S u r f a c e Te n s i o n 10 January - 28 February 2017 5 International artists
Sonya Lee, Spain M a r y Wa l t h a m , U S A EK Gerdin-Miosga, UK F a t i m a Ta y o b , S o u t h A f r i c a K r i s t a n S p e n c e r, U K w w w. s ur facetens i on. w i x s i te. com
S u r f a c e Te ns i o n is a n o n l i n e e x h i b i t i o n of t h e n e w w o r k o f f i v e i nt e rn a t i o n a l v is u a l a r t is ts . In res ponding t o t he t heme of Surf ac e Te n s i o n w e u s e a b r o a d r a n g e o f m e d i a w i t h c r e a t iv e in t e r p r e t a t i o ns g r o u n d e d i n d e e p awarenes s of our div ers e cultural i n f l u e n c es . As a g r o u p w e a r e q u i t e s e p a r a t e g e o g r a p h i c a l l y, l i v i n g i n f o u r c o u nt r i e s a n d on three c on t i n e nt s . Su r f a c e Te ns i o n prov ides a meet ing plac e f or our s hared c o n c e rn s o n t h e i m p a c t o f g l o b a l i z a t i o n . Š 2 0 1 7 a l l a rt w o rk G l o b a l A rt P e rs p e c t i v e s , S u rf a c e Te n s i o n ,
Sur f a ce T e nsio n
Sonya Lee
Beneat h t he Surf ace
I sh oot ph otograph s from u n dern eath th e water to sh ow scen es th at smal l u n derwater an imal s may obse rve. I w ish to sh ow l ife from a differen t perspective , bel ow th e su rface, an d h ow th e f o r m s , c o l o u r, d e p t h a n d m o v e m e n t , m a y t r a n s m i t f e e l i n g s a n d emotion s. M y in ten tion is to draw in an d in trigu e th e au dien ce to s e e m o r e c l o s e l y t h e e n v i r o n m e n t u n d e r w a t e r. T r a n s f e r r i n g t h e s e fin din gs to an in stal l ation piece, ‘Su rface Sh adows’, con sistin g of sh adows proj ected on to a wal l , I ven tu re to p rodu ce feel in gs an d emotion s of seren ity an d tran qu il ity so th e viewe r can feel in h armon y with th e n atu ral worl d. I n 'Su rface Sh adows', 'Look in g u p' an d 'Dan cin g M ol ecu l es' I aspire to con vey th e beau ty of n atu re so th at th e viewe r can feel in h armon y with th e n atu ral wo rl d. I n con trast, 'En ergy R ippl es' su ggests th e ten sion s an d poten tial risks to th e en viron men t, emph asizin g th e impo rtan ce of ou r rol e in ca rin g for ou r wo rl d, a n d h o p e f ul l y f o r j u st a m o m e nt t o re l a x an d re l i e v e t h e t e ns i o n w e e n c o u n t e r d a i l y.
Sur f a ce T e nsio n
Sonya L ee Dancing M ol ecul es (2016) Triptych of photographs: each 50 x 60 cm ( 19.6 x 23.6 in)
Sonya L ee L ooking up (2016) Diptych of photographs: each 60 x 50 cm (23.6 x 19.6 in)
Sonya L ee E nergy Rippl es (2016) Triptych of photographs: each 50 x 50 cm (19.6 x 19.6 in)
Sonya L ee Surface Shadows (2016) I nstal l ation, gl ass 40 x 60cm (15.7 x23.6 in); proj ection 200 x 150 cm (78.7 x 59 in)
Mary Waltham The logos of services are pain tin gs an d on th e su rface
Global Mat t ers
l ead in g gl obal prov ide rs of con su mer goo ds an d metaph ors for gl obal ization . I u se th em h ere in video as pervasive recogn izabl e v isu al cl u es fl oatin g or embedded with in ou r cu l tu re.
Pain tin gs on circu l ar can vases remin d u s of th e gl obe we l ive on . Th ey in vite th e v iewer to l ook more cl osel y at ever y da y images an d re c o g n iz e t h a t gl o ba l bra n ds a re f re qu e n t l y s u btl y in t e g ra t e d w it h in t h e m . Wh y d o e s t h i s m a t t e r? T h e g l o b a l i z a t i o n w e o f t en e x p e ri e n c e produ ces in creasin g ten sion between th e protected righ ts of l arge mu l ti-n ation al s at th e expen se of l ocal popu l ation s an d cu l tu res. C o h e s io n , t h e t it l e a n d su bj e c t o f m y v ide o e x pl o re s th e f o rc e it describes . Coh esion makes th in gs stick togeth er su ch as gl obal bran ds, refu gees fl eein g th eir h omes, wate r on a qu iet stream. I feel t h e s t e e p c o n t ra s t be t w e e n th e f in a n c ia l re s o u rc e s o f pro du c e rs o f c o n s u m e r p ro d u c t s a n d t h e g l o b a l h u m an i t a ri a n g ro u p M e d i c i n s s a n s F ron tieres (Doctors W ith ou t B orders) h igh l igh ts th e deep en du rin g ten sion in ou r cu l tu re between wh at we wan t an d wh at we n eed.
Sur f a ce T e nsio n
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M ary Wal tham C ohesion 2017 V ideo; duration 2.40 m inutes
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M ary Wal tham E arthrise 2017 Acryl ic on canvas; diam eter 40.64cm (16 in)
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M ary Wal tham E ndl ess horizons 2017 Acryl ic on canvas; diam eter 40.64cm (16 in)
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M ary Wal tham Abundant harvest 2017 Acryl ic on canvas: diam eter 40.64cm (16 in)
E K G e rd i n - M i o s g a
Ghost s of Hospit alit y
I wan ted to target th e h ospital ity in du stry as I h ave worked in th e in du stry for a n u mber of yea rs an d h ave exper ien ced f irst-h an d t h e t e ns i o n t h at i s e v i d e n t d u e t o th e l a c k o f re s p e c t f o r h o s p i t a l i t y w o rk e rs . M y w o r k f o r S u rf a c e Te n s i o n p ro v o k e s a wa re n e s s o f h o w po o rl y t re a t e d t h e wo rke rs in t h e in du st ry a re , righ t u n der ou r n oses. Expl oitative wo rk pract ices in cl u de th e con of ser vice ch ar ges, l on g workin g h ou rs sometimes u p to 90 h ou rs a week, th e l ack of respect from cu stomers an d sometimes be in g pa id l owe r th en min imu m wage (th ese are j u st a few exampl es). Usin g bl ack an d wh ite ph otograph y my images portra y h ospital ity workers at th eir j obs. B y bl u rrin g ou t faces, I created a gh ostl y f e e l t o t h e p h o t o g ra p h s . Th e w o rk e rs a s f o rg o t t e n g h o s t s p e rh a p s . I in terviewed th e workers an d th e real experien ces th ey tol d me abou t are in corporated in my ph otograph s, as if on a waiters pad.
Sur f a ce T e nsio n
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E K Gerdin-M iosga Ghosts of Hospital ity (2016) Photography: 29.7 x 42 cm (11.7 x 16.5 in)
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E K Gerdin-M iosga Ghosts of Hospital ity-2 (2016) Photography: 29.7 x 42 cm (11.7 x 16.5 in)
Fa t i m a Ta y o b
Ident it y Facet s
I am a mu l ti d iscipl in ar y a rtist work in g ma in l y in pain tin g, drawin g, v ideo an d di gital art. M y wo rk expl ores th e bou n daries between abstraction an d real ism, in vestigat in g wh ere on e en ds an d th e oth er begin s. Th e n atu re of my work evol ves with each th eme, a n d t h i s s e t s t h e t on e f o r t h e re l a t i o ns h i p b e t w e e n a b s t ra c t i o n a n d real ism. M y w o rk re s po n ds t o t h e m e s re l a t e d t o pe rs o n a l v e rs us c u l tu ra l iden tity an d h ow it reacts to a gl obal ized en viron men t. Th u s, commu n icatin g th e idea of fin din g m y pl ace in th e wo rl d an d u n derstan din g th e man y facets th at make u p in div idu al i den tities. I h a v e u s e d a r c h i v e f a m i l y p h o t o s a n d h an d i m a g e r y, r e p r e s e n t i n g my cu l tu ral tradition of h en n a appl ication , to in vestigate my pe rs o n a l c ro s s - c u l tu ra l ide n t it y a n d t h e j o u rn e y th a t l e a ds t o t h is i d e n t i t y. A s a r e s u l t m y w o r k i s p r e d o m i n a n t l y d i g i t a l , w h e r e mean in g is created th rou gh th e j u xtaposition of con trastin g images an d symbol s rel ated to past even ts an d geograph ical l ocation s.
Sur f a ce T e nsio n
Fatim a Tayob The Root of the Journey (2016) Digital C ol l age: 54 x 32 cm (21.3 x 12.6 in)
Fatim a Tayob Buil ding M em ories (2016) Digital C ol l age: 42 x 38 cm (16.5 x 15 in)
Fatim a Tayob C rossing C ul tures (2016) Digital C ol l age: 45 x 27 cm (17.7 x 10.6 in)
Fatim a Tayob Journey Between Past and Present (2016) Digital C ol l age: 119 x 86 cm (46.8 x 33.8 in)
Kristan Spencer On t he Surf ace P h o t o g r a p h i c i m a g e s u n d e r p i n m u c h o f p e o p l e ’s i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h t h e w i d e r w o r l d . D a i l y w e a r e b e s i e g e d b y a n e v e r- e n d i n g , n e v e rrepeatin g sequ en ce of image ry in advert isin g, art, p ropagan da, tel evision , an d social med ia. I t is th is bar rage th at in forms ou r r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e g l o b a l c o m m u n i t y. I ’m in terested in h ow we gath er images th rou gh ou t ou r l ives – in t h e f o rm o f s n a p sh o t s , s e l f ie s , f a m il y a l b u ms , c o l l e c t e d m a t e ria l , an d h ow th e mean in g of th ese images evolves an d ch an ges over time. W h at is ou r rel ation sh ip to images of ou rsel ves from th e past an d h ow do we respon d to p ictu res of peo pl e, pl aces an d th in gs th at we wil l n ever experien ce in person ? T h o u g h p r i m a r i l y a p a i n t e r, f o r t h i s e x h i b i t i o n I h a v e t u r n e d t o ph otograph y an d en cau stic col l age to express th e ten sion between p a s t & p r e s e n t , h o m e & a w a y, a n d i d e n t i t y & c h a n g e . T h e r e s u l t i n g works in vestigate a mu l tipl ic ity of possibl e percept ion s an d th e fl eetin g n atu re of time.
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Kristan Spencer Where do you see? (2016) C ol l age: paper, photo, pen on paper:22.8 x 30.5 cm (9 x 12 in)
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Kristan Spencer Do you see m e? (2016) C ol l age: paper, photo, acryl ic paint, on paper:38.1 x 34.3 cm (15 x 13.5 in)
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Kristan Spencer Fl oating away 1 (2016) M ixed m edia col l age: paper, fil m , photos, l eaves, feathers with encaustic wax on board 30.5 x 30.5 cm (12 x 12 in)
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Kristan Spencer I t’s a Journey (2016) C ol l age: paper, photo, acryl ic paint on paper: 29.2 x 38.1 cm (11.5 x 15 in)
Acknowledgment s
E x hi b i t i o n w e b s i t e : Fa t i m a Ta y o b C atalogue: Sonya L ee Mar keting and pr omotion: E -K Ger din-Miosga, K r istan Spencer and Mar y Waltham Te x t f o r c a t a l o g ue a nd e x hi b i t i o n, a nd s o und t r a c k : M a r y W a l t ha m
Sur f a ce T e nsio n
S u r f a c e Te n s i o n Thank you
w w w. s u r f a c e t e n s i o n . w i x s i t e . c o m