This is how too,
When the time is right,
The Hands gather together,
To GO again.
I see that,
From your perspective,
The lines fall into focus,
As though directed from above.
The life of the models,
Informs the Fourth World,
Their flickering motion,
Stirs the Soup.
This is a spoiler: For one day only, within Reactor’s current exhibition Here, the Gold Ones flatter, a choreographed performance brings the models to life. Helping Hands slip easily into particular models as though they were made to fit. The path of the models is straight and runs right round. Over-cycles the hoop turns and reality dissolves, Hands become those from the past and youse can watch from within the corral.
Special thanks to Ellen Angus, Rebecca Beinart, Pádraig Condron , Beth Kettel, Nastassja Simensky, Reece Straw and Aisling Ward for performing in The life of the models.
A joint exhibition by photographer Chris Barrett and researcher Gianluca Spezza
Under Kim Jong Un’s leadership, North Korea has made a conscious decision to be more proactive in the media world. In 2013 we saw the very first live tweeted image of the North Korean leader, from mainstream Western media.
Icons of Rhetoric (IoR) offered a different approach to documenting North Korea, merging established news media practices with more contemporary ones, drawing particular attention to social media.
“While researching an article about an Instagram account claiming to be the official outlet of North Korean news, I started to think about the visual representation of North Korea.
Chris Barrett, photographer and curator
The idea of the project became a reflection on our engagement with modern media techniques, our consumption of images and our knowledge of this ‘most closed off country in the world’ that is the DPRK, all this interwoven with the notion of democratized propaganda.”
By reinterpreting images that already exist in the public domain, Icons of Rhetoric played on an aesthetic of authenticity.
Read more about the Icons of Rhetoric research project.
Follow #IconsofRhetoric on social media:
@IconsofRhetoric
@KazakhPilot (Gianluca Spezza)
facebook.com/IconsOfRhetoric
instagram.com/iconsofrhetoric
The title Soft Painting aims to draw our attention to the actual physical qualities of a painting rather than acting as an introduction to an image or to suggest a narrative. Simon Callery creates paintings that communicate on a physical level. A painting can be soft or hard as much as it can be red or green.
From Monday 13 – Wednesday 29 April Simon worked in the gallery space with a selected group of Nottingham Trent BA (Hons) Fine Art students and Nottingham-based artists, to produce three large-scale works. Rolls of canvas were washed and prepared for saturation in pigmented distempers – a process where the industrial starch is removed from the canvas and the dense and highly coloured medium is washed into the softened fabric at high temperature. These worked canvasses were then hung off frames to dry before being cut up, sorted and sewn into the formal configurations of soft paintings.
From Thursday 30 April – Friday 15 May the Gallery took the form of a contemporary gallery space, where the outcomes of the making process were realised in a final staged exhibition.
We caught up with Simon at his London-based studio for a behind the scenes look at his collection and to view his work in progress:
For the duration of this exhibition the Gallery became a space for learning where the connections between the making, installing and exhibition of artwork were exposed. The public were invited to witness and engage with the entire process.
Participants shared their images on Instagram using the hashtag #SoftPainting, you can read more about how the project evolved on our Latest News page.
#MADEINWOOD
Made in Wood was a collaborative exhibition and research event between staff and Architecture students from Nottingham Trent University and Bergen Academy of Art and Design, Norway (KHiB).
The exhibition formed out of discussions with KHiB in relation to the annual Bergen International Wood Festival.
Taking inspiration from Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, the students addressed how global cities seem to challenge the laws of gravity, with soaring skyscrapers that compete to reach imposing heights.
Watch the video above to see the city of wood take form in the Gallery.
The Gallery was split into three distinctive districts overlooked by a bridge; each district depicted a different interpretation of a city scape.
Built to overlook the city, the bridge provided a focal point from all areas. An atmosphere of power and superiority was portrayed, contrasting with the ghetto below.
Situated to the left of the bridge, this district represented the need for housing in built-up areas; how nationalities come together to build communities out of whatever can be found. A tight, enclosed atmosphere was created by the narrow spaces and multiple routes through the district.
As you looked to the right of the bridge this area was built to represent the historical industrial background of both Nottingham and Bergen and many cities around the world. It portrayed a ‘gritty’ atmosphere that was present before modern technology took over.
Placed at the rear of the Gallery, this district represented the growth of the modern city and how lighting from it can impact on surrounding areas. It drew particular attention to how imposing modern structures can be. The lighting creates a spiritual atmosphere and futuristic feel, acting as a beacon for all in the city.
Download a copy of the Made in Wood student brief
The wood used in this exhibition was kindly donated by John A. Stephens of Lady Bay, Nottingham.
For the duration of the Made in Wood exhibition we handed over our Instagram account to the students from Bergen and NTU, for them to create a visual diary of their experience. Check out their story on the Bonington Gallery Instagram feed.
Click here to download the exhibition handout
Returns formed part of an on-going collaboration between Nottingham Trent University and Sheffield Hallam University (SHU). Established in 2012, it developed out of an International Research Project titled Topographies of the Obsolete, set up by Bergen Academy of Art and Design, Norway; and focused on the disused ceramics factory in Stoke-on-Trent, Spode Works.
The aim of the research was to deepen and develop our understanding of the post-industrial landscape with specific reference to the industrial ruin. Through a series of residencies and workshops, a cross-disciplinary group of artists and researchers from a range of international art institutions set out to explore the socio-economic histories, industrial architecture and production remains of the former Spode Works. The results of the research were exhibited and published during the British Ceramics Biennial in September 2013 and Seconds, in the Lace Market Gallery in March 2014.
The exhibition at Bonington Gallery was the first showing of the newly generated outcomes, with a subsequent exhibition taking place at Sheffield Hallam SIA Gallery in Winter 2016. Each exhibition showed a new development from the work previously exhibited, demonstrating the progression of the research.
The exhibition brought together artistic research from NTU:
Andrew Brown, Joanne Lee, Danica Maier, Debra Swann, and Chloë Brown from SHU.
Recent fine art graduates who participated in the original Spode project were in residence during the exhibition, from NTU:
Ciaran Harrington, and Christine Stevens.
Throughout the Returns exhibition, researchers from the project led a series of discussion workshops. Each session was intended for a small group of invited speakers and participants who considered a specific area emerging from the concerns uncovered in Returns’ research through practice.
The discussions took the form of presentations, group conversations and practical activities. Their aim was to bring together professionals and practitioners to reflect upon three particular points of focus:
Digging through Dirt: Archaeology past, present, precious and unwanted
Wednesday 11 February, 1 pm – 2.15 pm
Artists will have your Ruin: Regeneration through the arts
Wednesday 18 February, 1 pm – 2.15 pm
Ruins of Craft: Lost art of making
Wednesday 25 February, 1 pm – 2.15 pm
Crafting Anatomies placed the human body at the centre of a multi-disciplinary dialogue; exploring how this entity has been interpreted, crafted and reimagined in historical, contemporary and future contexts.
The exhibition dissected attitudes and approaches towards contexts of the body by showcasing visionary practices of leading international artists, clinicians and designers. These items were featured alongside anatomical exhibits selected from historical collections including films from The Wellcome Trust archive.
Organs crafted by silk worms, bespoke jewellery cultured from human skin cells, and couture garments constructed using plastic surgery cutting techniques were just some of the speculative projects that were on display.
43 practitioners in total took part, including, Shelly Goldsmith, Amy Congdon, Richard Arm, John Pacey-Lowrie, Juliana Sissons, Karen Ingham, Marloes ten Bhömer, The Human Harp Project, and many more.
A series of talks, demonstrations and workshops accompanied the exhibition, culminating in a symposium which highlighted the rigour in approaches to this subject by the individuals featured in the show.
This exhibition was curated by Amanda Briggs-Goode, Rhian Solomon and Katherine Townsend – members of the Creative Textiles Research Group at Nottingham Trent University.
Crafting prosthetic eyes
Wednesday 14 January 2015, 5 pm – 9 pm
As part of the Special Preview Event ocularist John Pacey-Lowrie gave a demonstration on how to craft prosthetic eyes. John has 35 years’ experience in bespoke ocular prosthetics. He is one of an extremely small group of talented practitioners who design, manufacture and hand-paint ocular prostheses.
Pattern cutting inspired by plastic surgery
Saturday 17 January 2015, 10 am – 3 pm
Surgical techniques in cloth to create simple garments with Juliana Sissons.
Crafting anatomies to train surgeons
Wednesday 21 January 2015, 3.30 pm – 4.30 pm
Composite material specialist Richard Arm talked about his groundbreaking project that simulates human hearts to train surgeons.
Friday 30 January 2015
This one day symposium explored the curious practices of a selection of Crafting Anatomies’ exhibitors, highlighting a preoccupation with the human condition in a breadth of exploratory contexts.
Enquiries
If you have any questions or enquiries about the Crafting Anatomies events listing please email craftinganatomies@ntu.ac.uk
A richly diverse collection of the futuristic and the retrospective: Knitting Nottingham challenged popular perceptions of knitting as cosy and nostalgic; showcasing creative design, art, technology and research across a wide range of knit-inspired work from internationally renowned designers, artists and researchers.
As part of Nottingham Trent University’s 170 Years of Art and Design event series, it celebrated the transformational role played by Nottingham in the growth of the knitting industry and knit technology, and provoked a serious question: how far can we stretch our ideas about knitting?
The message was don’t get comfortable; contrary to what we might think, the relationship between knitting and pushing the boundaries of technology is extremely close.
Stunning garments, 3D prints, performance footwear, knitted conductive textile technology, priceless historical artefacts, a tea set made from electro-plated knit, and working state-of-the-art knitting machinery were just some of the exhibits on show which demonstrated the innovative and challenging nature of knit today.
View a selection of images from the Knitting Nottingham exhibition by visiting the 170 years website.
As part of Nottingham Trent University’s celebration of 170 Years of Art and Design heritage, we supported BBC Radio Nottingham’s Big Poppy Knit in support of the Royal British Legion’s annual Poppy Appeal.
A commemorative poppy specially designed by Sir Paul Smith was on show during the exhibition.
Click here to download the exhibition handout
A solo exhibition by Debra Swann consolidating her artistic research through sculpture, video and photography.
The show was an exploration of historical domestic spaces and the personas that may evolve through these spaces. Thinking about the repetition of tasks and the familiar sites of the home, narratives are created to comment on relentless labour and the strangeness of the comings and goings of the home.
A number of historic locations become backdrops, stages or sites for making work. The re-contextualization of objects made for such places took the viewer through subtle juxtapositions of time and reality. Blurring the relationship between fact and fiction the viewer could question what they are looking at and the process by which history is written and how we establish truth.
Summer Lodge celebrated its 5 Year Anniversary in 2014. For ten days each July, the Fine Art studios and workshops of Nottingham Trent University are transformed and play host to a gathering of thirty diverse artists.
As part of this celebration the Gallery was used as a testing space, giving the public a glimpse into the activities of the Lodgers through live stream to screens in the foyer before being used as an exhibition space.
The Lodge was a collective space in which to undertake experiments, pursue new ideas and allow unexpected leaps of imagination. Participants in the Summer Lodge came together with the aim of initiating new dialogues and critical exchange through engaging in a period of sustained studio / workshop practice.
This years participants included artists from Nottingham Trent University; Sheffield Hallam University; Bergen Academy of Art and Design; Harrington Mills Studios; One Thoresby Street; and Backlit Studios.
At the completion of the Lodge, the Gallery was opened to the public to showcase the diverse range of work created across the ten days.
Summer Lodge: 30 June – 11 July 2014 (public could watch activities unfolding via live stream in the foyer)
Exhibition: 14 – 22 July 2014
For more information, and for ongoing documentation during the Lodge, visit: www.summerlodge.org.
From dying fabrics for costumes and hangings for nine touring companies of the musical Hair in 1970, to producing an atelier collection of hand-dyed garments and accessories under her own label from 1981-2005, Marian Clayden’s unique and luxurious designs are virtuoso Bohemian chic.
This vibrant and diverse exhibition showcased examples of Clayden’s work with influences from Grand Opera, Iran, Kabuki and ethnic dance. Clayden’s trail-blazing textiles and garments blurred the boundaries between art, textiles and fashion.
Born and raised in Preston, Marian Clayden studied painting at Nottingham School of Art and prepared for a career as a primary school teacher. Her passion for painting developed into an interest in textiles-as-art while living in Australia with her young family. Their move to California in 1967 led to collaborations with stage/television designer Bob Mackie in Los Angeles and the New York fashion designers, Georgio di Sant’Angelo and Mary McFadden.
Under her own label, Clayden Inc, she forged a high-profile list of clients for her evening wear, including Lisa Marie Presley, Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
