ARTISTS TALKING

# 31 [11 May 2008]

POLAR OPPOSITES
Preview – Fri 16th May, 6-8pm
The Lead Station, 99 Beech Rd, Chorlton Green, Manchester, M21 9EQ
 
As part of The Chorlton Arts Festival I'm exhibiting a selection of my photographic work and a selection of the documentary photographs I took during my Arctic expedition training.

The exhibition continues until the end of September (see opening times below) and there are a selection of limited edition prints available to buy.

Opening Times: Mon-Fri 10.30-23.00 and Sat-Sun 10.00-23.00.

It will be really informal and there's lots of other previews and music events happening within walking distance on the night.  See www.chorltonartsfestival.com for more information!  Please come up and say hello if you drop in!

# 30 [8 May 2008]

TEAMMATES WANTED!!!!!!

We are looking for adventurous people who can work well in a team, have outdoor experience and a good level of fitness to join our expedition.

(Also must be able to make a good cup of tea :) non of that weak watery stuff!)

Our route will take us across part of the historic North West passage, through the costal valleys of Devon Island, and across the vast sea-ice of Jones sound. The entire journey will be a huge test of team work and individual discipline.

Our team has had a good level of experience and training already, however our Team Leader, Mark Wood is a professional Arctic Guide and he'll be facilitating a number of training sessions in the Lakes and  Resolute Bay before the expedition to ensure we are all practiced at working together... We're also meeting up at other intervals for informal training weekends without Mark.

If this interests you please email me at reb.mcknight@gmail.com for further info.

# 29 [8 May 2008]

So, we finally decided on our route!

Wahoo! (About time I hear some of you say?)  Still... best to get these things right eh? :)

The start point will be over 700 miles north of the Arctic Circle and our journey will link the two highest communities in the Canadian Arctic - Resolute Bay on Cornwallis Island and Grise Fjord on the South West of Ellesmere Island.  

In Inuktitut (the traditional language spoken across parts of the the Canadian Arctic) Resolute Bay is called Qausuittuq, meaning 'the place with no dawn' and Grise Fjord is called Aujuittuq, meaning 'the place that never thaws', which sounds pretty other worldly I think you'll agree.

We will travel over 300 miles on skis and manhaul all our equipment in sleds.  If it sounds like hard work... well, it's because it will be! :)

Mark's just returned from Grise Fiord actually, and he told me  our route goes through an area called Polar Bear Pass (a route the bears migrate through twice each year) read about it here: http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/nature/whp/nwa/polar/df04s01.en.html

Some guys I know had a bear put it's paw through their tent last year... which was great for showing off their sewing skills afterwards, but slightly too close for comfort eh?  :)

# 28 [6 February 2008]

I met with my teammates and Team Leader, Mark Wood last month to talk about routes...

We've decided to do the expedition in March 2009 and I'm looking forward to planning everything, developing my art ideas and TRAINING (lots of that) I've now got a legitimate reason for buggering off into the mountains and surfing! excellent :) 

I'll share the route in my next post :)

# 27 [4 January 2008]

We are in the process of bringing together the teammates who will be in the 2009 expedition.  There are currently three of us confirmed and we have room for a couple more people (we are on the look out for interested people).

We're all meeting at my house next weekend with our new expedition leader Mark Wood to get the ball rolling...

We're not sure what route we're taking yet, as we need to think about a number of things which include:  Safety, expedition logistics, length of time away from home, costs, team capabilities and skills base, chance of success and lastly our individual preferences and goals.

So bearing all this in mind (quite a lot really :) we will arrive at our preferred route and expedition!

I'll keep you posted!

# 26 [20 December 2007]

I'm exhibiting my work at Spitalfields Market this week (until Sun 23 Dec).  It's a small art fair and has painters, illustrators and photographers selling work and then of course you have the general Spitalfield Market which has lots of cool stuff.

I like showing my work here...  You get a real varied audience for your work and I've had some great conversations and really appreciate all the feedback and interest from the public.  Come and say hello if you're in the area.  I'm the one with the brown wooly bobble hat standing on a piece of bubble wrap ;)

# 25 [7 December 2007]

CUBE Artist Talk - Rebecca McKnight

In the current exhibition 'EIGHT at CUBE', Rebecca exhibits documentation from her recent Arctic expedition training.  The work seeks to present glimpses into the thoughts and feelings of the artist during the training and provide insights into the practicalities of expedition life.

The artist talk is free to attend and drink refreshments will be provided.  Rebecca will be discussing her expedition experiences and presenting photographs taken during the training.  She will also present examples of her previous photographic work to contextualise this research and discuss how it relates to themes of identity.

For more information on EIGHT at CUBE see: http://www.eight-creatives.co.uk/

# 24 [30 November 2007]

I'm going to be talking about my artwork and future plans on Allan Beswick's' Saturday Chat programme, which is on BBC Radio Manchester. It broadcasts tomorrow morning (Dec 1) from 9-10.00. Arlene McCarthy - Labour Euro MP for the North West will also be on the show, so tune in!

You can listen live here

Then later same day, myself and a few of the other artists exhibiting in EIGHT at CUBE will be giving an informal talk in the gallery space. The event is free and is at 13.00-14.00, so if you're in Manchester just drop in.

I'll be doing a more in-depth talk about my work the following Sat (8 Dec) at the same time, same place, so if you can't make tomorrow, maybe see you the following week.

Lastly, I was just doing a bit of research on the t'interweb and I came accross this page of videos. I think the short video with Belgian explorer Alain Hubert is worth watching as he talks about the changes he's seen in the Arctic spanning the last 15 years of his exploring career.

See it here

# 23 [19 November 2007]

I'm exhibiting work at CUBE in Manchester this week till the end of December. The Private View is on Thursday 22 Nov from 18.00-20.00, so if you're around please come and say hello.

And on Saturday, 8th December (CUBE 13.00-14.00) I'll be giving an informal artist talk.

I'm keen to meet people/groups who are interested in this type of work, and am happy to meet on a one-to-one basis to discuss ideas for future collaborative and educational work.

For more information please see www.eight-creatives.co.uk

'EIGHT' at CUBE, is a showcase of work by the eight artists and designers participating in the Design Initiative's Setting Up Scheme 2007-08. A selection of recent work and projects developed by the creatives will be exhibited and you can meet the artists and designers at informal exhibition walk-through events.

The eight artists and designers on the current scheme are: Jane Blease, Audrey Hayes, Jessica Emmett, Kate Jessop, Rebecca McKnight, Miranda Meilleur, Vicki Smith, and Jessica Williams. Their work encompasses contemporary art, moving image, photography, fashion, metal work and 3D design.

Private view: Thursday 22nd November 18.00-20.30 @ CUBE, 113 - 115 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 6FB

Exhibition Dates and Opening Hours: 
Friday 23rd November to Wednesday 19th December 2007
Monday to Friday, 12.00 to 17.30
Saturdays 12.00 - 17.00

# 22 [19 November 2007]

Beauty and the Beast

The Arctic landscape is golden, magic, magnificent, delicate, colourful, shining, secret, special, desolate, full of life, full of nothing... it's fierce, tender, awe inspiring, eternal, another world, our world, pure, glistening, sensitivity, miles away, melting, mountains and ice.

Read this short news article to hear about what happened to the Arctic sea ice this year.

And listen to these words