This video shows the drawing of the blue bags used in the ‘Blue plastic bags and leaves‘ piece.
Month: August 2014
Exhibition: “A slice of life” @ Franfrantou, Berlin.
15th – 18th August, 2014. (Solo show).
Franfrantou. Weserstrasse 53, 12045 Berlin.
This show presented an opportunity to develop my work in a tight time window of just two weeks. I focused on working quickly, which helped maintain a fresh feel to the final pieces.
Artwork on show:
Setting up ‘A slice of life’ exhibition
Tutu drawings
There’s a common custom in Berlin, to leave unwanted items that might be useful to other people, in a cardboard box outside your house. In this way I acquired a child’s tutu dress.
The exhibition ‘A slice of life’ at Franfrantou focused on ideas of mortality. As the drawings float and dance they conjure feelings of life and energy.
The artwork comprises of drawings in oil pastel on two different types of paper, one is glued to cardboard while the other floats freely, with cut-out drawing glued to it.
Plastic bag and leaf drawings.
Oil pastel on paper on cardboard.When I see nature I like, I sometimes put it in a plastic bag and take it home. That’s a typical modern experience of nature.
This composite drawing compromises of studies of various types of leaves found in Berlin and a blue plastic bag, used to collect the leaves.The final piece of work is displayed using pieces of cardboard to hold the drawings out, away from the wall.
The leaves were created from drawings on coloured paper, which were then cutaway to reveal different coloured paper behind.
Knife rain drawings in Berlin.
These are drawings of 9 different knives in 6 different colours.
The knives were drawn turning to produce drawings from different angles. The drawings were cut-out on cardboard and secured to the wall to create a rain of knives, albeit made beautiful by a rainbow of colour.
Berlin consumer objects @ Bartleby, Berlin
8th – 15th August 2014. Bartleby & co. Boppstr. 2, 10967, Berlin.
Artwork on show:
Exhibition statement
In Berlin I’ve been drawing objects with relevance to my experience of living here for the past 7 weeks.
The heat and humidity of the German summer has meant I’ve carried water with me. This is a learnt behaviour from living in London, where we’re regularly reminded to take water with us on the ‘tube’.
In Berlin I’ve made many drawings of the type of bottle I’ve carried with me; sometimes blue from the coloured plastic, at other times black and white from the bottle’s iconic shape. My German language skills are still very limited, “Eine flasche wasser, bitte” is a phrase I’ve regularly used around town.
Berlin’s Bauhaus stores are a cheap and enjoyable place to browse. For a few euros I’ve picked up items like these gloves, which are capable of expression and communication through the way the fingers are arranged. Russia and a luxurious golden pattern; what are they trying to say?