Negotiating a collective aesthetic

Preston Street Union | Work in  progress| 2019

I’m working with Preston Street Union on the second of two commissions for Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum on the theme of migration.  Our last piece for RAMM – SERGE/SURGE  – took place outside the museum walls and consisted of a series of live actions we had devised together over a number of months. This time, the curator specifically requested something with a more physical and enduring presence in the museum building – but also something made by us…quite a challenge for a collective with a largely performative approach.

Preston Street Union is a group of artists with widely varying levels of experience, diverse practices and different aesthetic approaches. Committing to physical processes and objects meant moving away from a situation where we are making work in a way none of us would have used individually, to a situation where we are reliant on the drawing, print-making, digital, research or textile experience of different members in order to create the work. And where we must negotiate a fixed collective aesthetic rather than one that comes and goes in the moment.

For this next piece of work, we are drawing on and complementing new research by local historian Michael A Patrick. We're using our making skills to investigate the construction and production of decorative tillet wrappers used in Exeter's historic wood trade (and so, we hope, to add something new to the museum’s understanding of related objects in its collection). Processes so far have included making a collective drawing and a joint prototype design in fabric. Progress has been slow, often painful, and definitely very stretching for everyone. But at its heart is the need to get along, to exchange expertise, to integrate skills and to make different approaches work cohesively together. It feels very appropriate to our subject matter: the way that Exeter’s prosperity was built on cooperation between people of different backgrounds, cultures, skills and expectations.

Preston Street Union's new work Anyone may come and go will be launched at Exeter's Royal Albert Memorial Museum on Saturday 15 February 2020.

Rustly paper bags provided

I'll be presenting a short, participatory provocation - pigeon steps - with Megan Calver at Walking's New Movements, University of Plymouth, 1-3 November 2019. Details and booking.

A house of leaves

Gabrielle Hoad | A house of leaves (after Alison Knowles) - detail | Made for ‘Building Proposals’ by Nick Davies | 2019

A house of leaves, by a river, using all available lighting, inhabited by friends. 

I'm thrilled to be included in a new limited edition box publication by Nick Davies of Loophole Projects. Made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Fantastic Architecture, a landmark book by Dick Higgins and Wolf Vostell, this publication features new work by 22 contemporary artists and one architect. They are: Chris Agnew, Sovay Berriman, Ricardo Bloch, Simon and Tom Bloor, Paul Carter, Stuart Crewes, Ryan Curtis, Nick Davies, Polly Gregson, S Mark Gubb, Gabrielle Hoad, Evy Jokhova, Scott King, Sean Lynch, Alex Murdin, Emily Speed, Simon Starling, Mark Titchner, Charlie Tweed, Paul Unett, Ian Watson, Bedwyr Williams, Sam Venables.

My own contribution A house of leaves connects with Alison Knowles’contribution to the original publication, which was a computer-generated poem that described numerous permutations of a house and its inhabitants. My work reflects just one of those permutations.

I had come across some dead Gunnera (‘giant rhubarb’) leaves in the formal gardens of the Dartington Estate in Devon. They were being used to give frost protection to the plants but it struck me that they would be big and strong enough to shelter human bodies -- and that they resembled some sort of encampment. This 'natural' architecture allowed me to tie the built environment back to my personal interest in landscape.

https://www.nickdaviesworks.co.uk/building-proposals

Unruly materials

Preston Street Union | SERGE/SURGE | 28 May 2019 | Photo: Jonathan Price

Maps of voting patterns published just after the 2016 EU referendum and the 2017 General Election show Exeter as a tiny island of red in a sea of blue. Proudly Remain and perennially Labour, it stands in stark contrast to its Devon neighbours. Modern Exeter may not be the most multicultural of cities, but its long-standing overseas connections mean its positive attitude to European trade and migration is nothing new.

Migration used to be a relatively neutral word that described the movement of people, animals, information or ideas from one place to another. But in the context of a historical museum collection, where the provenance of many objects is tied up with empire-building, colonisation and war, it’s a highly charged concept. Add a sprinkling of Brexit uncertainty, and you’ve got yourself quite a hot potato.

We presumed the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) was aware of migration’s potential spikiness as a theme when it commissioned Preston Street Union (PSU) to work on it in relation to the museum collections. For our part, we thought that by focusing on Exeter’s history – its historic wool trade, its ancient city walls – we could discuss migration, but in a cooler-headed way. Of course, in the current climate (including anti-Trump and Extinction Rebellion protests), any organised public action will be read as overtly political. But making live work in public spaces is what PSU does.

We were initially inspired by First Nations artefacts in RAMM’s World Cultures collection, which incorporate fragments of red woollen cloth produced in the south west of England. They seemed like potent material traces of complex international trade relations. Originally used to build relationships with indigenous peoples, the cloth ultimately became an incentive, along with the promise of protection, for handing over ancestral lands to colonisers. Eventually, the cloth fragments found their way back to Britain as part of these First Nations 'collectors' items.

Wanting to show Exeter’s connectedness with the wider world, we devised a dramatic breaching Exeter's city wall with of 15 metres of red woollen fabric. We knew this ‘surge’ of serge could suggest incursion, defence or escape. That red could read as the socialist ‘red flag’, as a claim by an invading force, or even as blood and death – and we encouraged this ambiguity in the face of migration's complexity. But, most of all, we intended our unfurling fabric as a red carpet of welcome.

We not only raised and released the generous bolt of fabric from on high, we cleaned and re-rolled it after it had fallen to the ground, working carefully and diligently in relay as a team. And, dressed in an improvised uniform of caps and knee-pads, we carried this awkward, weighty, comment-provoking object across the city in an untidy march. At the next site we would signal it in, directing attention with paddles and whistles like train conductors or marshals on an airport runway. Throughout our actions, the fabric always moved outward and onward, extending itself into the world. The fabric was the star-turn – often taking its own surprising route as it spilled over the wall and hit the ground with a satisfying thump. We were merely its enablers.

After its final surge we carried the length loose to a waiting table under a shady tree, where we served warm Exeter Pudding, made from a historic recipe. We’d embroidered the serving cloth with a tribute from the nearby statue of Thomas Acland that commemorates his “generous heart and open hand”.

In an unexpected turn, the gathered crowd descended on the table before our red carpet of welcome could be properly laid at their feet. They had spied the Exeter Puddings on offer and, unable to wait for the hosts’ invitation, were already tucking in.

SERGE/SURGE is the first of two works on the theme of migration to be produced by Preston Street Union for RAMM. It was commissioned by Lara Goodband, Curator of Contemporary Art at Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum and supported with funding from Arts Council England.  

PSU also acknowledge the kind support of Sovay Berriman, Topos Exeter, Exeter Phoenix, Exeter Castle and Jonathan Price. Exeter Puddings were researched and baked by Ebdon’s Refreshments. 

Review by Leigh Curtis, Exeter Observer

Review by Trevor H Smith, a-n

SERGE/SURGE

Preston Street Union | SERGE/SURGE (work in progress) | 2019

On 28 May 2019, I will be working as part of Preston Street Union to present the first of two commissions on the theme of migration for Exeter's Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM).

Through a series of brief, live actions, SERGE/SURGE considers the constant flow of people, artefacts and ideas across the city wall over the centuries. It takes Exeter’s historic wool trade as a source of inspiration and the wall itself as a site for performance and interaction.

Although the work invites its audience to think about ideas of insider and outsider, barriers and connections, its spirit is one of generosity and welcome.

There are four chances to catch it during Tuesday 28 May 2019, plus a closing event.

1315: Northernhay Gardens, Queen Street entrance, near statue of Acland
1415: Footpath below Yaroslavl Bridge leading to Quay, near Cathedral  & Quay car park
1615: Cricklepit Lane, City Wall path overlooking back of Devon Wildlife Trust
1715: Northernhay Gardens, Northernhay Place entrance, below Castle Wall
1730: Closing event, Northernhay Gardens, Northernhay Place entrance

The event lasts around 10 minutes at each location, so please arrive promptly.

More info at prestonstreetunion.wordpress.com

Moving into new territory

Preston Street Union with Pete Kingston | Galleries R Us | 2018 | Photo: Jonathan Price

I'm delighted to announce that Preston Street Union (PSU), of which I'm a founding associate, has been commissioned by the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) in Exeter to make new contemporary work inspired by RAMM’s 2019 theme ‘migration’. Ten core associates from the group will be working collectively, in collaboration with the museum's curators, to create two linked pieces: one to be presented off-site in May and one inside the museum in November.

Having always worked on an informal, DIY basis with extremely limited resources, this is a new venture for PSU (although several associates have previously delivered professional commissions within their own practices). I think it's fair to say that, for many of us, PSU and its simple, improvisational approach plays a vital role in feeding and challenging our separate, independent practices as artists.

We were previously backed by Spacex (as a legacy of Trevor Pitt's residency there) and, since that organisation closed, have been associate artists at Exeter Phoenix. However, this is the first time a major institution has offered us actual funding rather than in-kind support. It's already meant certain changes to the way we work, such as opening a bank account and appointing project managers.

With this in mind, we've invited artist and coach Sovay Berriman to work with us over a couple of days during our initial research and development phase. We hope to work out how to nurture our spirit of fun and experimentation while collectively making the transition to a more organised way of working.

The RAMM commission is a very welcome development, not only because it validates the work we've done to date together, but because artist-led organisations can die on their feet with no disruption or forward momentum. However, there is also a chance that professional formalities and expectations will have an impact on the playful, open-ended nature of our interactions with each other and our audiences.

We want to hang on to the things we all value about PSU, while taking the opportunity to make more ambitious work. It's a calculated risk (for RAMM as much as us) - and one I'm glad we're taking.

RAMM press release

A question of restoration

Sarah Bennett | Pear Pond | 2018 | Silver on glass

Materiality: provisional states is the culmination of a three-year research project at Hestercombe House and Gardens in Somerset, prompted by the ongoing restoration of the estate and plans to establish it as a centre for art and landscape. Artists Sarah Bennett, Megan Calver and Philippa Lawrence worked in collaboration with Hestercombe's Curator of Contemporary Art, Tim Martin, and visiting curator Kate Best, as well as the estate's archivists and gardeners.

I was invited to contribute to the project as part of a series of dialogue sessions held during 2017 and 2018. I joined a group of artists, curators, architects, horticulturists and academics to consider issues such as what brought this garden to its current state of repair; its reclamation by nature; and the tension between maintenance and entropy. Our own writing and making on these themes has now been added to the archive and will be shared at a seminar on 15 February 2019. 

In the final exhibition, three diverse bodies of work by Sarah Bennett, Megan Calver and Philippa Lawrence criss-cross in a number of fascinating dialogues. For example, there's a thread on domestic labour (Bennett's reversed tapestries, Calver's neatly crafted fire grates, and Lawrence's French-polished logs). And another on the cataloguing and modification of nature (Lawrence's bound bonsai and enamelled tree stump silhouettes, Bennett's 'fake' cherry trees and silverpoint seed drawings, and Calver's images of scorched flowers). It's a thoughtful, thought-provoking show that quietly asks searching questions of the estate's custodians.

Philippa Lawrence | Trace | 2018

Although I've always found this slightly shabby house an eloquent backdrop to its various carefully curated exhibitions, this one seems to sit especially comfortably in the space. Materiality: provisional states acknowledges the house and its absent inhabitants and contents, reminding us of its history as the Devon and Somerset Fire Brigade HQ, and looking outwards to the Jekyll/Lutyens gardens which surround it. If there are no neat take-aways from the show, it's simply a reflection of the fragmented archives that inspired it and a future for the house and gardens that is yet to fully take shape.

Megan Calver | Spill 2 | 2018

Materiality: provisional states

Hestercombe Gallery, Cheddon Fitzpaine, Taunton. Somerset TA2 8LG

Saturday 10 November 2018 - Sunday 24 February 2019