- Venue
- Surface Gallery
- Location
- East Midlands
Freshly graduated from the Fine Art degree course of Nottingham Trent University, Sixes & Sevens is the latest artist collective to emerge from the educational chrysalis into the city art scene. In their statement the members outline an attitude of optimism that combats the somewhat bleak current financial circumstances, and their willingness to adapt, divide, collaborate – whatever it takes to survive in the hostile environment that post-degree, they find themselves thrust into.
On first inspection, the trend of amateurism is strong within the walls of Surface Gallery, as low-fi materials are abundant and hint toward a deliberate down-playing. Found objects and cheap frames all indicate a pride in their art-student roots, but this is successful as it appears a considered and deliberate choice. The graffiti-like sketchings of Antonietta Sacco are a perfect example of this balance, using biro and what appears to be Tippex upon found objects, to delineate a map-like grid upon the wall. Something architectural lies imprinted in these obsessively covered cigarette packets and polystyrene offcuts. Individually appearing as quite chaotic little items, brought together in the structural and rigid format of a grid brings them into an indecipherable order. Perhaps this is a coded map, or maybe we are viewing an artist struggling to compartmentalise the everyday objects that pervade their existence. From those present at the exhibition preview, there was a lot of praise for Sacco’s piece; alien and yet at the same time comfortingly familiar.
With a more subtle approach but undertaken with similar precision, comes the work of Simon Franklin. Easy to mistake for a normal cardboard box abandoned in a corner, Franklin has created the taped-up container from what appears to be wood, and after a more inquisitive look the tape itself is also made from alternative materials. Entitled ‘No Longer Showing’, a cartoon-like Stanley knife lies nearby cleverly furthering the illusion. Adding a wonderfully surrealist element to the room, Franklin’s piece raises a host of curious questions; one starts to wonder why so much effort has gone into concealing the identity of the ordinary. Have we been looking away from the everyday for so long that we no longer recognise it? I enjoyed the fact that this piece questions our perception of the things around us with a humorous tone, and challenges us to pay more attention.
Small paintings adorn much of one wall, and with puzzling details and peculiar objects, attract the viewer with an instinctive inquisition. A pipe left on a chair, a tattoo, a slightly morbid looking hand – these are the intricacies that develop an intriguing narrative within David Bance’s paintings. Using a muted palette with a pleasantly relaxed style, each canvas depicts an obscure scene that allows the imagination space to engage with the work. Focusing your attention, you find yourself swallowed up into this parallel world, with an array of convincing scenes and characters. There is something wistful and nostalgic about these images, which is a quality reflected across the room in the work of Lotti V Closs. Almost nautical in their bold patterns, these framed pieces depict miniature snapshots of land and seascapes, caught in a geometric web of shooting yellow lines. Each hand-drawn detail of a rocky hillside or rough sea is encircled with patterned rings not unlike a compass, but which perhaps hold some symbolic meaning for the artist. The stirring dynamic of these two elements might owe its presence to the concept pertained to in the title, ‘Dymaxion Crossings’. Attributed to inventor R. Buckminster Fuller, the idea embraced here is the use of technology to maximum efficiency, and Closs’ fairly minimalist end result certainly reflects this ideal. These works leave you wanting to unravel the code, and enter into the world that encapsulates snapshots of an idyllic landscape.
At the heart of discussion throughout the evening was ‘Think Tank’ by Emily Birrell. Looming ominously at the back of the gallery, the unmissable black-box stand-alone room invited visitors to enter, switch off the light, and kindly switch it back on when leaving. Entering intrepidly, in honesty I suppose I was expecting something more exciting. Wooden frame exposed, the small room contained only a chair and a light bulb operated by a pull-switch. Obeying the instructions, I turned off the light, only to find the bulb change to a dim green colour. As I left, I pondered this purpose built structure and its minimalist interior. This ‘Think Tank’ certainly solved no problems, indeed it seemed to throw up many unanswered ones. I could see the perverse comedic value in physically enacting the classic cartoon light bulb that pops up above your head when a eureka moment occurs, but beyond this the work seemed indecipherable. Was this a place where ideas were formed, the dark, private place we all retreat to for deep and undisturbed thought? Or perhaps this was as close as I would ever come to being inside a government research facility? This piece certainly got everyone thinking, but with numerous loose ends it was hard to get a grasp of what the artist’s intent was. This could also be said for the ambiguous performance piece by Meg Tait, in which the artist, dressed in a full rat costume, proceeds to change the words ‘EVIL RAT’ to ‘LIVE ART’ on a nearby stand. In between, the large rat appears to be mingling with friends, as if the performance is something that need only be attended to intermittently. Is this an insult, an opinion, or a magic trick? Whatever statement was being made here, it was lost in its translation to the audience. Rather than inviting us to be in on the joke, we come up against a barrier which keeps a divide between artist and audience.
This short show reveals these budding artists at the crux of life-after-degree, and things look promising. They have quickly brought together a competent exhibition that reveals them as ambitious individuals, but also an eager and united artist collective. Let’s hope that they have something exciting and different to offer from the existing pool of NTU graduate-groups that saturate the city.