And finally…

The last piece in the Say What You See puzzle is Tilda by Richard Goold from Tongham, Surrey. The selectors this week were Ailbhe Mac Eoin and Amy Lloyd and they had quite a task choosing which work would draw the show to a close.

An end of exhibition party is taking place at aspex on Friday 16 March at 6pm. A conversation and communication related soundtrack will accompany the evening and any suggestions are welcome – saywhatyousee@aspex.org.uk

Richard Goold: TILDA

“Sue Paraskeva’s piece Altered Porcelain Vessel deals with the beauty that can be found through destruction. My work explores how through the breakdown and constant altering of an image through reproduction, gives birth to something both beautiful and nostalgic, a ghost and trace of its former self.

My painting, Tilda, addresses the many reproductions of Caravaggio’s portrait of Maria Magdalena. This painting is a reproduction of a still from Derek Jarman’s 1986 biopic of the artist Caravaggio. From a scene in which Tilda Swinton reenacts Caravaggio’s portrait of Maria Magdalena.

The main aspect that caught my attention when viewing this re-enactment of the painting within the confines of the TV screen, was the changes and corruption of the image caused by the screen space in which it was framed, along with the breakdown and loss of the original image. My piece Tilda addresses that loss, rendering the source image down to a distant ghostly translation of the original painting.”

Richard Goold

Thank you to all those who submitted work and supported our exhibition. Please keep an eye on www.aspex.org.uk for future exhibiting and other opportunities and if you have any suggestions on how we can develop/improve the Say What You See idea then email them in to saywhatyousee@aspex.org.uk

And then…

Here we go, the next and penultimate piece of aspex’s evolving conversation/exhibition Say What You See has been selected by Joanne Bushnell, Director of aspex, and it is Altered Porcelain Vessel by the Isle of Wight based artist Sue Paraskeva.

Altered Porcelain Vessel: Sue Paraskeva

Judes Crow’s Post-historic Gravegoods are her treasures to take to the after life. My latest work, also made from clay, comes very close to its own destruction.

For the last  twenty years I have altered my thrown porcelain bowls, more tentatively in the past, but now dramatically letting go and throwing the pieces (literally) onto the floor or by throwing painted wood at the work, creating beautiful pieces from dramatic events.

There is a fine line between the complete collapse of the work during this creation from a vessel, but they survive, damaged and beautiful.

Sue Paraskeva

To see more of Sue’s work take a look at www.sueparaskeva.co.uk

If you are an artist living within a 60 minute journey of aspex, and you would like to have the final word in the exhibition, then send your submission – image (jpeg) and explanation (up to 200 words) to saywhatyousee@aspex.org.uk to arrive no later than midnight on Tuesday 6 March. 

Exhibition Closing Party: Friday 16 March, 6 – 8pm
Any suggestions for a conversation based playlist for the party are most welcome.

And then…

Another week, another artwork is selected for inclusion in Say What You See.
Those responsible for deciding what comes next were aspex‘s Jonathan Parsons, artist advisor and Letty Clarke, Project Co-ordinator. Thank you to all those who submitted and supported the exhibition.

The work Jonathan and Letty felt communicated most successfully with Lisa Traxler’s Everything but the Kitchen Sink and would lead the conversation in a most intriguing direction is Post- Historic Gravegoods by Judes Crow.

Post Historic Gravegoods: Judes Crow

In response to Lisa Traxler’s Everything but the Kitchen Sink I present Post-historic Gravegoods. Lisa’s work has made me look at my passing of time.

Having moved well beyond the kitchen sink and having achieved a wrinkled beauty, I am thinking about how in death I can honour myself and my life’s journey. I decided I wanted to take ‘treasure’ to my afterlife that connects my memories, life as I have lived it, and, for example, my craving for chocolate, my childlike joy in simple things like cows, rabbit jelly and acorns. So I have begun the process of making these objects in the style of pre-historic artefacts that may some day be found in my grave by a future archaeologist.

Judes Crow

To see more of Judes’ work visit www.judescrow.com

If you are an artist living within a 60 minute journey of aspex, and you have a piece of work which you feel resonates with Judes Crow’s Post-historic Gravegoods then send your submission – image (jpeg) and explanation (up to 200 words) to saywhatyousee@aspex.org.uk and should arrive no later than midnight on Tuesday 28 February. 

And then…

This week’s addition to our Say What You See exhibition was selected by Vicky and Lou of our Education team and our current work placement student Lucy Rawlings.

Once again it was tough decision as each submitted work and explanation would certainly have taken the conversation and appearance of the show in different and unexpected directions.

The selected work is Everything But The Kitchen Sink by Lisa Traxler
Found enamel bowl, photographic prints on cotton rag paper, stitching, tape, found mirror base, 2010

Everything But The Kitchen Sink: Lisa Traxler

“Margaret Marks’ Prayer Cloth evoked memories of female members of my family attending church each week wearing a lace mantilla veil to cover the head. This tradition stirs the essence of domesticity, harbouring the safety of home but also the rituals and boundaries it evoked.

The piece I have offered in response is ‘Everything But The Kitchen Sink’

Discarded between the limbs of a hawthorn hedge, a found enamel bowl rotting exquisitely, a treasure unearthed in all its corroded glory. Between its filigree rusting shapes I have attached images of my grandmother as a young girl and then again in later life as a wife and mother –  beauty in the passing of time. The delicate strands of thread bind this girl and then this woman to the chores of domesticity as her life progresses – all the hopes and dreams as she stands at the kitchen sink…

The enamel bowl rests on a found mirror dated 1967. Reflecting on this life and in turn throwing back images af the viewer.”

Lisa Traxler

Further works can be seen at www.lisatraxler.com

Plenty of food for thought here, so please keep your submissions coming in to saywhatyousee@aspex.org.uk. The next deadline is Tuesday 21 February 2012. Keep an eye on this blog, our website, facebook and twitter for details on the next piece.
Thanks again to all those, whether selected or otherwise, who have taken part in the exhibition so far.

And then…

Another week and another addition to our Say What You See exhibition. The latest piece was selected with great assistance from our Wednesday after-school club. The children, AKA Sugarcubes, from St George’s Beneficial C of E School in Portsea, spent a long time discussing the submissions and voting upon which work they felt would best continue the evolving conversation.

The selected work is Prayer Cloth by Margaret Marks
160 bible pages, 1.7 kilometres thread, translucent fabric

Margaret Marks: Prayer Cloth

“Seeing Phil Illingworth’s Ghost, I was attracted to the fact that his starting point was a prayer written on a piece of paper that had been washed by the sea.

In my piece, Prayer Cloth, I have used pages from a bible, which have been stitched and washed, to produce a lace like cloth. Even with this treatment fragments of words still endure.

Either folded or draped, it was made as a symbolic representation of the shawls, mats, cloths or kneelers used by many different religions in the pursuance of prayer. Incorporated into the cloth are translucent colours as if reflected from stained glass windows often found in places of worship.”

Margaret Marks

Please send your submissions in response to Prayer Cloth to
saywhatyousee@aspex.org.uk. A big thank you to everyone who has applied so far.

And then…

In response to Joanne Hummel-Newell’s At Sea we received several submissions for possible inclusion in Say What You See. Thank you to all those who applied. It was quite a task selecting the next work, which we felt made strong connections with the first and would enable the conversation to evolve in the most interesting way.

The selected work is Ghost by Phil Illingworth
MDF, found message (paper, ink), staple, straws (2011), 9 x 8 x 5cm.

“At the end of 2010 I found a tiny slip of paper, which is the focus of this work. The paper was washed up on the beach where I walk my dog, and it was written in Arabic.

I used social media – Facebook, Twitter etc. – to try to find out the meaning of what was contained in the message. People were very helpful, particularly Arabic speakers, and the title ‘Ghost’ is a reference to something in one of the responses I received.

It eventually transpired that the message was a form of prayer. To give the prayer power the message was cast in to the sea. For the original sender there is a profound emotional investment in the message, as well as for those who generously took the trouble to contact me. It was important to me not simply to acknowledge this, but to reflect it in the work.”

Phil Illingworth

Further images are available at http://www.philillingworth.com/ghost.html

So, if any artists living with a 1 hour journey of aspex feel that a work of theirs resonates with Ghost in any way then please submit an image and an explanation of up to 200 words to saywhatyousee@aspex.org.uk. The next conversation piece will be selected on Wednesday 8 February, and will be posted on this blog the next day.

So what’s it all about…

Say What You See is an open submission exhibition taking place in aspex’s Gallery 2 where artworks are selected based upon how they communicate with other works on display. The show will begin with one piece and the exhibition will grow as an additional work is added each week.

If you are an artist living within a 60-minute journey of Portsmouth and you feel that a work of yours communicates in some way, with other works on display then please submit an image of the work (jpeg) and a brief explanation (up to 200 words) to saywhatyousee@aspex.org.uk

At Sea, Joanne Hummel-Newell

The first work chosen to begin this exhibition is At Sea, by Joanne Hummel-Newell. The artwork comprises pencil, watercolour and collage, and measures 61 x 60cm. You can follow how this exhibition progresses by keeping an eye on this blog, where each addition to the show will be documented. Details about Say What You See can also be found on aspex.org.uk, aspex’s facebook page and twitter feed.

Works can be wall mounted in any medium, free standing and video works. Should a work be selected then it is the artist’s responsibility to transport the piece to and from the gallery. Works will be insured while on display.