CHILD'S PLAY

This is work I put in an exhibition called Child's Play, set in Spring Bank Mill, Whitworth, Rochdale. It was organised by Lewis Brownlie and Jonny Boxall, included over 30 artists and was opened on July 30th 2011. (I think it's still on for viewing now if you ask very nicely.)
There was no brief so I decided to make something that drew inspiration from the exhibition space itself and the name of the show - I used wool (as the mill used to produce it back int day) to make a large net, which is something I remember hiding behind at my grandmother's house as a child. The language is in reference to my treatment for what I thought was innocent playing.

Size: 8 feet by 6 feet (approx)
Dimensions: variable with space.

More pictures:

ok tra xxxx

suck it

polystyrene and spoon printing

Plate was a piece of polystyrene block, carved with a knife. Inks are infact cheap poster paint as its all I had left at the time. Had to use a spoon to burnish the print on the paper as I don't have a press at home. They're a bit crude but I like the results. Top one's my favourite. I'm not sure you can tell from the photos, but the prints have a lot of texture; I think its a mix of the poly-plate and the paints.

*The imagery is a reflection on my upbringing in a rural environment, mixed in with nightmares I've been having recently.
**Its not about emotional turmoil, sod off.

KLAUS KINSKI

"They make the most unhinged and primal racket that I have ever heard. It's mercurial and surreal: the Birthday Party fronted by a psychotic Spike Milligan [in their own words, "cannibal hymns that smell of old sex"]. If you like your music unstable, bust into a thousand unexpected shapes and ultimately thrilling, this band are for you."

 - Adam Walton (BBC Radio Wales)

Went to college with these lads, seen them live a few times (missed them a few times as well - house parties, got too drunk, I'll stop there). They now reside in Manchester making wonderful, loud, frightful music. They really like horses. They really like eggs. They really like Friends. All of this is relevant.

Recently they've been touring the UK and Germany because apparently no-one will let them play in venues in Manchester anymore. Why? Because they cause riots, a ruckus. FANTASTIC. They truly are energetic, mad, theatrical in their performance. Check them out HERE.

* Just realised my favourite song, "Skelington Horse" isn't on their myspace so you'll just have to try find it somewhere else. I can't really type coherently anymore because I'm listening to "The Penguin (classic rock)" and it's hard to concentrate when your mind is melting.

Here's a link to their German tour diary. RIGHT HERE 

**These polaroids are from a homecoming gig in Rascals, Bangor, North Wales. My camera was almost broken in two whilst dancing/ photographing. The film is by The Impossible Project in silver shade. You only get 8 shots a film, gutted. It's not great but I like the discoloration, and the uncertainty of what you might get. A bit like their music. How fitting. 

Capital NO

What was used for the zine I submitted to ages ago (and mighta mentioned).
You'll find Capital NO on facebook, I don't think the website is fully operational yet.


*on a note, I actually met one of the artists who submitted to this zine last week, Philip James Torriero. Coincidentally we were displaying our work in an exhibition that was completely unrelated to this. WHAT A SMALL WORLD. I will add photos/ drawings/ plans n that for the exhibition later.

*Sean Vicary - i'll stop being a dick now

and start using this properly. Once I've got my shit together this week i'll get scanning some work and some photographs and all that ballache stuff

BUT FOR NOW here's a video I came across today, by an artist called Sean Vicary. This animation won a prize at this years Welsh National Eisteddfod and is a piece which is in response to plans to build a large supermarket in his local area, destroying the landscape. It also draws on traditional Welsh folk stories, rituals and characters.

Anyway, Enjoy for now.

*oh yeah, forgot to say why I like it - he uses natural materials that he finds in his surroundings (wood, leaves, skulls, snails, roadkill etc) to create characters that evoke both fear and mystique. It reminds me of my childhood, of the stories of the crazy beasts and monsters and mythical creatures that supposedly lived in the forests. The beings Vicary has formed have a certain quality about them, they don't impose themselves in a way actors or certain styles of animations would have - I feel it lets your imagination run wild.