Fine Art Senior Lecturer Mercedes Kemp on 100:UnEarth by WildWorks

BA(Hons) Fine Art Senior Lecturer, Mercedes Kemp, is also Community and Research Director of international site-specific theatre company WildWorks. Here she talks about the company’s current production, at the Lost Gardens of Heligan – outdoor promenade performance 100:UnEarth – for which she is Lead Artist, Writer and Researcher…The acclaimed production is on until 22 July 2018, tickets from Hall For Cornwall…

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‘100:UnEarth tells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. A tragic love story. Orpheus returns to his beloved wife Eurydice. On the day they are reunited she is killed in a tragic accident. Orpheus cannot accept her death and embarks on an audacious quest to pluck her out of the Underworld. Our telling of the story is set in the vast grounds of the Lost Gardens of Heligan, and is told in a grand scale.

In 100:UnEarth, WildWorks have set the myth against the background of the First World War and the catastrophic losses it produced. The war has ended. The men are coming home. Many are damaged, broken. They return to the families they left behind. Their women have learned to survive alone, to be self-reliant, work the land, feed themselves and their children. Nothing will ever be the same…

As we journey through the Underworld we encounter the souls of those who lost their lives in the Great War, but also of those who died in more recent conflicts. Hades, the great Lord of Death continues to reap his harvest.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan give us the perfect metaphor. A place where growth and decay co-exist. A place full of promise. A place that teaches us a valuable lesson. Death is inevitable. Gardens die out in the winter, but they return back to life in the spring. And love goes on, endlessly regenerating itself.

This multi-disciplinary promenade production uses every art form: stage design, installation, performance, music, soundscape, video projection. And its connections to Falmouth University are strong: students from AMATA have done an amazing job, alongside 200 community volunteers and a team of sixty professionals. Production Designer Myrddin Wannell and Community Projects and Underworld Designer Ellie Williams are both BA(Hons) Fine Art alumni and were my students twelve years ago. Undergraduates and graduates from the School of Film and Television have been capturing our every move. Associate Lecturer in Dance and Choreography, Emily Dobson, has given performers all their moves.

I am immensely proud to have led this project to completion. Catch it if you can. Until July 22^nd at the Lost Gardens of Heligan‘.

100: UnEarth is co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW and The Lost Gardens of Heligan

“Last night, some magic in the mist. 100: UnEarth a beautiful immersive experience, A love story inspired by Orpheus and Eurydice. See this if you can.” Falmouth University Chancellor Dawn French on Twitter

Utopia and dystopia at Kestle Barton

Students from BA(Hons) Fine Art, BA(Hons) Architecture and BA(Hons) Creative Writing came together for a 1 day collaborative project at Kestle Barton, a rural centre for contemporary art on Frenchman’s Creek in Cornwall.

Students explored themes of utopia and dystopia in the current show Kestle Barton exhibition, Togetherness: Notes on Outrage. Curator Ben James opened up questions for debate relating to a post industrial landscape; students discussed the themes in small groups before setting out into the landscape of Kestle Barton and its beautiful gardens to make artworks in response to place.

Students took a documentary approach, walking though the landscape gathering a sense of the environment, generating fiction and narrative about Kestle Barton. In small, mixed discipline teams, recording the soundscape of place with high-tech sound equipment that picked up frequencies within the earth, students walked, talked, made drawings, collected sound and film footage which informed their discussions about their relationship to place and site. BA(Hons) Fine Art Senior Lecturer Lucy Willow, said ‘The warm autumn day provided the perfect opportunity for students to explore the possibilities of working off campus, away from the studio, with students from different creative subjects, finding common ground within their practice’.

BA(Hons) Fine Art student Alex Maclachlan shared some thoughts about the day…

‘Kestle Barton was a very refreshing experience for me, and I am very grateful to have gone. The idea that we would be exploring the theme of Utopia/Dystopia throughout is what drew my initial interest in the trip and yet the day turned out to have many more advantages than just aiding me in my current practice. For some time I’ve been eager to partner up with students on other courses at Falmouth, and [this study visit] extended me the opportunity to do just that…By the end of the day, some really interesting collaborative work had been produced among creative writers, architects and fine artists. We were exceedingly lucky with the weather, and the gentle conversation among students, tutors and Kestle Barton staff was all the more effortless because of it. We talked as we walked about the gardens in the sun, enjoyed the homemade lunch provided, all on top of the time dedicated to serious discussion…it was lovely to indulge in casual debate away from the elevated pressure you might find on campus or perhaps the more serious atmosphere you may find in the studio. This was an experience that I would happily participate in again’.

On at Kestle Barton until 4 November 2017, Togetherness: Notes on Outrage celebrates the pioneering work of the architecture critic Ian Nairn, whose 1955 edition of Architectural Review, entitled Outrage, revolutionised architectural criticism. For Outrage, Nairn traveled across England observing and documenting the urban sprawl and ubiquitous civic architecture. Broken into 25-mile segments, Outrage proposes an audit of every facet of subtopian aesthetics, covering subjects ranging from wire fencing, telegraph poles and street lights, to military installations and power stations, culminating in a manifesto and checklist of planning malpractices.

Artist Ruth Ewan to talk at Falmouth School of Art

In association with CAST and The Cornwall Workshop, Falmouth School of Art welcomes artist Ruth Ewan as part of our Guest Speaker Programme on Wednesday 19 October, 6pm.

Installation shot from ‘Back to the Fields’ Ruth Ewan – 2015 – Camden Arts Centre – photo by Haydar Dewachi

Ruth Ewan’s work includes events, installation, writing and printed matter. Her practice explores overlooked histories of radical, political and utopian thought, bringing to light specific ideas in order to question how we might live today. Always engaging with others, Ewan’s projects involve a process of focused research and close collaboration –  recent projects have led her to develop context specific projects within schools, prisons, hospitals, libraries, universities, Parliament and London Underground.

Her audio project ‘The Darks’, a collaboration with Astrid Johnston for Tate Britain, invites visitors to navigate the area around Tate Britain where the infamous Millbank Prison once stood. She is exhibiting in the 32^nd Bienal de Sao Paulo Incerteza Viva and will be leading The Cornwall Workshop organised by CAST (based in Helston, Cornwall) this month.

Ruth Ewan, image courtesy a-n.co.uk

Matthew Slotover, co-founder and publisher of Frieze, and trustee of the Arts Foundation, presenting Ewan with the Art Foundation Art in Urban Space Award this year, said of her, “Through performances, sculptures and interactive works, Ruth Ewan mines social history in a playful and often humorous style. Her work is socially engaged without being didactic, often reminding us of truths we didn’t know we knew. She is one of the country’s most promising artists and a deserved winner of this award.”

A Jukebox of People Trying to Change the World. Ongoing archive started in 2003

 

Ewan has also been shortlisted for the 6th edition of the Max Mara Art Prize for Women. Exhibitions of Ruth’s work have been presented at Camden Arts Centre, London (2015); Collective Gallery,Edinburgh (with Astrid Johnston, 2013); Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, the Glasgow International and the Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe (2012);Dundee Contemporary Arts and the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Sevilla (2011); the ICA, London (2008); the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland (2007) and Studio Voltaire, London (2006). She has realised projects in London for Parliament (2015), Vital Arts (2015), Create (2012), Art on the Underground (2011); Frieze Projects (2009) and Artangel (2007). Her work has also been included in survey exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw and Tate Liverpool (2013) and the New Museum, New York (2009).

 

 

Fine Art Alumna talks about life after Falmouth and her upcoming solo exhibition

Colouring Out by Millie Laing-Tate

After finishing my BA(Hons) Fine Art degree in Falmouth last summer, I have spent much of the last year travelling around Italy and Peru. The impact these adventures have had on me has proved invaluable, directly inspiring 2 site-specific installations and continuing to affect my ongoing practice.

‘Loop’ Wool and wood

I have been lucky enough to spend the last 4 months in my own studio for the first time and it is the results of this challenging and fun experience which make up ‘colouring out’, my first ever solo exhibition.

‘5:2 (the blue one)’ Fabric painted wood with stones

It is the exciting possibility of change which underpins all of my work, connecting it to the unstable nature of the world around us and challenging us to question what we see. Not confining myself to a particular medium or category allows for a level of unpredictability and surprise, two things I feel are very important both when making and viewing art.

untitled felt-tip and fabric on wood

By crossing boundaries between painting, sculpture and installation I have been trying to find ways of incorporating both my innate love of form and aesthetics with my intrigue in conceptual art. I have been making work which can be touched and moved by the viewer as well as some pieces with a more specific social commentary in response to the current political climate in Britain. Guided by my intuition, surroundings and ongoing interest in abstraction, I’ve been exploring the potential of using all materials in the creation of art.

‘Democratic (in)stability’ Ink, bubblewrap and wood

Millie’s next show opens next Saturday 24 September until Friday 30 September, open daily from 10am until 5pm.  The show takes place at Redearth Gallery, Tiverton, Devon.  Redearth Gallery is situated in a beautiful tranquil waterside location at Bickleigh, right next to the famous Bickleigh Mill, EX16 8RG. The studios are easy to get to with good parking.

‘Different aspirations, Shared destination (21st Century British Politics)’ Acrylic on toilet roll

‘7:3:1 (the green one)’ Fabric on painted wood with buttons and stone

Fine Art Alumna installs piece at Lyme Regis Arts Festival

Camilla Laing-Tate, who completed her BA(Hons) Fine Art degree at Falmouth in 2015 is continuing to exhibit her work throughout the Country.  Camilla’s latest piece has been installed as part of the Lyme Regis Arts Festival 2016.  ‘Wrapt’ is located at Leper’s Well on the Riverside Walk near the Town Mill and will be there until the end of September 2016.
Camilla has kindly provided us with some words and images about her latest beautiful installation piece.

“Directly influenced by this site and its origins, the materials reflect the nature and ‘fabric’ of the building that stood here hundreds of years ago. Once a 14^th century medieval hospital, all that now remains is the well which was used solely to supply water to the patients, many of whom suffered from leprosy.”

“Growing and breathing, the trees act as the pillars around which everything is wrapped and suspended, highlighting the important role they play in our everyday lives.”

“Stitched bedsheets and blue lias stone reference both interior and exterior features of the hospital. Placed in a new context, they morph into one another to form a reinvented structure which crosses the border between the well and the river, forming a link between the two separate water courses.”

“Connected by primary colours and string and left open to the unpredictable elements, the materials highlight the fragility of our shelters and question our attempts to make them secure.  Unattached and moveable elements heighten this sense of instability and allow for the possibility of change and reconstruction, whereby the old can be transformed into the new.”

 

Fine Art Alumni selected to exhibit in the Delamore Arts & Sculpture Exhibition

Camilla Laing-Tate, who graduated from BA(Hons) Fine Art in 2015 has been selected to exhibit in the Delamore Arts exhibition which takes place annually in May at the beautiful Delamore House in Devon.

Selected artists had to apply to take place in the exhibition with successful entries formally selected during a meeting of the Trustees of Delamore Art.   More than 100 leading sculptors and painters were selected from a tough range of competition.

Camilla has been given a space within this idyllic setting on the fringes of Dartmoor and has been asked to produce a site-specific installation.  Camilla is using her recent experiences of travelling around Peru and Italy to respond to the brief.

The Delamore Arts and Sculpture Exhibition takes place in a traditional Dartmoor agriculture estate house and gardens.  According to Delamore, the exhibition presents the largest collection of artist’s work in one place in the South West.

Delamore House will be open everyday throughout May from 10.30am – 4.30pm with admission at £7.50 and under 16s free.  Contact details are below:

Delamore House, Cornwood, Ivybridge, Devon, PL21 9QT.  Tel: 01752 837663. Website: Delamore House