Jacqueline Bradley – Soft Mechanics

Late last year I was invited by incredibly hard-working local artist Jacqueline Bradley to write about her practice. I jumped at the chance – I’ve always been interested in Bradley’s work but have never had much opportunity to speak to her about it in depth. Besides this, I also knew I would get to visit her in the studio, and spending time with artists in their workspace is one of my all-time favourite things – it’s amazing what you can learn from those seemingly casual conversations among works in the process of coming into being. (Is there a job where you can just hang out with artists in their studios all day? Anyone?)

Bradley was putting together a publication as part of successfully receiving an Artstart grant through the Australia Council. The idea was to produce a little book of images of her recent works and current CV to send to galleries and what-not as a sort of harder-working business card. In addition, the book would feature a bit of thoughtful, rambling text about Bradley’s practice by yours truly. It really is a great idea and the format of a booklet is in no way obsolete. Back working in the Contemporary Art Space, I would forever be receiving CDs in the mail from artists as an introduction to their work, but the process of loading the disc meant they became something I would look at ‘a bit later’ and more often than not I’m ashamed to say I never got around to them. A booklet is so immediate, and gets picked up and browsed through without a second thought. Well worth considering putting something like this together if you get a bit of cash from a sale or grant somewhere and want to put it back toward your practice.

Jac has very kindly allowed me to post my text here to share with you, so read on below if you like, but I recommend getting your hands on one of these books if you can, if only for the great images within! Also, be sure to check out her spiffy website if you’re interested in what else she’s up to.

 

Soft Mechanics – Jacqueline Bradley

Already, Jacqueline Bradley is noted for her command of the objects and materials that surround us and we call our own. Felts and fabric, chairs and tables, cups, cutlery, pots and pans, shoes and clothing, tools, wallpaper and windows; the soft mechanics of our existence. Bradley has an intimate understanding of each object, informed by her lived experience, which in turn speaks to our own.

The time-honoured purpose of each familiar form, each inanimate friend, is re-examined, re-imagined, offered an alternative way of being, added meaning, a new gravity. Some objects are joined to meet one another for the first time, others are taken apart. The resulting sculptures present moments of genius, but just as often there is a sense of awkwardness where the objects act as an interim to create, in Bradley words, “a bridge between yourself and a situation you don’t feel very comfortable with at all.”

He Said, She Said – The Childers Group Forum

As promised to some folk following the event, here is the discussion paper I gave at last week’s Childers Group Forum. I prefaced the five minute talk by pointing out that this is NOT my area of expertise, but as the theme was ‘burning issues and radical ideas’ I decided to go right ahead a stick my nose where I possibly ought not, with limited understanding or concern for the way things work ‘in the real world’. I think that was largely the point of the night, after all.

I travel to Newcastle regularly for my work with the This Is Not Art festival. On a visit about eighteen months ago I was browsing some locally produced zines and in one publication I came across a full-page hand drawn pie chart entitled ‘How To Create A Cultural Precinct’.

The pie chart was divided into sections showing the necessary ingredients for cultural precincts, the largest sections being labeled  ‘more parking space’, ‘Melbourne’s café scene’, ‘Gold-Coast style apartments’ and ‘markets like the ones they have at The Rocks’.

A note at the bottom of the page reads: “oops, we forgot to add some local flavour”.

Obviously, the artist behind the chart was frustrated by the state of affairs in their hometown – While I had laughed out loud on first read, the longer I looked at the chart the more depressed I became, in realizing that it reminded me of my own hometown, Canberra, and the bizarre current trend for ‘arts precincts’ and their curious relationship to high-priced residential developments.

This brings me to my ‘radical idea’: What if Canberra did gentrification the right way around?

What if we had the patience to let these cultural or arts precincts grow on their own accord, in their own spaces and in their own time, rather than speeding through a process that is meant to take decades in the hope of creating some shadow of what exists in other cities.

An example (extremely hypothetical and full of holes but bear with me):

In 1997 the Molonglo Group acquired Acton blocks and the old Hotel Acton (which were at the time zoned for social and community use…by 1999 they had been rezoned to residential and commercial). What if, at this point, these buildings had been handed over to artists as is.

What if the small allotments within each building, typical of early Canberra hostels and as seen at Gorman House Arts Centre, were filled with artists of all persuasions; not just visual artists but writers, dancers, musicians, performers – any creatively inclined group or individual. What if the building’s communal dining halls became spaces for exhibition, performance or community gatherings?

In close proximity to the School of Art, the School of Music and the Street Theatre, these artist complexes could have been buzzing and vital. Maybe this use could ultimately have informed the development itself, and demand from persons using and visiting the space could have eventually directed the addition of cafes and retail. Then could come the apartments. By which time, some folk who carved out careers in these complexes could have done well enough to consider buying one. Tellingly, columnist Elizabeth Farrelly wrote of NewActon in the Sydney Morning Herald in February that it was “like a bit of Surry Hills escaped to the lake shore.” Unfortunately for us, we never got the incredible Surry Hills art history to match.

And what of the Kingston Foreshore development, also known as the Kingston Arts Precinct? It is, after all, the classic light industrial district like that from which all gentrification success stories emerge, if they do things the right way around.

A big old empty building or two, now long ago demolished, could have formed a bustling multi-discipline studio complex and the central nervous system of a future arts mecca. Instead, the development currently has little more to work from than retail shops, lakeside restaurants, and of course, apartments, while the fight continues over the Fitters Workshop.

And right here in this neck of the woods (Childers Street), we have another recently anointed Arts Precinct. But why then (aside from a probable asbestos problem) were ideally positioned small demountable buildings demolished, just as they were beginning to encapsulate the very essence of what arts precincts want? Such as fantastic live music, including international touring acts, at the old MacGregor Hall.

The relationship of artists to property developer should not been seen one of charity or consumption (with the developer funding arts activity or buying artworks), so much a mutually beneficial arrangement in which the artistic or creative community is recognised for the surprising power it brandishes as the soul of a city, with an influence capable of molding the desires of the rest of its residents. Artists transform cities wherever they congregate, and the rest of the populace wants in.

You can read the wrap-up of the Childers Group event on their brand new site, where they are also encouraging feedback from punters on the night.

Twenty Twelve So Far

April brings with it the 3rd anniversary of this little blog. That also means that if I stretch the number of posts I’ve made (155 or so) across those three years you get a very poor average in terms of update rates. Tsk. If you’ve got time to kill (and can’t possibly find anything better to do on the Internet) take a trip through the archives and some of my older articles. You might enjoy my bossy guide on how to conduct oneself at an exhibition opening, or if you can stand it you could plow through my rant about the 17th Biennale of Sydney and why I hate Cockatoo Island as an arts venue. I might also suggest checking out the debate I accidentally spurred surrounding guerrilla/squat art events in Canberra, discovering what it really means to be a freelancer, or my general confusion and uneasiness around Brodburger being housed by a publicly funded art institution. Or you might just decide to go on YouTube instead.

Enough about then, what’s happened recently?

Hadley, myself and Finnigan launch our You Are Here 2012 program at Smith's Bookshop in February (Photo: Adam Thomas)

From late 2011 it was all systems go in preparation for You Are Here 2012, which snowballed in momentum until the festival took place from March 8-18. This time around, David Finnigan and I were joined by third co-producer Adam Hadley, and provided with much needed office space courtesy of The Canberra Theatre Centre – complete with whiteboard and pot plants. I suspect I have gone on about it enough in previous posts, but head to youareherecanberra.com.au for all the stories, photos and videos from this year’s festivities. Oh, and get out your long-range planners as we will shortly be beginning work towards You Are Here 2013 – The Final Countdown (they don’t really call it that, I call it that), penciled in for March 14-24.

Also in late 2011, myself and co-collaborator partners in (art) crime George Rose and Vanessa Wright were successful in receiving an ArtsACT grant in the 2012 round. The funding goes towards our research into artist-run initiatives and co-working spaces with an aim toward creating a practical and affordable co-working space for artists and freelance creatives in the centre of Canberra. We’re getting our heads around the different organisational and business models that are currently operating with similar projects in other cities so as best to find a workable option for this funny little city of ours. We’re excited that ArtsACT has taken such an interest in this idea and are hugely grateful for their support thus far.

In February I was asked by the amazing and tireless Rosie Stevens of Scissors Paper Pen to facilitate a panel discussion happening in conjunction with Melbourne’s Women of Letters and The National Library of Australia. I was joined by David Pope (political cartoonist), Michaela McGuire (co-curator, Women of Notes), Susannah Helman (curator, National Library) and Kathy Richards (Amnesty International) to discuss the state of the written form, its current challenges and future possibilities, in the context of the Library’s crazily popular Handwritten exhibition. Thanks to some techno-wizardry you can download the podcast of our discussion HERE.

David Pope, Michaela McGuire, myself, Susannah Helman & Kathy Richards following our panel at the National Library

Also in February I was flattered to be approached to join the board of directors for CAPO (Contemporary Arts Patrons Orgranisation). In short: “The Capital Arts Patrons Organisation is a volunteer non-profit organisation that has supported the ACT region’s artists for 28 years.  Since establishment in 1983, CAPO has disbursed over $1.7 million dollars as arts fellowships and awards with support from the Canberra arts and business communities. Goods and services donated to CAPO by Canberra businesses, and outstanding artworks by Canberra’s highly collectible established and promising emerging artists are sold at the annual CAPO auction.” It’s a pretty great scheme that I’m keen to make a contribution toward. Expect much about CAPO activities in future updates.

In March, in between You Are Here, I took some time to do a bit of writing, having been invited by the incredible Lee Grant to contribute an essay to her book Belco Pride, due back from print later this year. I jumped at the chance to sink my teeth into this photographic series, having been a fan for a long while. There will be plenty of bragging to be done once the book is released, so I will save it for another time.

April has found me attempting to take a little time out, on account of a particular major project pending delivery in June (evident from previous photograph). Next week however I am looking forward to contributing towards discussion as a presenter at The Childers Group first public forum – Wednesday the 18th at the Street Theatre. Then, coming up in May, I will be joining Jacinda Jackson, New Best Friend co-director and design superwoman responsible for the amazing You Are Here visual aesthetic, to join a roundtable discussion about branding for arts organisations. The seminar is taking place through the Australian Business Arts Foundation, more info can be found here.

I am also currently working with my fellow Critical Animals co-directors at programming this year’s symposium. The applications are all in and we’re piecing together a stellar line-up of presentations, discussions, readings and performances as a part of This Is Not Art 2012. Last year’s symposium was a standout of TINA, and this year looks to do it all again. I highly recommend you plan to be in Newcastle from 27 September to 1 October, and even though you’ve missed the formal proposal deadline, feel free to drop us a line if you feel you might have something to contribute, or you’d just love to be involved in some way. Head to the Critical Animals site for all the info and contact details.

Me (far right) and the This Is Not Art team in Newcastle last year, along with the one of the best damn pieces of architecture I know.

Phew. Well that’s where I’m at as of April 12. I would go and lie down now but I’m already in bed and under the doona. Where do you go from here?

New Work: Fiona Veikkanen in Material World

Yesterday I trundled over to ANCA to catch current exhibition Material World. Curated by Martine Peters and Narelle Phillips, the small group show features locals Ampersand Duck, Ruth Hingston, Tony Steel and Fiona Veikkanen alongside interstaters Tracey Deep, Mandy Gunn, Ro Murray and Flossie Peitsch.

The show was touted as “an exhibition of site specific installations in the gallery and surrounds, exploring environmentalism through the use of recycled and found materials.” I would disagree with the site specific tag here – each work could easily have existed in any other exhibition space or surrounding – but overall the show acted as a great showcase of sculpture and installation works exhibiting a stellar use of, as the blurb notes, reclaimed, recycled and found materials. The only odd addition was G is for Gallery by Flossie Peitsch, which requested the viewer to download a QR code scanner to one’s smartphone in order to correctly view the work. Apologising in advance for my lack of patience and luddite nature in the deciphering of this process I confess the work went over my head. It certainly required a very different headspace to that of the other works exhibited, and, enjoying the tactility of the these I found I was unable to make the leap.

My encounter with the exhibition was also hugely skewed by the inclusion of an incredible new work by Fiona Veikkanen. A long, heavy, enclosed leather sack suspended from the ceiling, Sag Bag is immediately reminiscent of an old-world punching bag, but for its exaggerated dimensions, which hint at other, stranger possibilities. The distended form rests its weight wearily and defeated upon the floor, suggesting a great tiredness, sickness, or some unfortunate misunderstanding. The apparently useless object has obviously once been heavily used, its time-worn surface telling a thousand tales, thanks to Veikkanen’s clever use of reclaimed leather. For such a simple form Sag Bag is wildly emotive, and powerfully holds attention within the gallery as if it were a living, breathing creature. For me, it felt as though this could have been the only artwork in the room.

All images courtesy of Fiona Veikkanen

Recent graduate Veikkanen has been increasingly prolific of late. While Sag Bag is a much of a continuation in the approach, materials and subject for which she is most well known, I feel the work is also an important marker of a career that has drastically changed gears, now operating smoothly on entirely another level of artistic maturity. Indeed, Sag Bag would have felt just as at home and held its space just as powerfully in the contemporary collection of a major gallery or national institution as it does at ANCA. I realise now more than ever that this is an artist to watch.

Material World closes on April 8th, so get in to ANCA quick if you want to see this piece for yourself.

Images of Sag Bag taken from Fiona Veikkanen’s site, head there to check on upcoming projects and see more of her recent work.

Fiona Veikkanen’s solo exhibition Creature Comforts opens at Canberra Contemporary Art Space Manuka on Thursday April 12th.

Petite Public Art

I really, really miss the Domain project. It got artists out in the open (literally), it pushed them to try something new, it challenged the notions of what ‘art’ (and furthermore ‘public art’) should be/is, it caught audiences unaware, everyone had a helluva lot of fun and got to go to the pub after. When curating events for this year’s You Are Here festival, I knew this was the sort of thing I was hoping to achieve. I was also still heavily inspired by last year’s ANCA exhibition Pin (you may recall me raving about), which gathered a huge number of local artists working to a very specific brief to fantastic ends. To seal the deal, You Are Here had no indoor spaces suitable for exhibiting artwork. Rather than not exhibit artwork, I had to find another solution. It was this combination of inspiration and necessity that led to Petite Public Art.

I described the event as thus:

Canberra has had an unfair reputation for investing bazillions in large scale public artworks and just plonking them down any old where. To take a different tack, You Are Here has invited a street team of Canberra artists to festoon their city with public art of the more covert variety. In cracks in the pavement, on windowsills and in flowerboxes, tiny sculptures and interventions infiltrate the city, going unnoticed to the masses, but rewarding those who take the time to look a little more closely.

I sent artists a project brief, asked them to choose a sneaky spot in the city, and Petite Public Art was on its way. Once everyone had settled on a location, I got to work on a walking map. For some reason I drew it by hand. I guess I just wanted to be in on the action.

On Friday March 9 we launched Petite Public Art at Canberra Museum and Gallery as a part of the You Are Here festival program. CMAG was to act as a starting point for the ‘tour’ and generously dispatched the maps on our behalf. The artists were excited, but I had no idea as to whether the project would fly with audiences. The map was quite vague, the works were challenging and widespread – it asked a lot of the viewer in order to gain reward. But no sooner had the speeches concluded groups of folk were spotted out in the March evening, maps clutched in hand, scouring high and low to locate these artistic treasures, looking not unlike people who had lost their marbles. Best of all – they were having a good time.

For those of you who missed out, here is a near-complete Petite Public Art in pictures…

Dan Edwards contributed this gem over near Harvest cafe. It disappeared towards the end of the festival, and I can only hope that whoever got their mitts on it appreciate how great a work it is.

Dan Edwards (photo by Adam Thomas)

Al Munroe contributed some stunning gold pieces from her ‘Patterns That Aren’t’ series. They spoke beautifully to the CMAG architecture on which they were located. So much so that when the time came for removal CMAG asked if they could stay. I strongly suggest you check it out if you can – the photo doesn’t do them justice!

Al Munroe

One of the harder works to find but probably one of the most amusing – a chewing gum construction by Adam Veikkanen:

Adam Veikkanen

And this one by Dan Stewart-Moore definitely took the title for most challenging to locate, but the tiny door is so incredibly finished – it looks as though it’s been there forever! I hope it suitably freaks out some members of the public, or is spotted by a small child who will remain ever-convinved that fairies really do exist.

Dan Stewart-Moore (photo by Adam Thomas)

Jess Casha’s mirror installation was simple and gorgeous, catching your eye with its glint, reflecting the sky and the trees in the middle of the city.

Jessica Casha

Jacqui Bradley’s beautiful signpost interventions were so well executed that I’m sure they would have survived far longer than the ten days of the festival. I wish they all could stay!

Jacqueline Bradley

Adam and Fiona Veikkanen submitted a collaborative piece; Here it is – or rather they are – in progress…

Adam & Fiona Veikkanen

…Before being placed into their chosen location! They didn’t last long, but that’s understandable. The racing snails will still be out there somewhere.

Adam & Fiona Veikkanen

Helani Laisk made these beautiful soft additions to a very dull wall in Petrie Plaza. They kept being taken, but she would replace them just as quickly!

Helani Laisk

Jonathan Webster scattered some of his tiny works at the foot of a tree amongst the pebbles. This was a nice piece to sit next to and contemplate.

Jonathan Webster (photo by Adam Thomas)

Simon Scheuerle – just as cheeky as ever. A humble package that wasn’t going anywhere for anyone.

Simon Scheuerle (photo by Adam Thomas)

This installation by Poppy Malik looked great by night – when the street lamps caught the glitter and it came aglow.

Poppy Malik (photo by Adam Thomas)

Newcomer to Canberra Karen Cromwell got involved, placing her work at one of the power boxes in Riverside Lane. The project has been a great excuse to get people into parts of the city they may not even know exist, this lane being one good example.

Karen Cromwell

Tree fungi by Tiffany Cole. I think a lot of people would have been easily fooled by this one!

Tiffany Cole

….And some mushrooms in the undergrowth. The burst of colour was great.

Tiffany Cole

More snails! These gorgeous works by Jessica Kelly were nestled outside Smiths Bookshop. There were originally five, but these were reduced to three by mid festival. As with the other works that mysteriously vanished during the project, I hope the new owners are damn well appreciative!

Jessica Kelly

As you can see, not all seventeen works made it through the ten days of the festival. In the unfortunate case of one artist the work was removed even before the launch (apologies again Nat!). I am so grateful to all the artists involved for their flexibility and great attitude towards the project. I’m also grateful for the patience and sense of humour our audiences demonstrated in their participation. If I take on a project of this nature again (and I would like to) I think a shorter duration would be beneficial – giving audiences the best chance of seeing as many of the works as they can in their original state.

I have always enjoyed stumbling across little interventions in the city, wondering who put them there or how they came to be – whether they are intentional or entirely by accident. I hope that Petite Public Art created some moments like this for people who had no idea of the project, and I hope it added something to their day, be it pleasing or perplexing, whether they care about ‘art’ or not. I also hope the project encourages people to keep intervening.

Petite Public Art is reviewed in the latest issue of BMA Magazine. Check it out HERE

The Childers Group – Public Forum Numero Uno

Over the past months you may have heard murmurings about The Childers Group, and it’s possible you let those murmurs wash over you willy nilly because a name like The Childers Group sounds rather like the everyday kind of ‘group’ that are likely to be building the latest dubiously named boutique apartment complex or megalithic office park in this furiously industrious little city. How far from the truth this is! In fact, the Childers Group is an independent arts forum, formed in November last year to provide a new voice for the arts in the ACT region. In their words:

The Childers Group is committed to the long-term viability and vitality of the arts. A key part of our role is advocating support for the arts to governments at all levels, and to engage with the private sector, educators, the media and the broader community about the value of the arts and their role in the cultural sector.

Next month finds the group hosting their first public forum – a ‘facilitated conversation pit’ featuring five guest speakers a facilitator of note. Imagine my delight and then delayed terror at having been invited to be one of this five, alongside Centenary of Canberra Creative Directive Robyn Archer, Opposition arts spokesperson Vicki Dunne, Greens arts spokesperson Caroline Le Couteur and urban poet Omar Musa.

As it is a public forum, you’re invited to come along and get involved. 5 for 5:30pm, Wednesday April 18 at The Street Theatre. Please note RSVP details in the invite below.

Take the time to read more about the Childers Group and the fine talents behind their endeavours at their site, and hope to see you at the forum!

Come along!

Get To It – Critical Animals 2012

As the sun sets on You Are Here 2012 things are just heating up for another very special festival – Newcastle’s This Is Not Art. As a co-director of Critical Animals (which makes up one third of the This Is Not Art family), my job is to remind you all to get amongst it. Critical Animals is a creative research symposium that acts as a forum for students, researchers, writers, artists, thinkers and just plain old curious individuals who are critically engaged with creative and experimental art practices. If you like talking, listening, discussing, debating and thinking hard then this is an event for you. If you are an art maker or enthusiast then doubly so. A trip to This Is Not Art festival is a rite of passage for anyone in the creative industries and for most it becomes an annual mission. I say, if you’re gonna head to the festival you may as well be involved.

Proposals to participate in Critical Animals 2012 are NOW OPEN and there is space for presenters and contributors from all backgrounds. Head to the Critical Animals site for full proposal guidelines and to check out what sorts of events we’ve hosted in past programs. Don’t delay, Deadline is April 1st

Panel discussion in the incredible surrounds of The Lock Up's exercise yard - Critical Animals 2011