Images of my work at POLYTEK in Exeter. I feel quite buoyed up by the experience of working on this show; it was great to see each other’s work, rather than the powerpoint images we’ve mostly seen up to now. There was a real sense of shared achievement in transforming the space.
“Tried to draw fire. Then you wanted me to draw a girl. Grandma tried and you said that she didn’t have the eyes and mouth right. ‘I can’t see them,’ you said. Then I had a go. The head was a bit near the fire and you objected to that saying, ‘she’ll be burnt’. In the end I had to start all over again.”
Quote from my mother’s diary addressed to me, 1964 and introduction to the drawing workshop I am running tomorrow, 2009.
I’ve been in the studio!
Also, reading Foucault, or rather about him. Plan to tackle primary sources next week.
Apart from that, I’ve been wondering about submitting work to juried shows. If you don’t do it, the work doesn’t get ‘out there’, if you do, it’s just depressing when the expected rejection letter comes.
I think like Rob Turner, walker of or should I say, with, Cosmo, I should take my cue from my dog, Junzi, who sleeps when not playing, pulling me off my feet, or generally having a mad labrador moment. Chill and have fun seems to be the general idea.
I spent all afternoon getting to Margate and back yesterday negotiating alternative routes to closed roads. It was a one hour meeting (paid) but I must have spent nearly four times that travelling, which makes the hourly rate much less interesting. At least I get expenses.
The time spent around a task just inflates: a one hour meeting takes the whole afternoon and a trip to the post office can take the whole morning.
I have ‘studio’ written in the diary for today, so post office trip regardless, I will get some painting done.
Oops – ‘Exeter show’ is rather cryptic I realise. In response to Susan’s comment the show is called Polytek and I’ve posted it on Interface. It is at Water Lane, Exeter EX2 8BZ and the opening is on 29 August 5.30 to 9.30pm.
Clare Smith's mixed English/Chinese heritage informs her perspective on issues of identity and categorisation. Her nomadic childhood and early adulthood have meant a somewhat ambivalent relationship to place, reinforced by the sense of ambiguity that comes from her mixed identity. Smith works with drawing, print media, collage and moving image to investigate this ambivalence, with references to craft, the importance of labour and the handmade. Through her choice of materials and approaches, she creates work which attempts to create a sense of unity, an interpretation of Homi Bhabha's "Third Space" - seen as a space in which different parts can come together to challenge dominant ideas of wholeness. Collaboration is part of Smith’s practice and she is also co-founder of Dover Arts Development (DAD) together with painter, Joanna Jones. This involves working with many different artists, curation, organisation, event management, creating networks across East Kent and influencing the public realm in Dover. Clare works from a studio in Dover. She has an MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins and has exhibited nationally and internationally.
