SLICE Leeds

Do something with SLICE this March.

2011-02-13T04:37:00.000-08:00

new!new!new!

fullhouseleeds.tumblr.com

LAUNCH NIGHT : 26th February 2011. 6-8pm. PSL, Leeds.

what's this SLICE thing again?

2011-02-13T04:33:00.000-08:00

SLICE.
the refresher course.

SLICE believes in cohesion rather than isolation between art students.

SLICE is composed of individuals who come together from all the art institutions of Leeds.

SLICE believes in a shared platform where discussion and collaboration are initiated.

SLICE events are not solely exhibitions.

SLICE aims to be ongoing, running alongside institutions to develop Leeds’s art scene.

Or something like that.

Your New Favourite Place.

2010-11-28T05:09:00.000-08:00

This happened before ENCORE. A day of mapping and walking around the beautiful city of Leeds, imagining we were in other beautiful cities. We met protesting Greeks, smoked pens in tiny shelters, smoked pens in larger shelters, trespassed, drank tea, did admin, walked and discovered wonderful places.

ENCORE

2010-11-28T04:58:00.000-08:00

Well, Encore is up. And you can go see it everyday untl thursday between 4 and 7pm at 42 New Briggate. The opening night mainly involved making conversation in the back room and then eating fried chicken and debating the merits of Chicken Cottage/Dixie Chicken. A lot of lovely people came, but if you did miss it, come in the week!

The Final Triple Glazed Residency.

2010-11-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

The final showcase wrapped up what has been an amazing month of work at 42. The space was again packed out, there was some jazz, there were some competitions, I saw a lad drink some milk, it was all good. I think alot of people came wanting haircuts also. Thank you residents!

The Final Triple Glazed Residency.

2010-11-11T04:05:00.000-08:00

Tonight, 6-8pm. Say goodbye to Triple Glazed. (For now.)

Film Screening Number 6: An Evening with Wes.

2010-11-08T10:48:00.000-08:00

This was a great evening, after a jumpy DVD and some sound problems, eveyone who could squeeze into 42 settled down to watch Rushmore. The film was smashing, also there were some lovely apples to eat, which made a welcome change to Dixies chicken.

FLIPPANCY

2010-11-05T04:38:00.000-07:00

Goodbye shelter. Thank you to the residents for a great show, and to everyone who came down. And to the magician.

FLIPPANCY

2010-11-05T04:35:00.000-07:00

The face says it all. Last night was good fun.

Triple Glazed Three: FLIPPANCY.

2010-11-03T04:31:00.000-07:00

What is happening this week? Im not sure, but come down Thursday 4th November between 6-8pm to find out.

Halloween Film Screening.

2010-11-03T04:26:00.000-07:00

We watched Taxidermia. I thought it was good but watching people be repeatedly sick put me off my biscuits, and watching a man have sex with a dead pig put me off everything else. I left creeped out and hungry. Good Halloween!

Altered States.

2010-11-03T04:23:00.000-07:00

Beautiful painting.

Altered States: Triple Glazed two.

2010-11-03T04:14:00.000-07:00

Thursday the 28th was the second showcase of our resident's toilings within 42 New Briggate. They transformed the space into a variety of sensation-based dens to crawl in and out of, as well as paining the rear room to the sound or colour of music. It was a smashing evening, thank you to everyone who came down!

Triple Glazed: Two.

2010-10-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

Things are happening in 42. Residency Showcase opens Thursday 28th at 6pm. Come along.

Film Screening # 4

2010-10-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

John Slemensek treated us to Casablanca. Miriam treated us to mint tea cocktails.

Who Would Live in a House Like This.

2010-10-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

Thursday night (21st October) saw the wonderful opening of our first residents showcase. The space was busy all evening, until we ushered the last people out shortly before midnight. Thank you to Ollie, Verity, Claire and Liam for making it such a success!

Triple Glazed: One.

2010-10-26T14:58:00.001-07:00

Our first four lovely residents! From left: Ollie Jenkins, Verity English, Claire Bellia, Liam Wells.
16.10.10-21.10.10 spent working hard in 42 New Briggate.

Everything Remembered, Everything Forgotten.

2010-10-20T05:29:00.000-07:00

Draw Draw Draw Draw.

Film Screening 2.

2010-10-20T05:27:00.000-07:00

Cosy sunday evenings at 42.

Discussion Group 1: What it means to be British.

2010-10-20T05:24:00.000-07:00

Light Night festivities.

2010-10-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who came down for some delicious soup and to watch the reel of films at 42 New Briggate.

Film Screening No. 1

2010-10-20T05:17:00.000-07:00

42 gets horizontal sometimes.

Holy Mountain window display.

2010-10-20T05:14:00.000-07:00

42 gets messy at times.

42 decoration.

2010-10-20T05:12:00.000-07:00

Karl Vickers sorting out the window.

Day 1.

2010-09-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

Joseph Whitney + Karl Vickers

42 New Briggate: Day 1

2010-09-24T14:30:00.001-07:00

SLIGHT

2010-08-24T12:16:00.002-07:00

slice is also going to be at LightNight and we need you and your beautiful films which will be projected on the parkinson building.
see our facebook for more details...
http://www.facebook.com/?tid=1547334612598&sk=messages#!/group.php?gid=112036292180815&ref=mf
THAAAAAANKS
love slice x

SLICE @ 42newbriggate

2010-08-24T12:16:00.001-07:00

Throughout September and October 2010, SLICE will be hosting a series of inter-institutional artist residencies in 42 New Briggate, a small shop unit in Leeds City Centre. We would like to hand the space over to 3 students at a time, ideally one from each of the following three institutions: Leeds College of Art, Leeds Met and University of Leeds.

There is no restrictions on theme or media, but it is hoped that the residency will provide a platform for collaboration and for to creating new work. It is a chance to integrate within the creative community in Leeds, to develop your practice and make connections with other emerging artists working in the city.

Each residency will run for 6 days, from Saturday, with a public opening in 42 New Brigggate at the end of each residency on Thursday 6 – 8pm. There are small bursaries available of up to £50 per residency to help cover material costs.

If you are interested in taking part in a residency, please get in touch! Email asliceofart @gmail.com to register your interest, with the below sections completed.

Deadline for registering your interest is Friday 1^st October.

Name:

Institution: Leeds College of Art / Leeds Metropolitan / University of Leeds

Course:

A paragraph or two detailing some of your interests: (art/music/food/books…):

Attach an image of your previous work (Optional)

Email:

Phone:

Availability:

Week 1: Saturday 16^th October -Thursday 21^st October

Week 2: Saturday 23^ndOctober – Thursday 28^th October

Week 3: Saturday 30^th October -Thursday 4^thNovember

Week 4: Saturday 6^th November – Thursday 11^th November

There is a day turnaround between each residency to allow time for deinstallation and clearing of the space in preparation for the following residency.

asliceofart@gmail.com / www.sliceleeds.blogspot.com

To see images of 42 New Briggate Space and examples of previous exhibitions hosted in the space check out the web archive at www.42newbriggate.co.uk. In addition to the residency opportunity, there will be a number of other events running in October and November as part of this programme – please check the SLICE and Art in Unusual Spaces websites for more details. If you would like to be kept up to date, email:

asliceofart @gmail.com with Mailing List as the subject heading.

This programme is supported by Leeds City Council, the space has been kindly provided by The Grand Theatre

Leeds University Contemporary Art Degree Show.

2010-06-22T13:07:00.001-07:00

Leeds Metropolitan University Festival of the Arts 2010.

2010-06-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

Beechwood Avenue: David Power and Thomas Morris.

2010-06-02T07:02:00.001-07:00

SLICE Lecture 4: At Home With the STASI.

2010-06-02T06:59:00.000-07:00

SLICE Lecture 3: Two Hearts Beat as One.

2010-06-02T06:50:00.000-07:00

Organ Donation.

Joanna Aldoori Installation.

2010-06-02T06:46:00.000-07:00

It's a Good Life.

2010-05-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes art is presented in exactly the right way. This was the case here- a film about old people in a quaint pub upstairs, antique mirrors on the wall, lovely burgandy carpet and dark wooden stalls, and it all kicked off at 5pm with biscuits. What a lovely matinee it was.

The film was a piece by Chloe Plumb consisting of interviews of inhabitants of some old folks in an old folks home. I cannot believe how old those people are. If this seems offensive or naive I apologise, but there was a lady interviewed who was 104 and still bright as a pin!

The film kept up with the pace of the people interviewed, bubbling along backed by the tinkling of piano and the beep of medical machines. Their annecdotes were kind of sad, you couldnt help imagine yourself in their position, wondering what tales you would have to say to a young film maker.

I think my favourite scene was where some of the ladies appeared to be checking out a builder working outside while they ate their dinner. The all seemed human, again this sounds offensive, but it wasnt like an exploitative presentation of homes or anything, it was like talking to your gran after she had cooked you your favourite dinner; I was happy, they were happy, and there was the feeling that you both understood each other.

ENJOY

2010-05-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

This was an evening of poetry and performance down in a darker part of town. The space was a fantastically converted warehouse, looking like everything you would want from an artists den.
I got there a touch late due to getting a little lost, and apparently missed some pretty spectacular readings which was annoying. There was the mood that something pretty intense had just happened, people were hovering around chatting in little groups like there had just been a fight. But not in a bad way, perhaps the fight had ended in kisses.
The performances I did see didnt let me down though, there was an incredible one where someone read some art essay out in the style of Billie Holiday. If I closed my eyes and changed the bottle of Aldi beer in my hand for a brandy and a cigar, I could of easily slipped into a 1940s jazz club.
I dont want to go into into too much detail on the work, it felt like a event that was shared amongst the people there. Not something to go on and on about, name dropping here and there. It was the most excited I had seen people about work in a long while, it was like camping out from the familiar art events in the woods of mabgate.

PRESENCE at 2 Beechwood avenue.

2010-04-17T04:05:00.000-07:00

I heard that this was a show of ice sculptures made by John Slemensek, but went anyway.

2 Beechwood Avenue seems to be doing tremendously because the place was packed out and the space looked fantastic. John had provided a few bottles of spirits for the evening, so with the busy atmosphere, the subdued lighting and the abundance of Disaronno, not to mention the ice sculptures, I felt like I was in Vegas.

I think 'ice sculptures' gives the wrong impression. They were a series of three works, two were based in ice and water filled tanks, the third was a sort of tower constructed with ice and metal. The form of the work is difficult to explain, because the real beauty of the work was in its sublime transition between states. As ice melted, dyes were leaked or metal constraints were dropped, pieces of ice rose or sunk, bubbles glided througn the water and the lights illuminated the tank. Anyconverstation you were trying to hold was invaribly broken when something moved in the tank nearby and people would crowd round and analyse it, referring it to the futility of art or our states of deterioration. The work was intimate, people bonded with it and followed its progress in a way that is difficult to achieve when the work is unchanging. It almost felt like we were responsible for the change taking place, our gaze was ruining and homogenising the tanks.

The evening was a massive success, and when I left I couldn't shake hands with John because he was holding 4 drinks.

'It's not exactly peculiar, but it's interesting'

2010-04-17T03:50:00.000-07:00

s207554463.co.uk

SLICE comes up in conversation between David Steans and Harry Meadley!

Interim.

2010-03-20T04:59:00.001-07:00

Awful reporting here on my behalf, apologies. I lost the booklet and so cant remember many names etc... I cant exactly remember why I only took a photo of the Ladies toilet either. I think I intended to make a comment about either how male dominated it was, or how female orientated it was.
Here are 5 good points from the show-
1. The performance piece where two girls were bound by rope and competed to paint on a canvas. I had to struggle to watch it too because people kept barging through to have a look.
2. Briefly talking to David Steans about grime music. He described Tempz/tempa T as visceral which I think is about right.
3.The cafe had chilled wine. and beans on toast for like £1.50.
4. Joseph Buckley's black balloons were decent, a bit sad and begging to be cut free, but decent.
5. The little paintings of blue sky on the ground floor. Deliciously exotic I felt, considering Leeds was yet again grey.

Best ceiling Yet!

2010-03-20T04:56:00.001-07:00

Left Bank Gallery. State of it!

1984/2010

2010-03-20T04:50:00.000-07:00

On the same evening as 2 Beechwood Avenue’s opening night, I also trotted along to this: 1984/2010 at Left Bank gallery. It was a group show, curated by the young James Schofield intended to ‘raise awareness and probe questions into the surveillance culture in which wehave unwittingly become immersed’. Left Bank is a huge former Church, it is absolutely cavernous inside. It creates a difficult background to exhibit work in, the work has to sympathise, or is forced to sympathise with the setting. In this case, the work seems to lie in the darkened corners of the space, it doesn’t compete on face value, but survives in its own little spaces, safe from the central glare of the gallery.
As we stretch our legs around the church we experience the work in nooks and crannies. James Schofield’s own work adorns the wall like posters of a leader, yet strangely un-confrontational or proud. Avoiding eye contact, the repeated image reflects the lack of intimacy between the propaganda based personality and the audience it aims to inspire. As we drift towards the front of the space we encounter Huw Andrews piece, firstly through the hum of the work’s self deterioration. The video buzzes and garbles its message; a broken repeat of itself. Almost like a corrupted sermon. The preaching from the church altar becomes evident as an empty, mechanical voice, speaking to a vacant congregation. Next to this we see a projection of a figure, in contrast to the identifying gaze of CCTV he is not to be identified, blurring into the brickwork of the building. Like a family photo it is placed on the mantel piece, ironically indistinguishable and impersonal.
Jasmin Patel’s piece asks us to create our own arrangement or form with the building blocks she has provided. The pieces seem to refer to something unfamiliar, geometric squares composed of primary colours. A seemingly simple exercise made impossible by its lack of definition.

The auction, and Matt Merrick's talk about bees were well recieved and enjoyable. I wanted to make a bid but was outdone by some rich looking guy in a beenie with a moustache.
The show seemed to reflect it subject matter well, when I came in people were huddled around the heaters for warmth and company. Reinforcing the hope that perhaps we have not yet reached such a state of isolation and control that would make exhibitions like this impossible.

SLICEland is coming...

2010-03-08T15:48:00.001-08:00

2 Beechwood Avenue.

2010-03-08T15:01:00.000-08:00

This was the opening event for 2 Beechwood Avenue, a new gallery space situated in a newly converted basement. I was excited. I always feel priviledged to be going to such intimate affairs as this.

The show was 'A Tool Using Animal', a series of recent works by Adam Brown. The work depicted drawings of hand tools designed for contemporary purposes and a selection of tools finely crafted in wood. And a small wooden chain made from one piece of wood. They were curated well in the fairly small space. Descending the steps, the cold concrete room almost began to feel like a cave, a nice touch considering the neolithical(?) mood of the work. Pencil drawings are always a treat to look at also, I found myself dissecting the action that had been undertaken to create each piece of work and contemplating our relation to it. The wooden versions of the recognised hand tools were very tactile. I wanted to take them off the wall and rub them against my face, they looked so smooth and warm. Alas I could not and so had to feel them with my eyes, as I sipped on sweet sweet hock. The chain in the centre was also an interesting piece, it seemed of a slightly different theme to the others, but its form was again temptingly polished. The white wood seemed untouched by hand or tool though, it seemed too exist as an almost an artefact of some other process, other than clumsily being chiselled from a hunk of tree.

I hope I get invited again because places like this are not readily available and are nice to write about.

Art In Unusual Spaces!

2010-02-28T12:58:00.001-08:00

http://www.artinunusualspaces.co.uk/home/?p=489

CHECK IT OUT!

snOOds at Leeds University.

2010-02-24T16:13:00.000-08:00

Dancing area.

'Who invited this guy?' Mine bar.

2010-02-24T16:00:00.000-08:00

Later the same evening (as 'Uncanny Resonances') there was a fundraiser evening for Leeds University CAP degree show at Mine bar. In between this and 'Uncanny Resonances' there was some whiskey and some irish music and some beer. By the time we reached Mine bar, I think the long days work was catching up with me and I began to feel a bit spinny. Some people were wearing hats, and so I politely took their hats and I think someone must have mistaken my intriguingly forward nature for that of someone who had taken a stroll down Gin Lane. I apologise for their mis reading of the event. I also wrote SLICE all over the message board, not necessarily a bad thing. I woke up promptly the next morning (7am) with a camera full of lovely pictures and many small parts of dissected jelly snakes. I hope the CAP degree show is a success.

Uncanny Resonances.

2010-02-24T15:36:00.000-08:00

Moving away from the hallowed artistic turf that is the Merrion centre, this evening my search for creative events lead me to The Pack Horse pub. The event was 'Uncanny Resonances', a show of a few performances and a film screening in a delightfully scruffy pub-upstairs.

The film 'Hunslet' showed us a vacant and derelict factory, weeds grown up and ceiling come down. It was pensive and well measured, the mind drifted about when looking; considering a decline in industry and whatever may ring with it. It was kind of sad, kind of creepy. Im not sure but I think there was a guy playing guitar to make the soundtrack live at the front, maybe he was just tuning up and the sound was on the video. Either way it was good.

The first performance 'Circut bent toys'? was good fun too. It consisted of two people dressed as dolls/robots moving to some orchestrated feed-back controlled by what looked like WMD inspectors. My reading of this is unclear, but there was a great bit when one of the doll-robots was getting really shaky to some feedback and actually looked like she was a robot malfunctioning. It was a realy good setting for this kind of performance; nice and intimate, and not at all sterile. It made it believable if thats possible.

The last performance was good too. One girl read Beckett's 'Not I' and the other played violin. The violin is a great instrument, I felt like I was in a film. The girl reading had a really nice voice too which is important. It was quiet enough to make it worthwile straining to listen, if you could ignore whatever springsteen track was bleeding through from downstairs. I really enjoyed this actually, I felt uncomfortable being there which is not a bad thing. I was impressed by the whole affair.

'I dont know how to say it in Spanish.' Harry Meadley.

2010-02-22T11:23:00.000-08:00

Artmarket again? Thats right, this time for Harry Meadley's Lives and Works. If any gallery deserves a prize for cultivating young art in Leeds, it is deffo the Artmarket, someting is going on here 'tous les jous'. And I would probably give it another award for those cookie things that I have mentioned before.

Lives and Works was a compilation of works completed by artist Harry Meadley. I got there in time for his talk which was good to see, actually it was more of a conversation between him and David Steens, if that matters. The large photos printed on fabric were nice, the one that looked like people cutting coke was good. It reminded me of the video to Kano's track Hustler, which is no bad thing (if you came to the SLICE grime lecture you would know).

'Breaking boards broken' was a little too anecdotal to be great. When you knew what the bits of wood were it was ok, I just wanted to have go myself. In a way thats a good sign though, shows that the work suggested physicality and interaction fluently.

The broken glass pile had some lovely stories about it. I was impressed his girlfriend took the time to help him clean it all.

Taking Liberties.

2010-02-18T04:49:00.000-08:00

SLICE Lecture II

2010-02-18T04:22:00.000-08:00

Last night it was Brionny Fox's turn to lead the discussion/Lecture, and she did so with a documentary entitled 'Taking Liberties' and a whole bunch of tea and biscuits.

The documentary, originally shown on More 4, dissected the recent decline in civil liberties, mainly since Tony Blair's reign as prime minister. It turns out we haven't really got any, and it made Sudan seem like a better option to Kent.

We saw the Police arresting and beating 80 year old protestors, we saw innocent people locked up and tagged for an undisclosed amount of time, we saw the police questioning grannies for being in a field in view of an air base, we saw Guantanamo, we saw British people being given to the US so they could be arrested on little or no evidence.

I saw enough to make me want to throw some rocks through police van windows, and spit on the faces of everyone inside.

It was an extremely engaging film, and the proceeding anecdotal discussion made me excited about protesting about something. The film was like a pick'n'mix of unjust situations that I could make a sign about.

Thank you to Brionny for the Film, tea and biscuits.

Don McCullin.

2010-02-18T04:06:00.000-08:00

Don McCullin's show at Imperial War Museum North is amazing. I wont go into too much detail as it is not in Leeds and isnt really 'art' or whatever, however Don has photographed some incredible things. If Rambo was a photographer and had a conscience he would probably take photos like this.

The War Museum is worth seeing on its own, it is near Old Trafford in Manchester. It has a viewing platform its top floor which is cold and grey but offers an enjoyable panorama.

Bibliophile.

2010-02-11T13:46:00.000-08:00

Back to the Merrion centre for the Art Market's 'Bibliophile'. A show of graphics students work from Leeds Met, based on Italo Calvino's book 'Invisible Cities'. The books exhibited were of varying standards. The covers were such that I would pick them up, expecting something edgy and involving, but after a few page turns I would put them down slightly bored. It was nice to have so much student work on public show however, and the little cookie things were just divine.

WHAT IF Leeds Was A Coastal City, Tom Marrows.

2010-02-04T03:12:00.000-08:00

Now this was a real treat. Usually the things that irritate me at shows is the work, the wine and the people. However none of the above proved annoying at this event. It was a series of about a dozen photos hung in the artists house. We had to knock to come in and were offered tea, as it was snowing outside, and so with warmed cockles I set about trying to be critical.

The artist had taken photos of Leeds city centre, rewound the film, then shot it again in Whitby. The result was a series of double exposed prints, with familiar grim leeds buildings layered with amusements, whale bones and pubs from the coastal town. The premise was original and was executed in a way that wasn't too explicit The work suggested postcards, it could have have been a utopian vision of Leeds, but instead was muddied by the process and instead the pictures were gothic and sinister. Leeds became wilder; It became unhomely and manifested something of an Conrad-esque view of the coast.

Also, while we were there some guy came in who had been hit by a car.

In addition to the event itself, the posters and free book thing we were given were quality. If shows like this were on every week I would be a happy man.

4 Pounds 20 for Koppenburg.

2010-02-01T03:49:00.000-08:00

I went to the Art Bowl at AMF Bowling in the Merrion Centre. I could be wrong but it seems like the Merrion Centre is becoming the centre of all art events in Leeds. It makes me want to shop at morrisons and home bargains more, and suddenly the canvases with knock-off banksy prints on them are becoming more alluring; In the Merrion we can pretend its all a joke, detached from the outside world where shops that sold used stamps would probably shut down.

In the Art Bowl we crowded into the bar, within AMF, within the Merrion, to gawp back out at people throwing balls at pins. We didn't actually bowl ourselves which was a shame, but seeing old men get 6 strikes in a row was enough to keep me happy. There were pieces of work hanging about, and a few performances which all fitted comfortably with the location. The whole evening seemed slightly ironic, not really verging on exploitative, but almost. The men who were in the bar drinking Tetlys confused by the black power speeches being played, became a part of the work, and the divide between Artists and 'Public' was heightened.

silver balls

2010-01-31T15:24:00.000-08:00

lots of fun, especially with a new camera and buildings from the block-building era.

instinct shop/gallery

2010-01-31T15:22:00.000-08:00

tvs and slide projectors. i was born a little bit too late...

can art save us?

2010-01-31T14:46:00.000-08:00

i like sheffield and have done ever since i drove past it on the m1 on my first driven trip up to uni. glorious meadowhall shopping centre on my left, and a cooling tower on my right. motorway straight through it...lovely.

art gallery wise it is also quite a treat, joanna and i had quite a day in front of us.

can art save us? was at the millennium gallery which has a nice greenhouse feature and an old lady brandishing a questionnaire- very excited that we were under 35, not from sheffield and thought the gift shop was 'very good.'
the exhibition itself was in a dark room to preserve the work. it looked at the legacy of john ruskin, yet through some work of contemporary artists. i was very impressed by his drawings, beautiful and fragile on now very old paper. it seemed a bit more like a history museum than an art gallery which i think was a shame. being in a museum, it was very museum-esque which i felt was quite distracting. i think i like to be left not knowing so much as the museum wanted to tell me. and with a little bit more space and less darkness.

composure at sheffield institute of the arts wasn't quite ready for our arrival but displayed 11 films on loop where the composition was the focus, removing the reliance on post-production techniques. the size of the screen seemed to make something about the images all work, but i think i would have preferred not to have to watch them all on loop. lasting a maximum of three minutes each , you were kept captivated-even if you weren't sure why; a screen of candles made you scan the screen looking at each individual light. i like the restriction made on the films, it led to looking harder.

instinct found us searching between bhs and a bit of an empty high street, and wandering into a shop reborn as a gallery. it felt like a young artists' show...no one was really there, we only found it after a little bit of guess work and yet it was, of course, interesting. i wasn't a fan of the macabre drawings, but loved the old tvs and the slide show- five projections flashing up old family photos in strange sequences compromising weddings and holidays. maybe i am biased as i love slide projectors and andy broadey is apparently leeds-based. it was nice to see work from people i receive lvaf emails from...
and the leaflet explaining the work was not very exciting looking but explained the work in a non museum-esque way.

frenchmottershead finally we went to site gallery, partly enticed by the 5 books for 10 pounds offer and spending longer choosing books than looking at art.
getting offered a cup of tea as soon as i walked in, and getting to wander round the gallery with it was a super bonus but i am not entirely sure why it happened.
the shops project was like some kind of strange quasi scientific experiment...about people, shops, society. a photo of a piercing shop had the places people had pierced signed underneath it like autographs. a video showed an awkward looking man, waiting with roses, on the way to visit the love of his life and win her back. it felt quite invasive to look at all these things, yet curiosity gets you too. the exhibition was truly international, yet was interesting because it shows us as all the same. our community may not be built around little shops in england so much anymore, but the exhibition reminds us that community still does exist somewhere.
lovely little bookshop/cardshop/macs.

thanks to joanna for brilliant company as always and simon for giving em the password to write on the blog.

miriam

slice road trip///sheffield...

2010-01-31T14:37:00.000-08:00

that's right, slice has no boundaries. we even goes as far as sheffield. in the pouring grey miserable rain.

Wakefield Art Walk.

2010-01-29T10:32:00.000-08:00

This is the wall we had to scale to get to Beam Gallery. There didnt seem to be an easier way in.

2010-01-29T10:29:00.000-08:00

1000 Cranes at Westgate studios.

"Its probably wetter here than in Bangladesh" Wakefield.

2010-01-29T09:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday evening was Wakefield Art Walk. I had never been to Wakefield before, so it seemed a good excuse to go and sneak a peek. After getting lost in the town centre and asking some 'locals' who didnt recognise a map of their own town, we eventually made our way to the first stop-WESTGATE STUDIOS:

Two good things happened here: 1. Some guy booting a glass down the stairs at us when we entered. 2- Being taught how to make a paper crane. The art was alright, my fave was a small book called 'A Catalogue Of Disasters' with a picture of Cambodia on the front. Im not sure what was inside but the cover had me.

INTERVAL CAFE:

Self taught painting and peanuts. In and out job.

THE ART HOUSE:

This is a huge building filled with little studios and feels like a community college. Abu Jafar's big paintings were rich and deep. Helaina Sharpley's wire drawings reminded me of magic eye puzzles, but better. Some stuff here was terrible though. A mixed bag of creative interests.

HARRY'S BAR:

Here we had to peer at illustrated beer mats over the shoulders of surly men who looked like they would probably burp on me. From what I could see they were pretty decent drawings though. Another in and out job though.

BEAM GALLERY:

We got lost and had to hop over a wall to get here, and missed the refreshments which was a shame. It was John Davies's exhibition of photographs which illustrated Wakefield's optimistic abundance of car parking. There was a child working reception who forgot to count us in.

All in all:

Interesting to see, sometimes slightly limited in ambition though.

Rachel Goodyear talk.

2010-01-19T13:59:00.000-08:00

This was the vintage PA system we had to put up with. I looked up the definition of luddite yesterday and im very glad I did.

2010-01-19T13:57:00.000-08:00

im revealin' another dope ceilin'!

"I started to express myself fluidly"

2010-01-19T13:54:00.000-08:00

Another event this evening: Northern Art Prize nominee Rachel Goodyear chatting about her work down at the city gallery. Seeing as Matt Stokes has taken up the lecture theatre with his slo-mo moshing piece, the talk was held in the cafe. The cafe is great (another fantastic ceiling!) but we had to all sit between stupid grey partitions they felt it necessary to erect. Fortunately I scored prime position opposite Rachel herself which had its pros and cons. PROS: I felt important. She is easy on the eyes. CONS: Awkward eye contact. Having to sit next to the ghetto-blaster they dusted off because vocal chords were not loud enough.
If you haven’t seen her work you should. They are mainly little pencil drawings of strange tableaus. ‘Dream-like’ is probably my least favourite adjective at the moment so I refuse to use it, however the pieces do suggest something of the unbelievable or unreal. The infinite delicacy with which they are drawn adds to their fragility, which in turn echoes the nature of the subject matter. ‘The quiet poetry in everyday situations’ said Nigel Walsh of her work, which sounds about right if any of the situations she drew happened every day.
Her talk was good, and it was nice to see so many people had turned up, and it was also nice to know she was from Leeds Met.
In the questions section people were asking questions via twitter! I reckon it was probably just some shy person at the back though.
I hope she wins the prize, she said that she would spend the money on a new pair of shoes though. Grow up.

'What I consist of, like electrons n shit...'

2010-01-18T13:29:00.001-08:00

Im feelin' this ceilin'!

The New Ideologists.

2010-01-18T13:24:00.000-08:00

This evening I went to a show/presentation at Leeds College of Art called The New Ideologists. The evening was pretty good but I felt like I was probably the only one there who didn’t go to the college, and when it came to the ‘hug and pass it on’ section of the evening (this actually happened) it was all a bit awkward.
Basically the show was a group of 6 artists who had explored themes of utopia, and most of them decided it was impossible or we just needed to ‘chill the fuck out’. I decided that they were probably a bit out of their depth. However the majority of the work was good, I thought the format of presentations and ‘performances’ was a refreshing change from hanging about with a glass of cheap wine in your hand. It gave the artists a real chance to explain their discourse with the subject.
The pieces presented were variable; I liked the video piece (by Josh Hart?). It could have been the opening credits to Tribe by Bruce Parry but held its own as a quality piece of editing and filming. I didn’t like the hugging bit, but it did get people smiling. I thought the best performance was given by the chap with the blond hair who did ‘The Template for Self Betterment’. It was nice and honest, not relying on convoluted theory or argument but simply exploring his own ideals, which made for a much more believable body of work. It didn’t come close to preaching.
One of the artists had recently shot himself in the leg. This confused me as much as it entertained me. Apparently he got away with only 6 stitches, he can’t have used a very good gun.

I didnt take any photos of the people talking, so Ive put in a photo of the Prince of Hyde Park who I went with, and one of the college's nice ceiling.

Peaks And Troughs book lanch

2010-01-13T13:55:00.000-08:00

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The Merrion market is just weird. I mean its good but its like walking through an old person's idea of the world. And there are buildings inside that are separate from external walls, like camping in a house.

"There's some form of yeti and the girl I'm with gets decapitated."

2010-01-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

I took the opportunity to go to Jack Piers Scott’s book launch this evening. The book; ‘Peaks and Troughs’ is an anecdotal look at a year of the young man’s life. I’ve got home and read some and its good. Its content encompasses dreams, ideas, events and the general nuances of someone who keeps their eyes open and a pen to hand. So he dreams about blow jobs and listens to racist old ladies, the text still captures something of the sublime, an interpretation of the general beauty of things. It gives dignity to what may appear lowly, which is nice.
The colour of the cover tells something of the mood of the book, which does a significant amount to dispel a popular saying about books and their covers.
The launch was held in the Art Market in the Merrion, which I hadn’t been to before. It is bright yellow on the outside and cold on the inside but there was lovely soup from That Old Chestnut vegan caterers. Jack’s reading was also notable for its quality.

GRIME lecture

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Sitting through old Pay as You Go Cartel videos.

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Cosy surroundings.

Grime ain't dead, it lives in my bedroom.

2010-01-13T09:11:00.000-08:00

The 2nd of December saw a lecture on Grime music held in my bedroom. It was basically a self indulgent look at a few of my favourite tracks, a brief over-view of the genre and a chance to sit on my bed. Big thank you to Miriam for designing the drinks labels based on a battle between Wiley and Kano, not many would have decided on love hearts! Thank you to everyone that came and Matt Rowlands for taking the photos.

SLICE feast.

2010-01-13T09:07:00.000-08:00

Black Carousel!

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The audience.

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Huzzah!

SLICE Feast!

2010-01-13T08:57:00.000-08:00

On the 4th November, the SLICE feast set the ball rolling so to speak. A wonderful meal was prepared, wine bottles were opened, conversation flowed and music played. Thank you to all the people who came, I hope you had a good time. Special thanks to Joanna for letting us hold it in her house. Also thank you to the amazing Black Carousel for their dulcet tones. All photos-Matt Rowlands.