing offers new means for the production, presentation and circulation, of art. Nom de Strip are really excited to feature in the programme of events for this project. On the 6th October, we will be giving a talk about independent publishing and the process behind running and creating Nom de Strip. Join us from 6.30pm.

James Eden Who? James Eden What? An exhibition of work from the artist's recent residency with Plymouth Arts Centre When? 17th - 23rd September Where? Plymouth Arts Centre Studio, 38 Looe Street James Eden will be presenting a small exhibition of his work in the residency studio at Plymouth Arts Centre. The exhibition explores his sculptural and drawing work as well as the fruits of his residency with Plymouth Arts Centre. The residency was part of a collaboration with the Faculty of Arts, University of Plymouth, supporting professional development and mentoring to a graduate of Fine Art. The installation is a new film and series of drawings which consider material and process. Did we mention that James was nominated for the Jerwood Drawing Prize, 2010? He MUST be good.

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Platform P Who? Independent curators, Edith Dove and Ray White. What? Platform P is an experimental curatorial and collaborative platform for contemporary art in Plymouth. Apparently, P stands for Plymouth, people, places, partners, play and performance. The project aims to engage with all ages and backgrounds using art as a common denominator. When? 5 - 6 November Where? The Duke of Cornwall Hotel Platform P builds on the unique expertise of Ray White and Edith Doove to make for a truly original and energetic contribution to Fringe events in Plymouth.

The Pipe Gallery Who? Artist and Gallery owner, Thais Lenkiewicz What? The Pipe Gallery is a new contemporary art space in the heart of the Barbican which hopes to become a platform for both upcoming and established artists. During British Art Show 7, The Pipe will host four separate shows with exhibitions from Thais Lenkiewicz, Steven Maynard and U:1 Artist Collective. When? 12th September - 9th December Where? New Street, Barbican, Plymouth The Pipe Gallery is a rare and unique space, which everyone should go and see at least once. The vault was built 200 years ago, around the time of the Napoleonic War. ‘Over that time, the space has been used as a storage vault for people passing through the area, as stables and for a long time, it housed barrels of rum’ says Thais.‘When I first saw the space, it was being used as a storage vault; I asked if I could use it as a studio. They couldn’t say no because my Dad had used the whole building to paint in at one point - so I knew it could’ The Pipe is very new as a gallery space - the walls were still wet when we went to visit a couple of weeks ago - but still, the venue undoubtedly has something special and we look forward to seeing work there in the future.

Imaginary Beings Who? Co-directors: Carolina Maggio and Jarvis What? A charity exhibition featuring work by Corolina Maggio, Toin Adams, Margarita Zafrilla and Zsi Chimera, collectively known as The Imaginary Beings. The concept of The Imaginary Beings lends itself to a broad and inspirational world of ideas and issues that touch upon the human condition. Here, art is the means through which important aspects of modern society are represented and made real, interactive and no longer ‘imaginary’ as so often they seem to be. When? Everybody come to the opening night on the 8th October. Where? Devonport Guildhall In a world where the reality of war seems distant and illusionary we become desensitized. The Imaginary Beings believe in using art as a means to support humanitarian projects. The money raised from the sale of the tickets, donations, and a small percentage of art sales, will be donated to the charity War Child. War Child is an international charity that protects children living in the world’s most dangerous war zones and they currently work in Iraq, Afghanistan, Uganda and D.R. Congo.

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New Spaces Introducing the Slaughterhouse and the new Plymouth Arts Centre.

Plymouth Arts Centre has re-opened its doors for art, film and food following a refurbishment.

Over the summer, Plymouth Arts Centre made some exciting changes to their Looe Street building. Following just eight weeks of refurbishment, the ground floor at 38 Looe Street has been made fully accessible, and the restaurant has been refurbished as part of a new partnership with restaurateur’s, arthouse, to offer a new and exciting food experience for Plymouth Arts Centre. arthouse bring a new look restaurant and ground floor café bar to the building. The refurbishment comes just in time for the opening of British Art Show 7, ‘In the Days of the Comet’, and includes level access to the building’s entrance and ground floor facilities, including the front gallery space and new café bar. There is also a new wheelchair lift to the cinema, creating a new and completely accessible ground floor venue. Interim Chief Executive Officer, Kate Sparshatt says: “We wanted to make our ground floor fully accessible. Artists and audiences love our building because it has character and history, so do we, but it can be quite restrictive. The limitations of this listed building meant that this has been a complicated process. We also wanted to reconsider the organisations model, and look at how we work as a sustainable business and social enterprise,

diversifying our income streams to create this new exciting café bar for Plymouth. The Arts Centre will continue to be a creative hub for contemporary art, and independent space for cinema. However, a lot of our commissions and curatorial projects will now take place off site from the building. The building also ‘did not always lend itself to contemporary art. We do a lot of socially engaged work outside, and we thought ‘why don’t we really take a leap with that and create the gallery space wherever it’s appropriate for our work?’ It could be a street, a shop, a school, a lamppost; we’ve had work at the Lido, and on flag poles, so we’re really just extending what we’ve already been doing.” The public programme of visual arts will now mostly take place off site, but the arts centre will retain gallery space at the front of the building, which provides a window into the programme. New Slaughterhouse With 39 artists exhibiting work for the British Art Show 7, a certain amount of space was needed to contain the show - the galleries in Plymouth didn’t have enough space so Urban Splash and Royal William Yard made the Slaughterhouse available for use. "It needed a lot of work" says Kate, "so we put an application in to the Arts Council and they funded us to make it into a

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temporary venue. Because they’d already invested in the British Art Show, they were already behind us - they could see the Slaughterhouse was a necessary part of it quite rightly". "We got funding, and engaged architects to work on the Slaughterhouse with us. We’ve managed it into a space. It’s very light touch work that’s been done but it’s enough to get the security up to scratch, cover insurance for the works etc." Plymouth Arts Centre are testing the ground on reusing spaces, and old buildings, rather than building from new. Both the new look Plymouth Arts Centre and the Slaughterhouse in Royal William Yard are the beginning of a new direction for the way contemporary art is experienced in the city.

NB For more information on Plymouth Arts Centre visit: plymouthartscentre.org.uk

The British Art Show What we are looking forward to seeing at The British Art Show.

Wolfgang Tilmans Who? Wolfgang Tillmans. The first photographer to win the Turner Prize, What? Freischwimmer 155, 2010 When? 17 September - 4 December Where? Peninsula Arts Gallery, Plymouth University Wolfgang Tillmans constantly challenges photographic conventions. His immense abstract Freischwimmer 155 is one of a series of ‘free swimmer’ photographs made without a camera, by subjecting photographic paper to various forms of light and exposure. Truth Study Center, created for BAS7, is a version of his tabletop installations featuring selections of newspaper and magazine cuttings, pamphlets and advertisements. Tillmans, who has kept scrapbooks of printed ephemera since childhood, collects material on all the subjects that currently concern him, and uses the tables of the ‘truth study center’ as a way of thinking about perception and truth.

Freischwimmer 155, 2010 Copyright the artist, Courtesy the artist and Maureen Paley, London

Duncan Campbell Who? Duncan Campbell. He makes films. What? Bernadette, 2008 When? 17 September - 4 December Where? The Slaughterhouse, Royal William Yard Duncan Campbell’s works combine traditionally different styles of filmmaking. Documentary portraits of complex historical figures, composed of archival footage and animation in cinéma vérité style, are integrated into more abstract scenes, influenced by avant-garde writers and artists. By combining them, Campbell intends to ‘allow this difference rather than homogenise it.’ Bernadette (2008) is Campbell’s study of the turbulent relationship between the Northern Irish political campaigner Bernadette Devlin and the media during the 1970s, disclosed through the contradictory press coverage of her as a martyr, victim, and troublemaker by broadcasters who championed and later targeted her.

Bernadette, (Film Still), 2008 Film Still Copyright the artist, courtesy Hotel Gallery, London

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Christian Marclay Who? Christian Marclay What? The Clock, 2010 When? 17 September - 4 December Special 24 hour screening 17-18 October Where? The Slaughterhouse, Royal William Yard Christian Marclay manipulates recorded sound and its associated imagery from his early work as a pioneering turntablist to assemblages of record covers and montages of clips from Hollywood movies. His new work, The Clock, for which he recieved a Golden Lion, features thousands of found film fragments of clocks, watches, and characters reacting to a particular time of day. These are edited together to create a 24 hour-long, singlechannel video that is synchronised with local time. As each new clip appears a new narrative is suggested, only to be swiftly overtaken by another. Watching the film, we inhabit two worlds; that of fiction and that of fact, as real-time seconds fly by. We were wowed by the sheer workmanship of this project. Apparently it took two years to edit the work together.

Spartacus Chetwynd Who? Spartacus Chetwynd What? The Folding House, 2010 When? 17 September - 4 December Where? Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery We like the idea of being able to dismantle and reassemble your home whenever you like and wherever you are. The Folding House is a large imposing structure of a house made from discarded domestic windowpanes and other discarded materials. The structure gestures towards sustainable â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;off-gridâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; living, and folds down neatly to allow easy transportation between exhibition venues and further unknown territories. The Folding House, 2010 Copyright the artist, Courtesy the artist and Sadie Coles

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George Shaw Who? George Shaw. What? The Blocked Drain, 2010 When? 17 September - 4 December Where? Plymouth Art Gallery

City

Museum

and

George Shaw’s paintings are explorations of memory and recreations of distant landscapes featuring the Coventry council estate, Tile Hill, where he lived as a child. He started to make these paintings out of a ‘kind of mourning’ for the person that he used to be, and says that these earlier works were ‘as much about what has been forgotten, lost, swept away, as about what is remembered.’ Working from photographs, and using Humbrol enamel paints, his detailed scenes eliminate people and signs of activity. In his new paintings for BAS7, he focuses on change: these works document once-familiar places that have been ravaged by time. The Blocked Drain, 2010 Copyright the artist, courtesy the artist and Wilkinson Gallery

Sarah Lucas Who? Sarah Lucas What? NUD CYCLADIC, 2010 When? 17 September - 4 December Where? Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery In her work, Sarah Lucas deals with the human body and the ways in which sexual identity become encoded in everyday objects. In her recent series, NUDS, pairs of nylon tights have been stuffed and fashioned into ambiguous biomorphic forms. The collective title evokes knots, nodes, nudes and the English slang for nakedness: being 'in the nud'. However bulging with connotations, these forms never quite settle on a fixed meaning. Although, to us they do quite clearly look like contorted naked bodies. Simple and effective

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Roger Hiorns Who? Roger Hiorns What? Untitled (2005-10) When? 17 September - 4 December Where? The Slaughterhouse, Royal William Yard Roger Hiorns investigates alchemical transformations of ideas, actions and materials. Organic matter and chemical compounds and processes – brains, fire, crystals, sperm and drugs – are introduced into manmade structures, among them buildings, engines and street furniture. His crystallisations of copper sulphate have produced encrustations of ultra-blue on car engines and, most spectacularly, invaded a council flat in South London. In Nottingham, Hiorns places a generic municipal bench in the gallery. At unspecified intervals, a flame will flare at one end of the bench, occasionally tended by a naked young man. Elsewhere in the gallery space, a thin slit in the wall becomes a receptacle for bovine brain matter.

Untitled, 2005 – 2010 Courtesy Corvi-Mora, London

Haroon Mirza Who? Haroon Mirza, What? Regaining a Degree of Control (2010) When? 17 September - 4 December Where? The William Yard

Slaughterhouse,

Royal

We were sold at the mention of Ian Curtis. Haroon Mirza’s complex audiovisual installations are assembled out of domestic furniture, electronic equipment and lights. Regaining a Degree of Control, a new work created for BAS7, uses previously unseen footage of Ian Curtis, frontman for the postpunk band Joy Division. Curtis’s song ‘She’s Lost Control’ concerns a girl with epilepsy, a condition that Curtis himself suffered from and to which the strobe light in Mirza’s installation refers. In this work, Mirza’s focus concerned with transforming noise into sound, and making hearing and listening as important and relevant as seeing and looking. His aim is to ‘explore visual and acoustic space as one sensorial mode of perception.’

Regaining a Degree of Control (2010) Courtesy the artist and Lisson Gallery, London Photo: Alexander Newton.

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Milena Dragicevic Who? Milena Dragicevic What? Supplicant Series. When? 17 September - 4 December Where? Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery In Milena Dragicevicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paintings, faces and objects mutate into masks or ambiguous sculptural forms that are often doubled, stretched or reversed. The Supplicant series, begun in 2006, mixes the visual languages of portraiture and abstraction to create something stranger, and perhaps ultimately unknowable. Dragicevic was born in former Yugoslavia and immigrated to western Canada in her youth. Among her multiple references, she often draws on north-west coast First Nations masks and totemic imagery, as in the pillar-box mouth in Supplicant 77. Supplicant 77, 2008 Copyright the artist. Courtesy Galerie Martin Janda, Vienna

Brian Griffiths Who? Brian Griffiths What? The Body and Ground, (Or Your Lovely Smile), 2010 When? 17 September - 4 December Where? Plymouth College of Art Gallery We went to a talk with Brian Griffiths earlier on in the year and he seems like a nice guy. For BAS7, Griffiths presents a giant bearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head stitched from sagging, half-defeated canvas. Supported by ropes it suggests a tent and a theatre backdrop, a place of refuge and a moment of illusion. Decorated with embroidered patches bearing the names of various international destinations, it seems to belong to an old-fashioned travelling fair or carnival, ready to be rolled up and shipped onwards as soon as it has worked its doubtful magic.

The Body and Ground, 2010 Courtesy the artist and Vilma Gold, London

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Meanwhile What can we do about redundant spaces in Plymouth?

The Palace Theatre and Dance Academy on Union Street is surely the most depressing case of urban decay in Plymouth. The building is in complete disrepair. It has stood empty, decrepit and disused for some time, and it shows. Walking past the building, I’m dismayed to see TREES growing out of the brickwork. To say that the theatre has seen better days would be an understatement. Seriously, what happened? The Palace Theatre originally opened as a music hall and variety theatre in 1898 but was damaged by fire only eight months later. It re-opened again in 1899 as The New Palace Theatre of Varieties, going on to become the centre of the city’s cultural life. The theatre brought music hall and variety acts from all over the world to Plymouth, including Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and Houdini, who performed his escape act, ‘The Handcuff King’, to huge crowds outside the theatre in 1909. In 1961, the theatre was converted to a bingo hall with the intention of hosting Bingo, with a side dish of striptease and wrestling, which was very popular at the time. This continued until 1983, when it became ‘The Academy’, a dance club lauded at the time as one of the best in the country. However, in May 2006 a police operation showed that class A drugs were being used and dealt there, and the Dance Academy was closed. The Palace Theatre’s current dishevelled appearance hides its glorious history, but it also serves as a reminder of its former greatness. Various groups have campaigned for the Palace Theatre to be restored to some semblance of its former glory but so far these efforts have been fruitless. Local MPs have campaigned for the property to be sold. 1384 people on the facebook group, ‘Save the Dance Academy’ have campaigned for the theatre to be reopened as a club. An online community action group called ‘Friends of the New Palace Theatre’ have declared designs to restore and re-open the theatre as a ‘multi-purpose community venue’. And another group are working with the Millfields Trust; set up to help local people contribute to the regeneration of Stonehouse.

Meanwhile ‘It’s complicated’, says Hannah Sloggett, chair of Stonehouse Action, a community group of residents from across the Stonehouse neighbourhood. ‘There’s a lot of goodwill around the theatre but harnessing it is an issue’. The theatre is privately owned, and for whatever reason, the current owner is not in a position to sell or maintain the building. Even if it came into public ownership, the costs of restoring the theatre are reported to be so high, it’s practically not viable, economically. ‘There’s also the issue of having someone or some people with the energy and the drive to do it’ adds Hannah. So taking all of this into consideration, what can be done?

‘Maybe a more creative approach would be more fruitful. There has been a lot of talking, and trying to go through formal processes’ ‘Meanwhile use’, Hannah tells me, is planning speak for the temporary use of vacant buildings. The most obvious examples being pop up shops and gallery spaces, like the new Slaughterhouse gallery in Royal William Yard. ‘Meanwhile use’ also refers to temporary office spaces, workshops, or advertising and promotional events, like the ‘Stonehouse Action Union Street Street Party’, which Hannah is organising.

Stonehouse Action On the 25th September, Stonehouse Action’s street party will temporarily occupy Union Street in celebration of the Palace Theatre, and the positive things happening in Stonehouse. ‘It’s very much a community event’ says Hannah, but as an official British Art Show Fringe venue, hundreds, possibly thousands, are expected to turn up on the day, which will be a great profile boost for area. Expect to see lots of acts inspired by the palace theatre, inluding pole and burlsque dancing. Graphic design company, Studio 51, have also designed a series of promotional materials using typography taken from original palace theatre posters. ‘The posters act as a visual reminder that people still care about the area’ Hannah explains.‘We’re going to put banners up on the lamp posts too and get permission from landlords with empty properties to put up more posters in empty shop windows’. Hannah is a true inspiration when it comes to ‘doing it yourself’. I’m amazed and impressed at how seamlessly she has put this event together. She will probably blush when she reads this, but it’s true. I don’t think anybody is expecting one person to single-handedly save the Palace Theatre from its imminent fate, but I reckon she could. She clearly has the drive and the energy we were talking about earlier. ‘What I’ve learned from this project, is how much capacity a community can have to make something happen on its own, from nothing. If you just start something it snowballs and people want to be a part of it suddenly. What is essential is the energy to start it. Once you have a tangible idea, people will support you and things will grow and grow. The street party has been a much bigger success than we ever thought it would be’.

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somewhereto_ With this in mind, I would like to introduce you all to a great project which Nom de Strip have been asked to get involved with. Inspired by the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games, somewhereto_ is a nationwide project to help young people find the space they need to do the things they love, within sport, culture and the arts. Delivered by youth communications agency Livity in partnership with Channel 4 Education, somewhereto_ is a key project of the Cultural Olympiad, funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. somewhereto_ works with 16-25 year olds to secure access to spaces they need but don’t have. In most instances this will be a physical space – a music hall, piece of land, darkroom, recording studio etc. But it could also be a less tangible space like magazine column inches, or even screen time in a cinema. somewhereto_ regional coordinators will act as the link between young people and space-holders, people who have access to or influence over how a space is used. If you want or have space, go and check the somewhereto_ website. Hopefully the project will help lots of people in Plymouth, and elsewhere, find the space to do the things they love. And hopefully, someone, somewhere will do something with the Palace Theatre before it’s too late. In the meantime, there are lots of other empty beautiful spaces in Plymouth. Make use of them.

NB For more information on somewhereto_ visit: somewhereto.com For more information on Stonehouse Action and the Union Street party visit: stonehouseaction.btck.co.uk/

m a j x O Plymouth

Oxjam Plymouth Takeover

22nd October 2011

Local Music, Global Impact

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FRESH MEAT New faces. New projects. New ideas.

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James Eden From the 17th - 23rd September, James Eden will be presenting a small exhibition of his work in the residency studio at Plymouth Arts Centre. The exhibition explores his sculptural and drawing work as well as the fruits of his residency with Plymouth Arts Centre. The residency was part of a collaboration with the Faculty of Arts, University of Plymouth, supporting professional development and mentoring to a graduate of Fine Art. The installation is a new film and series of drawings which consider material and process. During the residency James was nominated for the Jerwood Drawing Prize, 2010. Man’s got talent. We met up with him to find out more about his work. NDS : Hi James. Tell me about the artists residency you just completed? JE : The residency I have just finished at Plymouth Arts Centre has been an exciting experience. A great opportunity to explore my practice in a discursive and engaging environment and the input I had from Paula Orrell, the Curator at Plymouth Arts Centre, has been invaluable. It’s a challenge to keep momentum after graduating and I was very glad to have the Arts Centre to keep me going. I was involved in some great workshops and an open-discussion run by artist Barry Sykes and myself. NDS : That’s great and you now have an exhibition at Plymouth Arts Centre? What kind of work will you be showing?

JE : I’m quite excited about what I will be showing at the Plymouth Arts Centre Studio, it’s different to work I have made before in its approach to materials and its form. During the residency I experimented with making sculptures out of things I found in the studio that had a kinetic feel or action. By leaving the studio and finding other ‘kinetic’ materials like water I have evolved those ‘sketches’ and created a moving image based sculpture. I feel like the work is very sculptural but it is also video, I’m interested in the relationship between different mediums like drawing and video, or video and sculpture. There is also something incredibly fluid about both the drawing and sculptural work I am displaying. I hope people will approach the work with an open mind and enjoy the experience. NDS : You recently moved to London? How is that going? What are you doing now? JE : Yes, I have moved to London but creatively I am still focusing on Plymouth in the lead up to the British Art Show. Looking forward, I am hoping to explore a range of new collaborations with contacts in different areas whilst also looking for work to pay the bills. Although Art is a primary concern, it’s important to remember that a lot of artists still have to fund themselves via other means. London presents an exciting and very different opportunity that I am beginning to settle into but I will still remain in contact with the University and the Arts Centre. I am also very keen to follow Plymouth’s progress following British Art Show 7.

Broken Boat Broken Boat are a fresh and uniquely talented indie folk band emerging onto the Plymouth music scene. The band consists of Dan Bahrami and Brendon Kearney; an architecture student and an illustration student who met in their first year at Plymouth University. The musical synergy that is so evident between the pair now took a few years to form, they have only been playing their current anthology of songs for the past year. With shared influences that include Bob Dylan, Conor Oberst, the Felice Brothers and Modest Mouse, you can start to piece together a preconception of their characteristic sound. I have been lucky to see Broken Boat play a number of times; in large popular venues and also in small and intimate settings. I have even observed them in the recording studio. For me, the essential aspect of their music which makes them stand out is the juxtaposition of simple but memorable melodies with stirring and heartfelt lyrics. I asked Dan Bahrami, the main lyricist, what inspires him: “Mostly, I shy away from using anything that isn’t a personal experience in my lyrics. That is not to say that I haven’t used poetic licence or metaphor. I find that when you talk about real life you

escape formulaic lyrics and are able to write more emotive and individual songs”. “Emotive” and “individual” are certainly two words that define their music.

Despite their obvious talent, they have been surprised by the positive and enthusiastic reactions received from their audiences in Plymouth. However, like many of us, they recognise the need for change in Plymouth’s cultural climate, feeling that their style doesn’t necessarily go hand in hand with the pub drinking culture that is so ingrained in the city’s music scene.

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They rightly observed the difficulties faced by many “small bands who don’t play party music”, and would rather refer to their style as “sit down and listen music”. Nevertheless, they think Plymouth is an exciting place to be, and are planning to stay here and join the everexpanding creative hub, pointing out that “there are too many great artists and musicians here for nothing to happen”. The band has some interesting developments planned over the course of the next few months. They are in the process of completing their EP; most information, including the date of release, is under wraps, but they can reveal that they are hoping to produce a debut that is “professional in quality, but with homeliness and warmth”. They are also looking for a possible new addition to the band to improve their live performance, and will be playing Oxjam festival later on this year. I strongly recommend going to watch them.

Jay Bing

Jay Bing is a Photography student at Plymouth College of Art. We have worked with him on a number of projects and really like the inquisitive attitude he has for his work. We met up with him to talk about what he’s up to. NDS : So what do you like about photography, Jay? JB: It’s not really photography that I’m particularly interested in. I like using a camera to convey different things. At the moment I like to convey humour through my pictures; I like tongue in cheek images. The photographer Jerry Hsu, just did a series of photographs called ‘Table for One’, where he takes pictures of people eating alone on his iPhone. It’s part piss-take, part tongue-in-cheek. NDS : And how did you get into it? JB: I started out wanting to document things that were going on around me. At 16, I skated a lot and started hanging around with other skaters. Fun things used to happen when we were out and I wanted to capture them, so I started taking a camera out with me. I started going to gigs with the same group of friends and continued to take out my camera, just documenting funny things that were happening around me. I think that still shows through in some of my work - I like to document accidental happenings. NDS : Tell us about your favourite photographer? JB: At the moment I’m digging Grant Willing’s work, particularly his series Svart Metall, which is an investigation into the themes of Norwegian Black metal music. He’s not just a photographer, he’s an all round artist. The Svart Metall series is really good because

there isn’t anything obvious about the music in it. Willing's covers things like ancient pagan rituals with these odd, dead pan, black and white images that are quite mundane but also thought provoking. His images evoke questions and make you wonder what he’s trying to say. I don’t like work that’s too straightforward, I like it when things are left open for the viewer to interpret. NDS : And what’s your favourite camera? JB : It would probably be the Olympus mju ii. The lens is sick, considering how cheap the camera is. Unfortunately, I recently broke mine on a log flume in France.

as curator, which I have become interested in through editing and curating my own work. I’m a big fan of art books, and one thing I always think about when I look at them is how and why each image in the series has been selected; I’m into art theory that way. I was also part of an exhibition, called Eleven, at Plymouth Arts Centre recently. We had a week long show of work created with reference to the themes of British Art Show 7. I curated a zine called 11:1, using images submitted from photographers all over the world that conveyed the theme of ‘time spent having fun’. That was a really cool project.

NDS : Are you currently involved in any projects, selfinitiated or otherwise? JB : I’m focusing on University at the moment. Although, I do have a couple of personal projects underway; one is called Shitmas which should be finished early next year. NDS : Nice pun? What’s Shitmas all about? JB : My friend moved into a new flat last year, around Christmas. She made a very half-arsed, wasted effort to put decorations up. It just reminded me of how shit Christmas gets as you get older. NDS : What are your plans for the future? JB : I’m planning to continue my practice as a photographer. I also want to investigate the idea of artist

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NB If you would like to find out more about Jay Bing and his photography visit: flickr.com/people/gohomegoon/ Photography by FOTO+

Ben Osborn

Ben Osborn is the brains behind a new Plymouthbased musical initiative called Milieu. His plan is to establish a unique series of performances utilising Plymouth’s more obscure and unconventional spaces. The crux of the idea is that musicians will play intimate sets in these locations, creating rare moments shared by all those who attend. Nom de Strip caught up with him to find out more. NDS : Hi Ben. You’re not originally from Plymouth. What were your initial impressions of the city when you arrived and has your perception changed after living here for three years? BO : My initial impressions of the city were through the eyes of a student. I liked the bar culture in Plymouth and thought that there seemed to be quite a lot going on. I’d also never lived by the sea before and thought it was nice being so close. The seagulls in the morning can get pretty annoying though! NDS : That’s probably the only downside of living by the sea. So, why did you start this project? Do you think there is a need for new venues in Plymouth? What’s missing from the venues that are already here? BO : No, I think the venues in Plymouth are good, some of them are pretty sizeable and they seem to attract a big crowd. What I do feel, though, is that a very large proportion of the nights and events seem to be aimed at your stereotypical student, with drinks deals drawing them in, not the music that’s being played. Saying that, there are a few niche nights going on. NDS : Would you describe your own music taste as being niche? And what would you like to see more of? BO : Yes, I guess you could describe some of it as niche, although I don’t really like to pigeonhole my own music taste as such. I generally just appreciate good song writing and a good sound. At the moment I’m really into stuff by Colin Stetson, Julianna Barwick and Ben Frost,

but I could list names at you all day. I like to keep an open mind. NDS : So what else, apart from your appreciation of good music, has motivated and inspired you to start Milieu? BO : For a while now I’ve fancied having a pop at putting something on, it’s just been a matter of actually doing it. Over the past year I’ve been doing a radio show for eatmusic.co.uk. Presenting the show and finding out that people liked the fairly underground music I was playing was a confidence boost; it made me think more about giving the variety of music I play on my show a stage. The idea for putting on small, intimate shows was inspired by La Blogotheque’s, ‘Soirees de poche’. La Blogotheque organise these “pocket parties’’ where big bands play to small crowds, of like 30 people or so. I liked the intimacy and the one-off connection between the audience and the artist, which you don’t experience at larger gigs. It’s how music should be played, it feels like something shared between friends. I thought it would be really nice to use some of Plymouth’s quirkier places to recreate that experience. NDS : Have you noticed an abundance of quirky but unappreciated locations in Plymouth which you think hold potential? BO : Yeah, there are tons. They’re kind of obvious really, you just have to think a bit unconventionally to find them. World War Two definitely had a big influence in shaping Plymouth; lots of buildings were erected but are now redundant. I think it would be cool to be granted access to a few of these places for performances. At the moment though I’m keeping my ambitions for venues a bit more realistic. I’m curating a secret gig for the Oxjam Takeover in October, and we’re using a special venue on the Barbican. But for the moment the location will remain a secret!

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NDS : Exciting! Do you have a target audience in mind for Milieu? BO : Not entirely. It’s for anyone of any age; it’s not about how trendy you are, I just want to appeal to likeminded people who care about the music that’s being played. NDS : Are you planning on having local bands play at your events? BO : Of course, but I’d also like to bring some artists into Plymouth who would otherwise not get booked by venues or promoters. NDS : Well, you seem to have covered all the bases, and it will definitely be a positive addition to Plymouth’s music scene. We’re really excited. BO : Yeah, I’m optimistic about Milieu, and if it all goes to plan I’d like to get going with a few other ideas I have as well. Nom de Strip will be following Milieu’s progress as Ben gets the ball rolling.

NB Contact Ben about the project via email: milieu-plymouth@hotmail.co.uk. You can also keep up to date with his progress and forthcoming events at facebook.com/milieuplymouth Interview by Emma Weatherhead Photography by Josh Greet

Knee Deep Festival

We first came across Dominic Pitt, Fred Stuart, Martin Jenkins, James Day-Cocking and Scot Smith a few months ago, when they sent us a really nice email in praise of our introduction issue. Flattery gets you everywhere, so we instantly took a liking to them, but what we like most about these guys is their fearless DIY mentality. Dom, Fred, Martin, James and Scot are the faces behind Knee Deep Festival, an intimate relaxed two-day festival in Saltash, Cornwall. Not only is the festival ridiculously well priced, it also showcases the best local and national emerging talent. Sadly, we didn’t get to go this year, so we caught up with Dom and Fred from the crew to see how it went.

NDS : Hi guys how was this year’s festival? Really good, thanks. This was our second year, the first festival we did in 2010 was much smaller, with mostly local bands. This year, we moved to a bigger site, and put on a bigger festival with more bands and more people. We think it went well. We lost a little bit of money, mainly because we spent more on our lineup, security and things that you don’t really think about like waste disposal. But we made money last year, and we make money from doing gigs with our band, so we’ve more or less broken even. NDS : How did you guys get together, and what led you to start up your own festival? KD : We’re all from small little villages in Cornwall. We met and became friends through school and the local music scene. We started a band together and started doing gigs around our area. However, we felt there was a definite drought of good local venues for up and coming artists to play in. So we started putting on our own band nights, which we did for two or three years. At our first band night, there were only eleven people there, who were all friends and family. The nights grew bigger and better and we soon reached a point where we wanted to progress things to the next level. That’s how Knee Deep started: it’s a platform in Cornwall for new and exciting music that we like.

NDS: So how easy is it to run your own festival? KD : It’s not. It can get stressful but we’re all such good friends that it hardly feels like work. We are all away at our respective universities for most of the year so we plan and keep in touch over email or the phone. It’s nice to have this thing to do together. It has also been great for making contacts in the music industry. It’s hard to predict the future but we hope to keep doing this and eventually turn it into a career when we finish university. NDS : You’re currently at Bestival. Which other festivals have you been to this year? Do you take inspiration from them? KD : We go to Glastonbury every year but we really enjoy the smaller festivals. 2000 trees and In the Woods are two great intimate festivals we have been to this year. There were less than 500 people at In the Woods, it was great - they keep the location completely secret until the day of the festival. It had such a nice atmosphere, which larger venues don’t always have. We waited for ages to get into Bestival yesterday, the queues were ridiculous. We’ve also been to Reading and Leeds for quite a few years, they always have great bands there but it doesn’t have the same spirit as the smaller festivals. Glastonbury is special in that it’s so large but doesn’t lose that special atmosphere.

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NDS : What advice would you give to anyone who wanted to follow in your footsteps? KD : We would advise them not to be too ambitious with their first festival. There’s definitely a learning curve to it. It’s easy to get carried away, book loads of bands and lose loads of money. We started small and we’re growing slowly. NDS : What are your plans for next year? KD : It takes a year to plan and put on the festival so we’ve started thinking about next year already. We have a couple of bands in mind for our line up. We may move site. We’ve been inspired by In The Woods festival and really want to find the perfect location for next year my parents have a little bit of land and so does Scot’s, so we may consider those. We might do our own set next year too.

NB For more information on Knee Deep Festival visit: kneedeepfestival.co.uk.

Bristol Diving School: Mandelbox BRISTOL DIVING SCHOOL is an independent art space founded in 2009 by University of the West of England graduates. Coming into its third year, it is also in its third generation of directorship. Bristol Diving School is now run by a group of 2011 graduates from across the South West and Wales. The site is, located in the harbour-side of the city, neighbouring Spike Island, and acts as both an artist led gallery and studio space. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a platform for collaboration and cultivating networks within the Bristol art scene and beyond. BRISTOL DIVING SCHOOL is an anonymous collective pseudonym; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a collaborative affair, eradicating any independent authorship to the work other than the umbrella of BDS. The team have just returned from Linz, Austria where they took part in an exhibition formed of two gallery spaces, called Mandelbox.

Mandelbox presents the second part of an international exchange, initiated between Linz-based artists and BRISTOL DIVING SCHOOL The project elaborates on the ideas explored within a former BDS project, 'Das hab' ich so nie gesagt - I never said it like that ' (Bristol, May 2011), concentrating on the evolution of an idea, and the complexity of its progression through shifting physical and virtual bodies. The mandelbox is a self-contained map, governed by a repeated formula that is continuously transforming and generating an infinitely complex system. The mandelbox emerges as a response to the way in which scientific and mathematical discoveries are represented. The Atari logo was realised as a large sculpture at the show, acting as an anchor in one of the two spaces. BDS also tested laser cut motifs to adorn the object as a reference of the constructions of a mandelbox. Accompanying this piece in the other space was a large video installation which showed the erasing of digital information, and a large hanging with another motif taken from the designs of the Kuba Komet radio.

NB For more information about Bristol Diving School, please visit: new.bristoldivingschool.net

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Nom de Strip is for everyone with an interest in developing Plymouth's cultural landscape. We want to meet and work with people who do fun, great and interesting things in the city. If this is you say... hello@nomdestrip.co.uk