DEGREES UNEDITED

Graphic design supplied an impetus, as skateboarding provided public space for experimentation. Soon to be in his final year at Birmingham City University, Hughes continues to transform public sites with the durable object alongside textual intervention.

Ready for wear and tear: transforming object and sign, from public space into gallery context

"...whilst out of school I also studied skateboarding and as my learning became more independent I geared this towards the creative industry. Skateboarding soon came a part in parcel with my academic progression. I then enrolled on a BTEC in Graphic Design, but during this started to become aware of how the things I wanted to explore were not related to either skateboarding or the design world..."

In 2008 Ryan started his BA in Fine Art at BIAD. His practice focuses on the notion of 'play', where skateboarding, graphic design and text are used as methods to reach a larger audience. Now he seeks to transform public spaces, using interactive objects and sign works, rendering them as more enjoyable places with additional models for experience.

Moving Over, a series of grind boxes for skate parks and other skateboarding haunts around Birmingham, act as benches or objects of interactivity whilst sign works subtly express text-based alteration in existing public spaces. But what happens when these interventions are taken out of context and placed in shows amongst other works in a gallery?
Read and comment on Ryan's blog »

This conversation is in a public space

Richard Taylor: Late in the year of 2009 I attended a talk in the lecture theatre of Glasgow School of Art. Iede Reckman, an artist based in the Netherlands presented his work to a small audience via a slide show on his laptop. Your blog reminds me of his talk. He had an idea, and pursued any means possible to see it through.

Do you feel that this level of perseverance in sculptural application is something you deal with on a daily basis?

Ryan Hughes: I think I'm just impatient, I want my ideas to be realised right away as I cannot tell how successful a work is until its installed and being used.

Budget is often a factor, particularly with my objects for 'moving over', as they have to hold a person's weight and are made with skateboarding in mind, which means they are going to take a beating during use. They have to be strong, heavy and well built and I think this is where my budget, impatience and the desired function meet. Shipping pallets meet all of these requirements - they're cheap, made to hold weight, are strong and heavy, and can be worked with quickly...

RT: The commentary in your blog works well in keeping a respective distance from personal interest. In this you're an artist as well as a skater. Do you see your work keeping itself within the 'public art' space of a skate park? What sort of resonance does public art have in your work, how do skate parks become playgrounds for artists?

RH: If you choose your skate park to work in wisely it has a guaranteed audience but artists should be sensitive to the requirements of the community that regularly use the parks. This is also true of art in any other public site.

I intend to carry on making work for public sites - it's a very important aspect of my practice. For me to feel comfortable with a piece it has to serve a physical use and benefit a group of people very directly. The audience very much make my work complete and I enjoy the different contexts that appear when seeing work outside of a gallery.

RT: So what happens when the work is then translated from the 'site' back in to a gallery context? Its odd, you talk of a guaranteed audience in the public space, is this not then another form of a 'gallery' so to speak?

RH: When I bring work back inside I try to make a performance or event, which reflects as closely as possible what happened outside, this obviously takes place alongside more traditional documentation and is something I struggle with a lot.

Outdoor sites are another form of 'gallery' but when working outside it feels more playful and immediate and I think the audience are perhaps more varied than in a 'normal' gallery. I also like how people can stumble upon work outdoors.

I also like the idea of outdoor galleries as well, an organisation called Out Yer Tree tried this by organising outdoor group shows, and the Rea Garden is another brilliant outdoor gallery. I think it's important that these sorts of spaces exist as a lot of work just doesn't belong in a white cube but still deserves the level of attention that comes with working with a gallery.

RT: So do you feel that your own 'curated' hand governs this level of attention as the work takes its place in the gallery context? You have mentioned in your blog you were disappointed with the installation of your work at the Leamington Studio Artists' (LSA) summer show.

How much is the work then allowed to transform?

RH: Yes I think I've got to have some sort of curatorial say in a work's installation: I often respond to features in the gallery space as I would to interesting elements of a site when installing work outside. I also like to be able to communicate directly with the people setting up the exhibition and I think this is where the work is allowed to transform and expand.

And again yes I was a bit disappointed with my works installation at the LSA show as I had no input at all. However, it turns out this was something other people showing 3D work experienced and we have since been contacted asking how this could be remedied for future shows. Things like this, where an organisation comes back to its members for advice, is something I always like to get involved in. Its an interesting way of opening up new opportunities to everybody involved as well as allowing better work and exhibitions to be made.

RT: In terms of digging out opportunities for yourself, how much of this will you be doing during your final year? Or is it purely academic endeavour from now on until graduation?

RH: I am going to be digging out opportunities for myself! My academic endeavour is part of becoming an artist and so is finding ways to get my work shown...

I haven't been at university for the past few months (its proving to be a long summer!) but I have made just as much work as I would normally if there, and I've been reading and writing just as much and have probably been to more shows and openings.

I guess this is just my life now!

WHAT DO DO YOU THINK?

How does your work, if site-specific, transform itself from context to context? And what opportunities will you be seeking for professional development whilst completing you academic journey? And, is Ryan's work another - albeit updated - form of land art that eventually meets the gallery walls?

Start your own run of posts making the community on Degrees unedited more discursive: tackling hurdles, getting advice and giving support in context of studentship. When else will you have access to such people who are facing the same adventure? You may find yourself on the same path.

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First published: a-n.co.uk August 2010