These pictures came from an Easter email FWD. Thought they were fitting to some of the work we've created (Just the Two of Us, etc). They're also a bit like the sculptures at the Peter Coffin exhibition at the Barbican currently (reviewed on my blog here http://rosatyhurstart.blogspot.com/2009/02/peter-c…)
‘Heave’ Sculpture, Installation and Performance by TURNHURST.
The title alone conjures up a wide ranging line of enquiry – effort, revulsion, humour and ritual to name just a few. What awaits the viewer? Immediately on entering the entering the space the sensory enquiry begins; for the olfactory – there is a strange rubberyness, for the eyes harsh/ dimmed light and a tall cloth draped column made from copper tubing, its top obscured to view. There are a variety of cables, chords and ropes and for the ears a radio paying, rounding up new or weather or some such and then music.
Two individuals appear and busily set about their aim, constantly busy in parallel activity, each attaching a cable to a wall hook, to stretch a cord, straighten cloth undoing and redoing. Each is focused on their individual aim, as if enchanted. As an observer caught up in this web the tension between TurnHurst is tangible. Music holds the space together but also drowns out the pacing of the participant’s actions. This raises the question as to the music’s influence, how would its absence affect the scene?
There is constant movement and struggle, as with performance there is trust, hope anxiety and confusion, and holding all of this together is a complex business.
Here as the cloth moves, shapes come and go doubtless tapping into deeply store templates in viewers mind’s, as if revealing a series of ‘freeze frames.’ I am reminded of the auto destructive work by Gustav Metzger – ‘Acid -Nylon Painting’ as these images come and go.
When the performance ends, after and hour, there is relief and awkwardness: those present have travelled far within the confines of this performance space, something which probably will be lost for those who see this solely as a video documentation.
Performance is difficult to view and to understand as it often takes its viewers to an edge of uncertainty through an awkward place: we have become familiar with reading the still image and so in general feel comfortable. ‘Letting go’ and accompanying performance is not an easy thing to do, here the encounter was well judged and will certainly be remembered by those present.
By way of a post script-
At the end of the 2006 degree show one of the critiquing party commented- with regard to performance work: that viewers need to understand that its OK not to know how to read such work but that the need to be open minded is paramount. His parting shot was ‘ get over the reluctance to engage – be engaged!”
Reviewed by Clare Revolta.
Performance took place on 27th March 2009 in the Bookable Space at Kingston University.
Keith Tyson : Large Field Array is one of the installations we have been looking at recently, it was displayed at Pace Wildenstein gallery in Chelsea, New York a few years ago, and is utterly incredible!
Within the installation was 230 sculptures, all intricate and beautifully made, everything has a cubic/square form; they were made out of glass, wood, fake human flesh, minature cities, i could go on…
Everywhere you look there is something new, and I think I could've spent days trying to decipher each piece, as they all seem to work as artworks in their own right. All together they are an attack on the senses and leave the viewer completely astonished!
Does anyone else think Easter is completely unnecessary? It's so infuriating that the studios/workshops/libraries at university will be closed!
There are now no seminars left in our Fine Art BA degree at Kingston. Soon we'll have no more core tutorials left and the only thing that is left is the looming degree show.
We are trying out a concept for one of our pieces in that show on friday. It's a performative installation at the Bookable Space at Portland Road Studios and is called HEAVE (please see attached image)
We are going to document it via film and photography and although the work acts as a sculpture and a setting for a performance it will be interesting to see how different methods of recording represents the work.
Have begun experimenting with the laser cutting machine and have cut various works, phrases and texts into the open pages of books. It reminds of stash books, or books in prison dramas which actually hold a chisel a hole to get out.
Although the books act as objects and as sculptures in their own right, the interplay between the text and images in the books is really interesting. Reminds me a little of John Stezaker or John Baldessari work.
