Exhibition opens: 4 October 2011

Exhibition celebration: Wednesday 12 October 2011, 7.00 – 10.00pm

Difficult subject matter is dealt with by local creative designer Alix Martin as well as Mexican artist Juan
Manuel De J. Escalante. Using data provided by Welsh Women’s Aid (www.welshwomensaid.org) Martin examines the problem of sexual assaults against women in Wales and the UK. Similarly Escalante examines problems arising from within the society in which he lives in Central America through a generative work inspired by statistics from the Mexican Presidential Office relating to the deaths caused by the country’s drug wars.

A lighter side to the exhibition can be seen in a number of works such as Mario Klingemann’s Dada inspired response to the current trend for infographics and a series of ‘How To’ videos by American artists Phil McCollam & Ellen Mueller. During the Cardiff Design Festival visitors to Sho Gallery will not only be visually stimulated but they will have the opportunity to learn how to find water in the wilderness and how to communicate non-verbally with extraterrestrials.

Exhibitors:

Alix Martin \ Amy Kett \ Chris Glynn \ Daniel Ulf-Hansen \ Hole in My Pocket \ Innes Jones \ Juan Manuel De J. Escalante \ Mario Klingemann \ Matt McKenna \ Ninian Carter \ Phil McCollam & Ellen Mueller \ Rob Stevens \ See What You Mean

Location:

The SHO Gallery, The Coach House, 1A Inverness Place, Roath, Cardiff CF24 4RU

Opening Hours:

Monday: Closed
Tuesday – Wednesday: 10.00 – 17.30
Thursday: 10.00 – 18.30
Friday: 10.00 – 17.30
Sunday – 11.00 – 4.00

Further information:

www.thesho.co.uk
www.cardiffdesignfestval.org

I’m not the most technically gifted when it comes to photography and so as with the last time I took part in one of these events I opted for an approach which relying on creative inspiration rather than technical wizardry. It wasn’t all that easy to keep up this approach though due to the tight time constraints that you’re bound by.

I had thought that I would try to include a drawn/painted element in all my pictures but time got the better of me and so I did let slip with a couple of the pictures towards the end of the day.

Despite my lack of technical nous I had borrowed a lovely Nikon DSLR for the event and although set to automatic for much of the day I did discover how to fiddle with the shutter speed. Through a combination of luck and judgement I managed to get a couple of interesting shots out of this.

The pictures I took are all posted below. In keeping with the Photomarathon rules I’ve resisted any temptation I had to ‘tweak’ these photos and so the good, the bad, and the ugly are all here for you to see. The topics for all of the images are captioned just below each image.

The first picture of the day drawn with Posca Markers on a mirror. It took me a while to get a picture I was happy with partly because my mirror was grubbier than I’d realised and partly because I couldn’t use the flash in the mirror.

I thought painting my skull on my face would work quite nicely for this topic. Painting your own face isn’t as easier as I’d thought but I was pleased with the result, which is something akin to the love child of Baron Samedi and Heather Ledger’s Joker.

With hindsight I should probably have spent less time painting my face and more time taking pictures. Whoops!

Having spent far too long on the first two topics I was two pictures behind by the time the 2.00pm check-in came about and so in a fit of desperation I opted to snap this graffiti along the alley between the Arts Institute and The Pen and Wig.

Whilst still behind schedule I was struggling to come up with a superpower image. I’d tried my pants on over my trousers to no avail and the liquid I consumed for lunch turned out not to be creative juice.

Did he fall? Was he pushed?… I mocked this up with masking tape. I think I might have to find a partner in crime for next years event since it’s not as easy as it looks to draw around yourself.

I got the Posca markers out again for this one at Llandaff fields. I wrote on a sheet of glass which I held in front the lens to create this image. I had hoped to get both the text and the background in focus, but in the end settled for this since I was in a rush.

I figured that the majority of folk would opt for photographing two of something, a reflection, dice, or something along those lines. After racking my brains for a while I thought this would make for an alternative approach, doubling my entry number and re-shooting the first picture. Though I did forget the ‘no.’ that I included in the first shot.

My secret Photomarathon tattoo with the 2011 hashtag, #PHM11. Well actually a drawing with Posca pens again.

I was rather chuffed with the drawing but unfortunately I couldn’t get a decent photograph of my foot that I was happy with so I settled for this one.

As the day wore on my attempts at including a drawn/painted element within my images were starting to fail. Time was starting to run out which wasn’t helping so I settled on a photograph of the tungsten filament within one of the UV light bulbs I have at home.

As I mentioned above, I sussed out how to fiddle with shutter speed on the camera I was sing so managed to get this shot of Jesus trolling along. It’s not the most exciting shot in the world but never mind.

I was rapidly running out of time at this point and really struggling for inspiration. I don’ think the liquid lunch at Cardiff arts institute had helped!

This image isn’t going to set the world alight and start a revolution but it has a drawn element to it and so that did me just fine.

The final shot of the day. I cut out a thought/dream bubble from black card and used it as a frame through which to photograph my bed sheets. I used a long shutter speed to create the ‘dreamy’ effect. It was almost like painting with a camera which was quite exciting.

I’m quite happy with the way this turned out although I would have a liked a bit more time to play with it as there is still a lot I could improve on in this.

So there we have it. 12 topics captured in 12 hours. It was a fantatsic day out and I was cream crackered by the time I crossed the finish line. I might have had tired legs and a weary brain but I also had a large glass of red wine so it wasn’t all bad.

Aside from flexing my creative muscle one of the best things about the day is catching up with friends and acquaintances along the way to share our stories and photographs over a cold beer or two whilst contemplating the new topics as they were released. The addition of the Cardiff Arts Institute was a great idea as it cut down on the mad rush back and forth to Cardiff Bay to check-in. This of course allowed for a ‘slightly’ more leisurely approach and time for a little chinwag between shoots.

I shall just keep my fingers crossed that one of my images makes it to the long short-list and receives a magic dot when it comes to the exhibition opening.

In the meantime you can find out how other people responded to this years themes on Flickr in the Cardiff Photomarathon 2011 pool.

Mailto: is the current exhibition at Driftstation gallery and performance space, Nebraska.

The exhibition is built around the open portal of an email address. Beginning in early May, works or messages of any kind sent in the body of an email or as an attachment to anything@driftstation.org were printed and hung, up through the end of the opening reception. 652 emails, totaling over 2,500 pages were printed and installed.

I submitted an email to the project containing digital copies of some of my drawings. Initially I was racking my brain to submit something clever in response to the concept of the project. However, after writing and re-writing my email several times over I decided that a very simple submission, like a stripped back exhibition submission, would do just fine. After all it’s a fair reflection of the types of emails I send.

Curator Jeff Thompson Writes mailto: argues for a curatorial practice akin to chaos theory or aleatoric musical composition – that the initiation of a specific but open structure creates unexpected and diverse results. As the digital files (up until this point infinitely malleable and scalable) reach the printer, they are made manifest as fixed, physical objects; when hung on the gallery wall they each represent a small document in a curatorial process divorced from the geographically-focused perfection of the unique art object.

There is a full catalogue of the exhibition available to download as .pdf here which includes an essay by the Curator. Be warned though, the document is well over 100mb in size and you will need to skip to page 1225 to find my contribution.

http://www.driftstation.org/

Spike will be stepping into the fray this weekend to help out at the Cardiff Design Festival by leading the Drop in and Draw workshop at the Morgan Arcade, Cardiff. If your in the city centre between 10:30am and 3:30pm on Saturday or Sunday be sure to pop in and pick up a pencil.

Following on from the recent Peculiar Pleasures exhibition call I have been working on you can expect imaginary beings, mythical creatures and monsters as well as a mark making extravaganza and lots of paper-craft goodness.

For a full list of events that are taking place a part of the Cardiff Design Festival visit: http://www.cardiffdesignfestival.org/2010/events

Sp:ke will be hosting a stall at the Vintage Pretty Craft Fair this coming Saturday afternoon, 31 July 2010, from 12.00 until 5.00pm at Buffalo Bar, Cardiff

It’s rather a cool little event where you will be able to treat yourself to a range of handmade and vintage goodness. There’ll be a little something for everyone, from customised clothing and gift cards to plush toys. The bar of course will also be open so you can tuck in to a slap up meal or tasty cold beverage when you’ve finished exploring the fair.

Oh… and of course there will be goodie bags for the first 10 people through the door which will include lovely handmade freebies and money off vouchers so get in quick.

The Spider & The Fly Gallery in Edinburgh opens on the 24 July 2010. As well as stocking a range of art and design work it will host a range of workshops. drop in sessions and other exciting events.

In addition to this it will also be hosting the Cut-Click Mail Art exhibition, featuring a little something by yours truly, from the 24 July 2010 until it heads down to the Milkwood Gallery in Cardiff for the 13 August 2010.

The Spider & The Fly
65 Bread Street
Edinburgh
EH3 9AH

For more information visit www.thespiderandthefly.co.uk

I’ll be holding a stall at the Make It Pretty Craft Faire at Chapter Arts Centre on the 24 July 2010. It will be open from 11.00am until 4.00pm and you’ll be able to get your hands on some of my plush toys.

JazzCakes100 from Robert Pugh on Vimeo.

I only just discovered this great video by Robert Pugh from the Jazzcakes 100 exhibition in Cardiff back in April. Unfortunatley I couldn’t make the exhibition as I was out of the country but it’s great to see that my piece got such a prime spot in the exhibition. See if you can spot my gold sequin encrusted piece.

Spike’s piece ‘Blossom: The Space Bewteen Us’ has been shortlisted for the FringeMK painting prize. Details of the finalists/winners will be announced in June 2010. Keep your fingers crossed and watch this space for news of the announcements.

The Cut-Click mail art exhibition is on the road. You’ll be able to go and check out the whole exhibition, including my contribution, at the Big Top Jamboree in Dundee on the 17 May 2010.