Recreation: Critical Fine Art Practice Second Year Show

I have to say firstly that this is my first EVER blog, so hopefully it will be successful!?!

I am in my second year of a rather curious course called Critical Fine Art Practice at Brighton; basically involves theory, philosophy and good old practical art thrown into one mishmash.  A couple of weeks ago saw the culmination of our second year group show, Recreation, opening on 30th April and closing on the 6th May (far too short!)

I should really explain the premise of our show; we tried to create a show that brings together our practice as artists and art students (very loosely named professional practice) and what we do in our spare time and/or what we keep ‘under the table’ (ranging from hobbies to craft to art that we don’t think fits in with the course - amateur work).  This of course brings up an array of interesting questions about the relationship between what we consider work and what we discard and categorize as something else - especially on a course which constantly questions work on a conceptual level. 

The way I attacked the problem was quite quick and decisive.  My art practice revolves around research into Jersey and work that reflects my research work, but I also, on a completely different level, take photographs of my boyfriend’s heavy metal band for fun and as a form of documentation for him. A lot of the students became anxious at the idea that they might be assessed on their hobby and as a result, became much more conscious about how they presented that work and almost left their ‘practice’ in the side lines.  That of course is a concern for me (having not had my assessment back!), but I thought to be completely honest about it, I would have to just do nothing more with the photographs than I would normally.  So, only basic editing (because I just don’t have the patience for computers) and got them printed out as 7x5’s, chucked them in a frame I had lying around from Habitat. Done. Had I done anymore with them, it would have ceased to be my hobby and would have become too much like work!

For my practice piece I etched an old sash window salvaged from a window company.  It’s a lovely old window, full of character and life.  The actual design for the window was based around Jersey landscapes and history.  I wanted to create something that encompassed Jersey’s beautiful side and its more ugly history.  So each of the six panes had a different theme, rotating around the central panes which had an etching of me as a child and my favourite place in Jersey, the beach behind Mont Orguiel.  The rest of the drawings illustrated the Occupation, the mark the Nazi’s left, Haute de la Garenne and the attempt to turn Jersey into a miniature Canary Wharf.  The aim of this piece is not to point any blame, not to change the world, but to bring every aspect of Jersey to one plane, together, in a view that the audience can look through. 

For me, what works with the piece is that the glass does not allow the viewer to see the etchings clearly.  If there is no direct light on the work, it is difficult to get see all of the etchings at once.  It requires patience in order to get rewarded with actually seeing something.  However, in the late afternoon, the sun hits the work and the etchings suddenly come to life and form shadows across the wall behind the window. 

The exhibition worked really well as a whole; the pieces really worked together, not just individual artists but as a group.  There was a lot connections that just clicked the moment we got the work into the gallery.  It  also got a really good response from the visitors; general public and tutors alike because it allowed nearly everyone who saw it to connect with it on some level.  We had people playing darts in the gallery window, someone else painting, even had some short animations which one of the students made with her son.  Overall, a resounding success! It was really interesting to look at both pieces of work and really think about where our practice actually lies as artists; sometimes one informs the other, or they are completely unrelated, an interesting dynamic to observe.