Leeds Arts University Repository (CREST)
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446 research outputs found
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Home strike
No full textThe output is a creative project, comprising a series of sculptures, drawings and objects. It interrogates those biopolitical and cultural norms that see women, and their bodies, systematically domesticated, exploited and imprisoned by ideologies founded on patriarchy. Research process: The work involves weaponizing everyday household objects, transforming them into instruments of self-defence, or violent revolt — a stark reminder that the home is often no safe space. Common cooking utensils have their handles wrapped in women’s tights and secured by colourful hairbands in Kitchen Shanks (2017), turning material supports of femininity into makeshift armaments. Exhibited on a security grille, the shanks allude to DIY weapons confiscated from prison wards, and often put on display to educate wardens. A rickety barricade of motley found or stolen furniture has been used to construct Domestic Front (2016). Both protective and defensive, the front is infested with small cut- outs of women with guns that are both real and imaginary, grotesque and idealised, from images Chambers sourced from the internet. Research insights: The work implies that the female revolt may have already been suppressed — or else, it could illustrate that its insurgents are gaining ground and sharing skills. The installation “haunts our retrogressive imagination” through the use of “dysfunctional furniture and ambivalent ornamentation.” Oscillating between horrific and humorous images, Home Strike revisits the domestic biopolitics of 1970s feminism. Through its inflection, the exhibition considers the impact 1970s feminism has had on intersectional discussions of class, gender, and race. Dissemination: The project was disseminated at l’étrangère, London, 8 March – 21 April 2018
The edge of the sea: complexity, layering and gesture as analogy and meaning
No full textThe output is a creative project, ‘The edge of the sea: complexity, layering and gesture as analogy and meaning’, comprising a body of work responding to rockpool formations and the translation of field drawings into print and sequential imagery. Research process: The project began with the Rachel Carson book The Edge of the Sea (1955), dealing with the complexities and balance of a transient ecosystem. The research processes focussed on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s singular, romantic idea of “All is Leaf”; that within the details of a phenomena we can bear witness to the whole. Mills uses drawing to explore whether an isolated shape, line, texture, open up the reading of an image to broader interpretation that the initial observation and how we can communicate something other, or something more, than what we are representing on the page. Research insights: The project found ways and means that image-making can be used to communicate the complex, transient, self-organising system of a rockpool and how the isolation of visual devices can help communicate those findings on a more analogous level. The research revealed that our perception of an element, a fraction of the whole, can help us understand wider context. The work led to insights into the communicative nature of mark-making, the process of translation of experience and the meaning of this particular ornamentation. Dissemination: The research was disseminated at Decriminalising Ornament: The Pleasures of Pattern, The Illustration Research Symposium, 17 – 18 November 2018 at Anglia Ruskin University
Conflict and activism
No full textThis panel was convened in order to bring together various approaches to ‘conflict and activism’ that had an anthropological reading within a fine art context. In particular it explored drawing practices in relation to inner city realities. Barker's own peer reviewed paper ‘Drawings of stories told’, was concerned with drawings made in response to being embedded within a community development organisation, (Newton Futures) and of how the drawings made in support of community development led on to a series of further drawing led investigations, that responded to stories being told to myself as I was making drawings standing in the streets of my local community. The presentation was developed out of the research material Barker had developed for a chapter in the book; ‘Collective and collaborative drawing in contemporary practice’. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 192-215. ISBN 9781527503472. The chapter ‘Drawing as a tool for shaping community experience into collective allegory’ explored how a practice that began with being embedded within a community development organisation, moved on to walking through a community and drawing, and had become over time a practice that was responding to the stories told by individuals met whilst drawings were being made.
The development of an allegorical practice that had further evolved from this work was also highlighted, and a debate was undertaken as to what were the real benefits of this type of work to the community that had stimulated the initial idea
Futensils
No full textThe output is a creative project, Futensils. It was a collaboration between Robinson and Griffiths. Robinson contributed the photography to the project. Research Process: Robinson’s practice explores the central position of food photography in contemporary culture, the conjuring of shared social fantasies and idealised accounts of domestic life through these images. This includes examining the fetishization of objects involved in domesticity and particularly in the kitchen, and the social anxieties which permeate these objects and images. This project unites their interest, and involves ‘playing’ with domestic objects and utensils to create ‘found’ sculptures. The resulting photographs are experiments into animating and re-contextualising these objects and sculptures. The resulting exhibition showcased some of the photographs from this series alongside sculpted objects. Research Insights: The research demonstrated that food photography in popular culture conjures shared social fantasies and perpetuates idealised accounts of domestic life. This includes an exploration of the ‘mythical’ – idealised representations of the home, affection and fetishization of objects involved in domesticity. Kitchen objects relate to individual and group identities. The research highlights the link between food, identity and representation, and the construction of authenticity and myth. It reveals the social anxieties which permeate objects and images, and influence the production of ‘consensual hallucinations’. Dissemination: The project was exhibited at Dye House Gallery, Bradford in September 2018
Superhumanism 3
No full textOn November 29th 2018, The Nicholas Treadwell Gallery published the book Superhumanism 3. This large monograph of the gallery’s history is the third volume in a trilogy of publications that chronicles the artists and artworks represented and purchased for the private collection of the international gallerist Nicholas Treadwell. The book selects 200 art works from the collection’s 600 pieces which also includes works by artists such as Joe Tilson and the collaborative partnership of Sue Webster and Tim Noble. My selected paintings feature in the chapter entitled ‘The Nineties’. Included are three paintings shown at several exhibitions from 1995 – 2014 on pages p79, p85, p89. The first volume of the three books, Superhumanism, A British Art Movement (Treadwell, N. Foster, P) was published in 1979 and the second volume, Superhumanism 2 (Treadwell, N) was published in 1982. The latest volume, Superhumanism 3 (Treadwell, N), is seen as the final book in this series and is structured as a chronology of the gallery’s past to its present location in Vienna. The book’s format presents the work of the artists by means of the decade in which the works were first exhibited. My work is featured in the chapter entitled ‘The Nineties’. Included are three paintings shown at several national and international exhibitions between 1995 – 2014. All of these particular works were executed in the 1990’s, subsequently purchased by the gallery and have been exhibited in many shows in London, Switzerland and Austria.
My paintings, ‘David Bowie Came for Tea, again’ 1998, ‘Breaking’ 1990 and ‘The Non – Smokers’ 1995 are reproduced in the chapter ‘The Nineties’. EXHIBITION: To accompany the launch of the book these paintings were curated in the exhibition called ‘Superhumanism 3 – The Nicholas Treadwell Collection’, which was held at The Nicholas Treadwell Gallery, Grosse Neugasse 18, 1040 Vienna, and ran from November 29th 2018 – January 31st 2019. Four of my paintings were exhibited, three of which appear in the book
Woodpecker
No full textThis output is a creative project comprising a song and a film based on the final years of the Cold War. ‘Woodpecker’ is a song about the Duga Over the Horizon radar system, told through an imagined dialogue between the residents of Pripyat and the gay community of San Francisco in the mid 1980s. It works in conjunction with a film that is played during the performance of the song. Research Process:
For this project, Young wrote the lyrics, made the film and played the drums. He collaborated with 3 other musicians (The Shops), Janet Holmes (vocals), Alan Holmes (guitar) and Alex Russell (Synthesiser). In 2016, Young visited and climbed the Duga Radio structure, just outside Chernobyl in Ukraine. It was operational during the early to mid 1980s. The film that accompanies the performance of the song is made from photographs Young took at the site. Research insights: The Duga systems broadcast a repetitive tapping noise which led to it being nicknamed by short wave listeners as the ‘Russian Woodpecker’. This tapping sound is sampled in the song. Duga still stands in the 10km exclusion zone just outside the town of Pripyat. It does not appear on any maps. The radar was supposed to detect the launch of American nuclear missiles. After talking to people on the ground on site, Young discovered that the radar system never worked as intended. He also discovered that the Jupiter Radio factory in Pripyat was a cover for a nuclear weapon development site. This is referenced in the song. Dissemination: The song was performed by The Shops at the IASDR Conference 2019 at Manchester Metropolitan University on 2nd September 2019, in front of the accompanying film. R Fest, 5th July 2019, Manchester
Club Academy, 28th June 2019, Manchester
Night & Day, 19th April 2019, Manchester
The Cavern, 7th November 2018, Liverpool
Fuel Bar, 29th September 2018, Mancheste
‘I thought I heard that up north whistle blow’: African American blues performance in the north of England
No full textMany narratives concerning the transatlantic cultural exchange which carried blues music and blues culture from the United States to the United Kingdom focus on the Southern cities of the UK, particularly London and the South East. This chapter argues that the music producers, consumers and cultural workers of the Northern United Kingdom, especially Manchester, but also Leeds, Newcastle and Liverpool, were equally significant as part of the cultural convection currents which precipitated and sustained the blues boom of the 1960s. Further, this chapter argues that the construction of blackness undertaken by performers, cultural workers and consumers during the 1950s and 1960s in the North of England was a fundamental strand in the discourse of authenticity which surrounded African American music, such as it was presented in the United Kingdom during the beat era and blues boom. Broadly, the presentation of early blues performers in the UK of singing guitarists Josh White and Big Bill Broonzy to secondary audiences in the United Kingdom during the early 1950s was at odds with the reality of blues music and blues culture as presented by Muddy Waters and Otis Spann at Leeds in 1958, and by the musicians who took part in the subsequent American Folk Blues Tours of the early 1960s. Additionally, the performances televised by Manchester-based Granada Television also problematized the understanding of blues music and blues culture, whilst contributing to its spread beyond the United States. Manchester’s Twisted Wheel Club and Free Trade Hall also provided an opportunity for a predominantly white British audience to engage first-hand with the live performance of African American artists. This chapter explores and indicates how the blues was developed from a music of the African American rural poor to a style which emphasised personal authenticity, providing a source of communion and creativity across racial barriers in circumstances geographically removed from the United States. With specific reference to Manchester’s Twisted Wheel club and Free Trade Hall, the American Folk and Blues Festival Tours (1962-1966), and the televised Granada performance at Chorlton Station, Manchester which featured leading lights of the American blues scene (1963), this chapter explores the enculturative and acculturative musical practices and sociological contexts that placed young, white musicians in the society and influence of blues music’s African American progenitors. The problematic issues of race and cultural dissonance are raised and contextualised against a system of demographic othering characterised as the North/South divide and a societal antipathy toward emerging youth culture, in order to illustrate diachronic processes of technological mediation and cultural development in both blues music and the emerging counterculture and blues revival of the 1960s
Make your future
No full textThe output is a creative project, ‘Make Your Future’, that involved schools across West Yorkshire partnering with higher education institutions to reignite making in the classroom and tackle the challenges faced by craft education. The project resulted in a curated exhibition. The project was a collaboration between Leeds Arts University, the Crafts Council, University of Leeds, University of Huddersfield and secondary schools in the region. Pratt and Wadkin ran screen-printing and printmaking activities in schools and curated the exhibition. Research Process:
Make Your Future 2018 spanned the entire academic year starting with introducing teachers to the different projects, followed by professional development sessions with teachers, a series of workshops in schools and finally ending in an exhibition event and private view. The project explored and investigated the rich historical heritage of Yorkshire’s textile industry reimagined through Knit, Print and woven textiles design, through both hand and digital practices bringing together both traditional crafts and contemporary technologies. The exhibition included school children’s work from 8 secondary schools from across West Yorkshire. Research Insights: The exhibition enriched the on-going collaboration of Leeds Arts University, University of Leeds with the Crafts Council, together with local schools and sixth forms. The project demonstrated how the workshops and exhibition promoted design and making in schools and encouraged young learners from Key Stage 3 to select art or design technology as a GCSE option. Dissemination: The peer-reviewed exhibition of textile artworks was showcased at the Vernon Street Building, Leeds Arts University, 29 June – 16 August 2018
The norms: processes and production
No full textThe output is an artefact, a glow-in-the-dark artist book inspired intergenerationally by comics and picture books of the 1980s and an accompanying immersive environment. Research process: As part of world-building, this practice-based research used a multifaceted array of analogue media and digital technologies. Part of the practical application of the research involved the translation of the 2D story-comic book into a 3D immersive and interactive environment. The creation and production of the story book started with a rural setting and a reclamation of the artist’s childhood self. The book itself was planned through a series of thumbnails that were drawn up into the 16:9 formatted book and translated onto the screen. The narrative-like drawings developed and featured many creations from previously published underground kids’ comics. There are narratives within narratives, all based around childish things. The glow-in-the-dark element contributed to the immersive experience. Another strategy of this world-building introduced modelling clay characters and puppets. Research insights: The comic and 3D translation process contribute to conceptual thinking around world-building. Through this process, Simpson found that translating his comic book from 2D to 3D enabled a more accessible and interactive perspective, literally ‘stepping inside’ his world. Augmenting this show was a museological vitrine containing choice ephemera from Simpson’s 1980s childhood, giving viewers an insight into the origins of his ‘heavily-inked’ aesthetic, including select artists such as Tom Paterson of The Beano. It demonstrated how this style of illustration is rooted in forms of caricature, the grotesque and political satire. Dissemination: The project was disseminated by peer-reviewed exhibition at Leeds Arts University in 2018 including the following events: • Make a Monster workshop, Though Bubble Comic Art Festival (101 attendees) • Women World Builders forum (35 delegates) • Spot the Spooks, Light Night Leeds (500+ attendees) • Underground comics seminar (75 attendees)
Still life: things devouring time
No full textThe output is a curated exhibition, co-curated by Dr Dawn Woolley and Dr Katie Herrington. It comprises a series of photographs and objects by Nicole Keeley, Caroline McCarthy, Simon Ward and Dawn Woolley. Research process: The exhibition focuses on the visual representation of vanitas, symbolic objects that warn against excess and the shortness of time. It explores how those ideas inform the practice of contemporary artists, working in diverse media, who respond to consumer culture and the social, environmental and sustainability issues it produces today. The evolution and enduring relevance of the genre of still life is highlighted in this exhibition by the variety of contemporary art displayed alongside Still Life with Drinking Horn by Willem Kalf, an example of Dutch still life painting from the 17th century. Research insights: Things made from non-biodegradable materials and the human inclination to collect possessions contradict the concept of tempus edax rerum, time as devourer of all things. Today, issues of sustainability are at the forefront of discussions about consumer practices, environmental concerns and social inequality. However, we continue to rely on and desire cheap disposable commodities, fossil fuels and plastic packaging. This exhibition presents artworks that contribute to the discussion about consumption and also express sense of urgency for action. The artworks challenge the values championed in consumer culture. Dissemination: The exhibition was shown at The Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds, 21st November 2018 – 23rd March 2019