Transvoyeur
Programme 2007
| Artist
Residency Programme 'The Loft Space', Curated by
Jo Derbyshire. |
 |
| Press
Release (January 2007) |
The
Loft Space - is a temporary gallery set in a residential
setting. Derbyshire the former curator of the Eggspace
Gallery Liverpool, who is also involved with Red Dot
Exhibitions and Transvoyeur both as a performer and
visual artist has developed a project of exhibiting
work in this setting. The idea of housing visual art
in this setting stemmed from Psychogeography whereby
the artists geographical environment becomes a place
to study, explore and relay the effects on the emotions
of being in the urban space.
Derbyshire's
When the City Speaks embraced this concept. It was whilst
based at Hope University Cornerstone campus in Everton
where Jo conceived the idea of When the City Speaks
although the project was formulated some years before
with Derbyshire's observations of Liverpool's stop the
rot campaign, the changes in urban development going
on in the city and changes in local economy. the local
art scene and local culture that influenced the concept.
The project evolved from an out of focus photograph
containing the text 'World in One City'. Derbyshire
argues that this phrase has a double meaning. The hybridism
of modern culture, movement of people to cities particularly
with free movement of people in Europe has become part
of our culture representing a world in one city, yet
the phrase is also somewhat arrogant and Derbyshire
contextualises this demoting all cities as being 'cities
in one world'.
The
project evolved to a production, conceived and directed
by Debyshire, titled When the City Speaks: Seasons -
an organic piece that has grew from previous performances
in Liverpool and London. The first, explored at the
View Two Gallery, Liverpool, England, and then re-examined
in the socio-urban and cultural context of London. Derbyshire
examined Liverpool as a World in one City through the
seasons with a historical, personal and social perspective.
Through collage and performance, with an interior monologue
narrated by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney, the audience were
invited to participate and add to the four collaged
canvases Derbyshire had prepared for the performance.
Each canvas represented a season in the City. The canvases
themselves originally looked like an enlarged page from
a journal or a scrapbook where Derbyshire references
and archives what has happened in her urban environment.
Through each progressive stage the audience become part
of the visual dialogue and are invited to change the
canvases. With each performance the canvases are reused
and again changed, regenerated as such. The work was
performed during the Independents Liverpool Biennial
2006 and Live 06.
Paintings
produced for the Independents Liverpool Biennial 2006,
had elements of Munch's Scream. Tom Tom presented a
screaming head, primal in form, representative of Derbyshire
Psychoanalytical studies of her immediate environment.
Mind map presented a number of heads, which has been
described as Christ-like and resembling a totem pole
again colourful and primal in construction. Heads in
the image all merged in to one, facing different directions,
again the work shows the artist introspectively analysing
her outside world, the many heads representing different
thoughts and different feelings, hence the title mindmap.
The
Loft Space is a development of this work, this time
with the artist. Writer and performer inviting others
to display work in the residential setting highlighting
the theme 'When the city speaks'. The space in the residential
setting itself is being renovated so with each exhibition
changes and redevelopment are evident all the time.
The space because of its personal setting encourages
artist and performers to show their work from a personal
perspective in an urban setting. Derbyshire has invited
local poet Andrew Taylor who will be the resident poet
in the space who will write about each event.
Those
interested in exhibiting whether it be visual art, poetry
or performance should contact Jo Derbyshire on 07946353251
or aprilskies1204@aol.com.
In
association with Transvoyeur (www.transvoyeur.co.uk).
The
artists currently listed for the programme are:
21
January 2007 - 27 January 2007
When the City Speaks - A Review by Jo Derbyshire (featuring
Tony Knox, Andrew Hodge, Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney, June
Rose H, Laura Baxter, Agata Alcaniz, Peter Worthington
and Alison Bazely).
Derbyshire has presented a live art project, titled
'When the City Speak', conceived and presented during
the Transvoyeur Performance Art Platform 2006, which
was part of the Independents Liverpool Biennial 2006.
She explores in collaboration with other artists and
audience participation the process of creativity juxtaposed
to socio-cultural and urban references of memory, residue
and interaction. This piece is one that evolves with
each place visited from the original art derived by
the artist and contributions encouraged by participants
as the creative process becomes a sense of a 'happening'
and art itself becomes an artefact from each place.
It has formerly been performed in Liverpool and London
in 2006.
28
January 2007 - 3 February 2007
On The Waterfront by Irene McLoughlin.
Mcloughlin has worked on the waterfront all her life.
In the 1970's she worked on the ferry's between Liverpool
and Belfast and currently works in an office setting
on the waterfront. Mcloughlin has included personal
photographs from the 1970's to date in this exhibiion.
The waterfront setting whether it be Liverpool, Belfast,
Scotland, Dover or abroad has always been something
that Mcloughlin is drawn too. The waterfront being a
gateway to discovery for the artist.
04
February 2007 - 10 February 2007
Poetry Installation by Andrew Taylor.
Taylor is a poet and writer. His work published in many
independent publications in England and abroad, such
as Turn for Home, The Brodie Press, August 2003, Poetry
and Skin Cream erbacce Press, December 2004 and Cathedral
Poems Paula Brown Publishing, August 2005. His creative
writing is not only explored in text, but presented
at many live readings. He further explores the concepts
of spatiality of text and written word in a visual art
installation, which becomes interaction with audience
members where they can contribute to work.
11
February 2007 - 17 February 2007
Pastel Series by Peter Worthington.
Worthington a local artist has capture various iconic
images of Liverpool and portrayed them in pastels. Worthington
is also Founder and Curator of the South Bohemian Gallery,
Liverpool, England.
18
February 2007 - 24 February 2007
The Place Where We Live by June Rose H.
June Rose H are relative new comers to the Liverpool
Art scene. Hodge's concept revolves around the idea
of with the progression of technology, more specifically
mobile phones, that everyone can become a photographer
and archivist recording all they see around them. June
Rose H, influenced by the impressionists and development
of Urban surroundings has included several small canvases
of her impressions of the city.
25
February 2007 - 03 March 2007
Old and New (Things You See, But Don't See, Every Day)
by Jazamin Sinclair and Karen Henley.
Sinclair and Henley are both visual artists and formerly
explored through a range of media the concepts of urban
space and indentity in the city in many various projects.
They are Co-Curators of the Egg Space Gallery, who provide
a platform to local and international artists in the
city of Liverpool, England.
4
March 2007 - 10 March 2007
City, Regeneration, Redevelopment and Waste, ACEO's
by Jo Derbyshire and Peter Worthington.
A concept by Peter Worthington and Jo Derbyshire. A
research project on arts and culture explored in the
constructs of urban space, regeneration and concepts
of residues.
11
March 2007 - 17 March 2007
Nietzsche's Urbanised Icon by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney
and Tony Knox.
Sweeney and Knox through their independents research
of genetic intervention of the body and the concept
of the post modern hero respectively will collaboratively
explore in a contemporary socio-urban context the fundamental
philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche
is famous for his rejection of what he calls "slave
morality" (which he felt reflected the inverse
of the "will to power" and a perversion of
useful altruism); his attacks on Christianity (a character
in one of his works declared that "God is dead");
his origination of the Übermensch concept (translated
as "Overman" or "Superman") in only
one of his books; his embrace of a sort of a-rationalism;
and something he called "the Will to Power"
(Wille zur Macht). Nietzsche was strongly influenced
by Arthur Schopenhauer and his concept of "the
Will to live". H L Mencken's book on Nietzsche
described his work as an early effort to reconcile the
philosophical implications of Charles Darwin's "survival
of the fittest" evolutionary theory with contemporary
moral and ethical systems. Nietzsche (or was it Mencken?)
greatly disliked Darwin and his idea of "the survival
of the fittest". In many respects his thinking
anticipated the "heredity" side of the ongoing
debate about which has more influence on human behaviour:
learning Vs heredity in the modern discipline of psychology
("irrationalism" in human behaviour typically
stems from genetic / instinctively-derived impulses).
Nietzsche's thoughts also anticipated the "biological
world view" and genetic interpretation of social
behavior in the modern discipline of sociobiology (c.f.
one can find updated "Nietzsche" in A New
Morality From Science: Beyondism by Dr. Raymond Cattell,
which draws from concepts elucidated in Sociobiology:
The New Synthesis by Harvard professor Dr. Edward Wilson
as well as other emergent disciplines such as "medical
anthropology." Nietzsche's concept of breeding
upwards towards the "higher man" is indirectly
addressed in biological interpretations of human history,
such as Dr. Elmer Pendell's Why Civilizations Self-Destruct
or Oswald Spengler's The Decline of the West).
18
March 2007 - 24 March 200
Social Commentary on Urban Space, Place Within by Rod
Davies.
Davies will research and produce a series of studies
set on the theme of the 'Loft Space'. Through the creative
process of mark making he will to capture the concepts
of the urban space, the community, demographics and
socio-cultural constructs.
When the City Speaks (Performance in the Room) by Laura
Baxter.
Baxter will explore the concept of urban environment
in the context of the residential space in a performance.
25
March 2007 - 31 March 2007
Liverpool and Cologne by Natalie Bennett.
Bennett’s work is based on personal experience
and human relationships but conveyed in a raw art style
to convey emotions and a sense of immediacy. The work
now displayed in the city it was developed in, having
previously been shown in Cologne, is now housed in a
personal setting and takes on another dimension.
Bennett a recent graduate from Liverpool Hope University
was recently exhibited in the Eight Days a Week programme
in Cologne, Germany. She worked on a body of work for
this project. The work for this exhibition is the work
she chose to exclude from the exhibition in Germany.
The work is titled from Liverpool to Cologne as the
work was created in Liverpool and originally destined
for Cologne, due to being limited with space and the
expense of shipping work to Germany the work has taken
a journey from selection to de-selection (www.eightdaysaweek.org.uk)
01
April 2007 – 07 April 2007
Escape from Genesis (The Canon of the Human Body, Society
and Culture) by Lucia Andrea Sweeney. The concept of
mortality and the sanctification of the human form,
as is canonised through all cultures in history contrasted
to socio-urban culture and society in post-modern history.
15
April 2007 - 21 April 2007
From New York to Liverpool and Back Again (Femmes du
Futur) by Kofi Fosu Forson with collaborations from
Dawn Cherie, Carolyn Day and Nadja Hoyer-Booth.
Art ... A collection of art by Fosu, which explores,
gender,sexual and ethnic politics of concepts of the
body, relationships, the artist and th muse in post
modern art, society and culture. This is presented in
various media of photographic installation of portrait
studies from his naive paintings, some of his abstracted
figurative studies digital media recording in collaboration
with Dawn Cherie, Carolyn Day and Nadja Hoyer-Booth.
22
April 2007 - 28 April 2007
Overview of Loft Space: Salon (on-line publication and
exhibition).
| Reviews |
|
| Transvoyeur
Artist Jo Derbyshire in Loft Space Project ... Review
of ‘When the City Speaks – A Review’
by Artist Jo Derbyshire, Loft Space Project, Liverpool,
England. |
Written
by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney.
Photographs by Tony Knox.
20 January 2007. |
The
‘Loft Space’ project was unveiled today
by Jo Derbyshire, an initiative conceived and curated
by the artist. In the urban space of a house in Liverpool,
once a location for the infamous ‘Bread’
television series in the late eightees and in the same
area where ‘Boys from the Black Stuff’ and
the ‘Liver Birds’ were filmed. A location
synonymous with media, whether socio-political critique
and satire on the community of the place.
This
is the first in a series of exhibitions to be researched
and developed by the artist with other artists to contribute
and respond to the space and location of the house.
The opening exhibition to this programme is a collection
of Derbyshire’s recent and current art research
and projects, titled ‘When the City Speaks –
A Review’.
Derbyshire
presents a collection of art, including her two large
abstract expression pieces. These are faces with undertones
of of Picasso-esque influence and similar the other,
but in pastels, a fusion of mass of faces peering inwards
and outwards of the two dimensional surface. They are
described as psychoanalytical studies of form and tone
and within the layers of each abstracted composition
of the human face or head something different to be
discovered and realised by each viewer’s perspectives.
Along
the peripheral of the far wall is an installation of
photographs and paintings. The photographs an anthology
of visual records of generations gone before. There
are mixed media paintings combined, which evolved from
each live art intervention in different cities of ‘When
the City Speaks’. This is project where audience
participation determines the evolution of the art by
contributing during the live art experience.
These
canvases themselves become artefacts at the moment of
intervention by the audience, but organic as they continue
to the next urban and cultural space. Adjacent to these
are a series of photographic images (documented by Tony
Knox for Derbyshire) from previous incarnations of ‘When
the City Speaks’. They present an archival record
of the journey of the canvases in the installation and
a visual understanding to the next stage of development
in the context of this current project in the ‘Loft
Space’.
The
concept of the ‘Loft Space’ and Derbyshire’s
interest in urban culture takes the concept of spatiality
and re-addressed the urban to the institutional constructs
where the art and visual dialogue become archive and
artefact.
This
is an immensely innovative project conceived by Derbyshire
and in this first exhibition provides a thought provoking
platform to the concepts of display, aesthetic form
and function and art objects. I would strongly recommend
a viewing to this exhibition, which runs for a week,
21January 2007 - 27 January 2007. This is by appointment
only. For further information or viewing contact the
artist at aprilskies1204@aol.com
or 07946353251. You can view more art of Derbyshire
at www.joderbyshire.co.uk.
The
programme for the ‘Loft Space’ continues
with the following artists to explore diverse creative
insights and interpretation of the space.
28
January 2007 - 3 February 2007
On The Waterfront by Irene McLoughlin.
04
February 2007 - 10 February 2007
Poetry Installation by Andrew Taylor.
11
February 2007 - 17 February 2007
Pastel Series by Peter Worthington.
18
February 2007 - 24 February 2007
The Place Where We Live by June Rose H.
25
February 2007 - 03 March 2007
Old and New (Things You See, But Don't See, Every Day)
by Jazamin Sinclair and Karen Henley.
4
March 2007 - 10 March 2007
City, Regeneration, Redevelopment and Waste, ACEO's
by Jo Derbyshire and Peter Worthington.
11
March 2007- 17 March 2007
Nietzsche's Urbanised Icon by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney
and Tony Knox.
18 March 2007 - 24 March 2007
Social Commentary on Urban Space, Place Within by Rob
Davies.
When the City Speaks (Performance in the Room) by Laura
Baxter.
25
March 2007 - 31 March 2007
Liverpool and Cologne by Natalie Bennett.
01
April 2007 – 07 April 2007
Escape from Genesis (The Canon of Human Body, Society
and Culture) by Lucia Andrea Sweeney.
15
April 2007 - 21 April 2007
From New York to Liverpool and Back Again (Femmes des
Futur) by Kofi Fosu Forson with collaborations from
Dawn Cherie, Carolyn Day and Nadja Hoyer-Booth.
22
April 2007 - 28 April 2007
Overview of Loft Space: Salon (on-line publication and
exhibition).
| Review
of 'On the Waterfront' by Artist Irene McLoughlin,
Part Loft Space Project, Liverpool, England, Curated
by Jo Derbyshire. |
Written
by June Hobson.
Photographs from Artist Irene McLoughlin..
28 January 2007 |
Irene
McLoughlin's photographic exhibition gives an interesting
view of various ports, especially the on the banks of
the Mersey taken over many years, it is clear that the
changing face of the waterfront holds a fascination
for her. The major point about McLoughlin's work is
that it shows a very personal aspect of the Mersey,
and other ports. The Mersey dock areas hold a very personal
association for her, her father worked on those docks.
She herself worked on the boat to and from Ireland for
a time when she was a young woman. We see one picture
of her standing proudly on a ferry, a famous part of
Merseyside history.
So
as the face of Merseyside changes, McLoughlin's is drawn
to record that change, especially as the work is in
progress. We see the cranes changing the skyline forever.
McLoughlin would describe herself as an observer, rather
than an artist, she has flair, the photographs show
what she considers worthy of pictorial record. Not necessarily
what a more traditional photographer would submit. This
fits tidily with Derbyshire's concept of When the City
Speaks, as McLoughlin becomes a social historian of
sorts.
Included
in the exhibition were photographs from various artists
including Karen Henley, Rob Davies, June Rose H, Carolyn
Sinclair and Jazamin Sinclair. Their work shows various
cities and waterfronts that contrast against McLoughlin's
images. Davies has submitted images of the Waterfront
in Falmouth in contrast to Henley's photograph of Liverpool's
City Centre. Movement, colour, changes and contrasts
are evident in the work.
There
are painting elements to the exhibition. Jo Derbyshire's
abstract painting and photographs also feature, depicting
the waterfront and skyline in a unique light; the waterfront
is ever present in Derbyshire's work. George Lund has
included several paintings and drawings. His style is
as colourful as it is varied, although his 'Waterfront
, Mersey Docks and Harbour Board' exhibition entry (4ft
x 3ft approx) from 2003 is an a fine intricately detailed
work in black and white unusually. Crowded with images,
the energy comes through. The rest of his work is colourful.
His 'Merseylife 2007' shows the spirit and energy of
this vibrant city. He captures the atmosphere, and the
history of the waterfront, experimenting with alternative
materials in this piece (felt pen on synthetic canvas),
and has a natural affinity with the subject. Here showing
the history of the Mersey in some of the many types
of ships that have sailed there. This highlights the
cultural diversity of Liverpool, and its spirit and
energy.
The
'Loft Space' curated by Jo Derbyshire continues with:
04
February 2007 - 10 February 2007
Poetry Installation by Andrew Taylor.
11
February 2007 - 17 February 2007
Pastel Series by Peter Worthington.
18
February 2007 - 24 February 2007
The Place Where We Live by June Rose H.
25
February 2007 - 03 March 2007
Old and New (Things You See, But Don't See, Every Day)
by Jazamin Sinclair and Karen Henley.
4
March 2007 - 10 March 2007
City, Regeneration, Redevelopment and Waste, ACEO's
by Peter Worthington.
11
March 2007- 17 March 2007
Nietzsche's Urbanised Icon by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney
and Tony Knox.
18 March 2007 - 24 March 2007
Social Commentary on Urban Space, Place Within by Rob
Davies.
When the City Speaks (Performance in the Room) by Laura
Baxter.
25
March 2007 - 31 March 2007
Liverpool and Cologne by Natalie Bennett.
01
April 2007 – 07 April 2007
Escape from Genesis (The Canon of Human Body, Society
and Culture) by Lucia Andrea Sweeney.
15
April 2007 - 21 April 2007
From New York to Liverpool and Back Again (Femmes des
Futur) by Kofi Fosu Forson with collaborations from
Dawn Cherie, Carolyn Day and Nadja Hoyer-Booth.
22
April 2007 - 28 April 2007
Overview of Loft Space: Salon (on-line publication and
exhibition).
For
further information contact:
Jo Derbyshire (Curator of Loft Space Project) on aprilskies1204@aol.com
or 07946353251.
| Review
of 'Poetry Installation' by Poet/Artist Andrew Taylor,
Part Loft Space Project, Liverpool, England, Curated
by Jo Derbyshire. |
Written
by George Lund.
Image by Jo Derbyshire.
05 February 2007. |
The
setting is a residential property in the south of Liverpool,
with views of Liverpool's waterfront - the street which
has provided the backdrop to films and TV programmes.
On entering the property you are taken through the Living
room with paintings by Lund and Derbyshire depicting
Liverpool's waterfront. The room upstairs houses a profile
of the artist and a photographic image of Derbyshire
taken of one of the main roads off Liverpool's waterfront.
The
gallery itself is covered with Taylor's work stuck randomly
to the wall. On an easel in the corner is one of Taylor's
books 'Cathedral Poems'. Taylor's poetry as exhibited
in this urban setting explores the layers of life and
the setting of this renovated house echo's these layers
of time. His poetry remembers a forgotten past that
stretches from Merseyside to London. Dimensions of nostalgia,
reflective memories swept into surreal visions of places,
faces and past times. It encapsulates the long gone
feelings of children, innocence almost like the echoes
of a past within the house and the gallery itself. There
is a human spirituality within the environment the poetry
laments to corridors of the past.
The
exhibition by Taylor runs from 04 February 2007 - 10
February 2007.
For
further information contact: Jo Derbyshire (Curator
of Loft Space Project) on aprilskies1204@aol.com
or 07946353251.
The
'Loft Space' curated by Jo Derbyshire continues with:
11
February 2007 - 17 February 2007
Pastel Series by Peter Worthington.
18
February 2007 - 24 February 2007
The Place Where We Live by June Rose H.
25
February 2007 - 03 March 2007
Old and New (Things You See, But Don't See, Every Day)
by Jazamin Sinclair and Karen Henley.
4
March 2007 - 10 March 2007
City, Regeneration, Redevelopment and Waste, ACEO's
by Jo Derbyshire and Peter Worthington.
11
March 2007- 17 March 2007
Nietzsche's Urbanised Icon by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney
and Tony Knox.
18 March 2007 - 24 March 2007
Social Commentary on Urban Space, Place Within by Rob
Davies.
When the City Speaks (Performance in the Room) by Laura
Baxter.
25
March 2007 - 31 March 2007
Liverpool and Cologne by Natalie Bennett.
01
April 2007 – 07 April 2007
Escape from Genesis (The Canon of Human Body, Society
and Culture) by Lucia Andrea Sweeney.
15
April 2007 - 21 April 2007
From New York to Liverpool and Back Again (Femmes des
Futur) by Kofi Fosu Forson with collaborations from
Dawn Cherie, Carolyn Day and Nadja Hoyer-Booth.
22
April 2007 - 28 April 2007
Overview of Loft Space: Salon (on-line publication and
exhibition).
| Review
of Peter Worthington 'Pastels Series' at the Loft
Space, Curated by Jo Derbyshire. |
Written
by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney.
Photograph © Artist Peter Worthington 2007.
Monday 19 February 2007. |
Peter
Worthington has produced a series of pastel
studies, an expression of sense and place of different
locales in Liverpool, England. This collection of images
imbues a sense place and affection for the subject and
the vibrancy of the palette cognitive of Worthington’s
optimistic empathy with the culture of the city. His
creative insight and vision comparative to his energies
and passions as an activist in the city of Liverpool,
acting as both artists and curator to enable others.
This is significantly researched and managed through
his gallery, the South Bohemian, on Smithdown Road,
Liverpool.
The
art by Worthington placed in the context of the Loft
Space, a Curatorial initiative by Jo Derbyshire,
combines the fundamental ethos to the concepts of art
and space in an urban context. This is both in the setting
of the art work and the theme in the images. From the
urban constructs of this residential environment, Worthington
extends the idealistic visualisations of time and place.
The images are a sensitive and positive portrayal of
scenes relative to the Liverpool’s waterfront,
which founded the socio-economic and political history
of the place and how ideologies of these have transformed
in contemporary ideals to the people of the city.
Gaynor
Evelyn Sweeney interviewed Worthington to understand
further the creative objectives in these reflective
representations and his role in the art community of
Liverpool:
Sweeney:
What is your professional background in the arts?
Worthington:
I am an artist, but also a curator. I see myself as
someone who promotes arts in and from the city of Liverpool.
To make opportunities to other artists based here.
Sweeney:
What inspired your collection of images at
the Loft Space?
Worthington:
I like the use of pastels, as a rapid impression can
be produced or worked. This is dependent on my response
to the subject. The subject of the scenes is one I am
inclined towards, as it is representative of the city
of Liverpool. I have a pleasure in creating them. It
may be an idealised and view point of Liverpool I am
trying to capture in these expressions, but Liverpool
has a diverse history, which is colourful, multicultural.
Sometimes extreme, but one which has been distinct and
memorable. The pastels are an easy media to express
functions and feelings more innately to the subject.
Sweeney:
What response have you had from this exhibition
in the Loft Space?
Worthington:
The feedback on this series of work has been a positive
one. People have enquired on the scenes depicted and
the vibrancy of the colours. The correlation of the
art in the space has raised enquiry too from members
of the public and art community who have come to view
the work in the Loft Space.
Sweeney:
What do you think you art in the context of the Loft
Space conveys?
Worthington: It breaks down the conventional
barriers of how art should be viewed. Changes how my
own art is viewed with a more diverse audience in an
urban context. I feel the work, which is intended to
be a shared experience becomes a social commentary.
Sweeney:
What are your next professional plans as an artist and
a curator?
Worthington: As an artist to learn
from this experience in the Loft Space and develop my
art further on the ideas of alternative space art is
viewed and experienced. I enjoy what I do as an artist.
As a curator, my principles have always been to enable
a professional platform through my gallery, but plans
are in process to further extend this with courses to
be available in Curatorship to the general public. This
is to make art and the experience of it more accessible
to general community in the city.
During
the transitions of the different projects and exhibitions
held in the Loft Space by Derbyshire, the house itself
has been undergoing renovation. Sweeney enquired further
on the relationship of the transformations in reference
to the concept of art in the Loft Space:
Sweeney:
How do you perceive the transitions of the
renovation in the house in conjunction as the Loft Space
project is happening too? Do you find a similarity either
in terms of function, process and rationale of cultural
expression in urban spaces?
Derbyshire:
I initially researched the house and found it was built
by Welsh builders around 1905-1906 in the Edwardian
period. I studied the arts and craft movement from the
period and thought it would be good to install certain
features from the period along side contemporary ones.
As the Loft Space is going to be my art studio, I planned
to allow people to show due to the lack of space available
in Liverpool and the two projects became married together.
Both projects will hopefully achieve a sense on completion
as time goes on. The Loft Space is a form of social
historical research in a visual art context. The renovation
is this likewise but in an interior design capacity
Sweeney:
Do you perceive the residential space a cultural
annotation in itself?
Derbyshire:
It is in a way using what you have got. The changes
in the property market and access to buildings for exhibition
as a cultural platform are now limited with the economic
regeneration of the lead up to the European Capital
of Culture 2008. The Loft Space of adapting a house
while in process of renovation is a similar analogy
to the regeneration experienced through out the city
and moreover critique of concepts of cultural space
for artistic expression. It fits with my research into
interior design, art history and has a contemporary
practicing art element.
Sweeney:
What are the final objectives with this project
(a) in terms of the Loft Space? (b) the renovation of
the house? (c) comparative analysis of the two?
Derbyshire: The Loft Space will eventually
become my studio and utilised in that way. It will have
elements of time gone by from the Arts and Craft period.
Art Deco period. I like Mackintosh’s work, so
it a good thing for me to be able to do this. Furthermore,
in recent years there has been a trend in DIY, so Arts
and Crafts in one sense has become in vogue again with
popularised goods, wallpapers, design elements, etc.,
available to the masses, that can be crafted by the
people. I am not sure if things available today are
as well made though. The overall impetus to this project
is a fusion of analysing an interior design/art history/research
project, i.e., renovation, and the other examining layers
of When the City Speaks, which is the core theme to
the Loft Space and a creative analysis of contemporary
art in the city of Liverpool in an urban context.
The
Loft Space Curatorial project by Derbyshire continues
with:
18
February 2007 - 24 February 2007
The Place Where We Live by June Rose H.
25
February 2007 - 03 March 2007
Old and New (Things You See, But Don't See, Every Day)
by Jazamin Sinclair and Karen Henley.
4
March 2007 - 10 March 2007
City, Regeneration, Redevelopment and Waste, ACEO's
by Jo Derbsyhire and Peter Worthington.
11
March 2007- 17 March 2007
Nietzsche's Urbanised Icon by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney
and Tony Knox.
18 March 2007 - 24 March 2007
Social Commentary on Urban Space, Place Within by Rob
Davies.
When the City Speaks (Performance in the Room) by Laura
Baxter.
25
March 2007 - 31 March 2007
Liverpool and Cologne by Natalie Bennett.
01
April 2007 – 07 April 2007
Escape from Genesis (The Canon of Human Body, Society
and Culture) by Lucia Andrea Sweeney.
15
April 2007 - 21 April 2007
From New York to Liverpool and Back Again (Femmes des
Futur) by Kofi Fosu Forson with collaborations from
Dawn Cherie, Carolyn Day and Nadja Hoyer-Booth.
22
April 2007 - 28 April 2007
Overview of Loft Space: Salon (on-line publication and
exhibition).
Further
information on the upcoming projects at the Loft Space,
contact Jo Derbyshire (Curator of Loft Space Project)
on aprilskies1204@aol.com
or 07946353251. Viewing is by appointment (www.joderbyshire.co.uk).
| Review
of 'Where We Live' by Artist June Hobson, Part of
Loft Space Project, Curator Jo Derbyshire, Liverpool,
England, 2007. |
Written
by Tony Knox.
Photographs © Tony Knox 2007.
25 February 2007. |
The
exhibition of ‘Where We Live’ by the artist
June Rose Hobson, part of the Loft Space platform curated
by Jo Derbyshire, presented a collection of photographs,
collage and paintings. These are described by the artist
as:
‘Reflections of the outer world captured …
Highlighting the variety of events, and happening, available
at any one time in the city. A positive portrayal of
the optimism of the people’.
The
photographers were taken with a disposable camera. However,
they have the characteristic of a pin-hole camera. The
docks have a sense of isolation, as though Hobson is
referencing the city under development and traces of
fractured memories. A sense of desire is expressed,
nostalgic, but a celebration of the new metropolitan
and re-packaging of the city.
Within
the various art in the centre of one wall is a home-made
card. This has words hand written annotated to celebrate
the 800th Anniversary of Liverpool. The dominant placing
of this text within the art makes a statement by the
artist that she feels a sense of place and identity
in this historical time of cultural transitions.
The
collage appears like an ideas board derived from media
clippings, which relate to the changes and events happening
under the banner of culture in Liverpool. There is painted
a river that intervenes through the images. Hobson relates
back the historical significance of the river, which
was the socio-economic strong hold for the city and
still holds great importance, but now more in concept.
The
paintings in the exhibition are of a naive style and
painterly. The compositions derived from the imagination
of the Hobson and embody a sense of idealism. Although
in these paintings, some figurative and others abstract,
there is detected notion of joy, a place of memory untouched
by regeneration.
During
each exhibition that rotates weekly, there is a resident
poet, Andrew Taylor, who I was fortunate to meet on
the opening evening of Hobson’s exhibition. Taylor
explained about his current research to the Loft Space
and how he is analyzing this platform to express in
his creative writing.
Further
information on the upcoming projects at the Loft Space,
contact Jo Derbyshire (Curator of Loft Space Project)
on aprilskies1204@aol.com
or 07946353251. Viewing is by appointment (www.joderbyshire.co.uk).
The
next series of exhibitions are:
25 February 2007 - 03 March 2007
Old and New (Things You See, But Don't See, Every Day)
by Jazamin Sinclair and Karen Henley.
4
March 2007 - 10 March 2007
City, Regeneration, Redevelopment and Waste, ACEO's
by Jo Derbyshire Peter Worthington.
11
March 2007- 17 March 2007
Nietzsche's Urbanised Icon by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney
and Tony Knox.
18 March 2007 - 24 March 2007
Social Commentary on Urban Space, Place Within by Rob
Davies.
When the City Speaks (Performance in the Room) by Laura
Baxter.
25
March 2007 - 31 March 2007
Liverpool and Cologne by Natalie Bennett.
01
April 2007 – 07 April 2007
Escape from Genesis (The Canon of Human Body, Society
and Culture) by Lucia Andrea Sweeney.
15
April 2007 - 21 April 2007
From New York to Liverpool and Back Again (Femmes des
Futur) by Kofi Fosu Forson with collaborations from
Dawn Cherie, Carolyn Day and Nadja Hoyer-Booth.
22
April 2007 - 28 April 2007
Overview of Loft Space: Salon (on-line publication and
exhibition).
|
Review
of 'What You See, But Don't See' by Artists Karen
Henley, Carolyn Sinclair and Jazamin Sinclair,
Part of Loft Space Project, Curator Jo Derbyshire,
Liverpool, England, 2007. |
Written
by June R. Hobson.
Photographs by Tony Knox 2007.
26 February 2007. |
This
photographic exhibition ('What You See, But Don't see',
25
February 2007 - 03 March 2007) by Karen Henley, Carolyn
Sinclair and Jazamin Sinclair, who are well known on
the Merseyside arts scene, brings a refreshingly lively
approach, both interesting, and humorous, as well as
technically clever. The venue for the exhibition is
‘The Loft Space’ which is literally the
curators loft. This itself is an evolving ‘work
in progress’ as part of Jo Derbyshire recently
purchased home which is undergoing renovation. The space
changes weekly, and can be viewed as part of a bigger
project which Jo Derbyshire as an artist herself, interested
in the Arts andCraft Movement, is developing, and who
is especially influenced by Mackintosh et al.
The photographs are predominately taken in the north
end of the city of Liverpool. This is interesting because
it is contrary to the current preferences usually associated
with the local artist community, namely the city centre
and south end of the city. I particularly like the humour
which shines through Karen Henley work. There are slogans
photographs in new ways, and names of businesses that
raise a smile. Examples are, a café named ‘Big
Baps’, and ‘Busy Bootmaker’ clearly
not busy anymore. A pile of tired Tyres, a Destiny poster
on a dilapidated wall with a bright optimistic McDonalds
sign sticking up behind it. Broken down scenes, dilapidation
yes, but highlighted with a wit and insight that recognizes
the scars of life accumulated there. This is Art with
a real edge. Karen Henley is originally from Bristol,
and Jazamin Sinclair has lived all over the country,
enabling both to impart a unique insight into the Liverpool
art scene. Carolyn Sinclaire addresses the urban punctuations
in a similar mode of expression.
The artists produce great sky scenes, very unusual.
I like all of these photographs particularly like the
Red Sky image by Jazamin Sinclair, and shows how everyday
things, seen but not seen this way, happening naturally,
or accidentally can totally alter our perspective. A
car covered in pink blossom, close view of rusting iron
on an old building, a rainbow over a derelict building,
stand out and highlight the world we don’t see
as we pass by everyday. The letters on a litter bin
would stand proudly alongside any celebratory monument,
and remind us that there are all kinds of art.
The artists have captured the unique, and displayed
it in a constantly changing venue, which lends itself
to the project wonderfully. Overall a great exhibition,
in an unusual venue, which Andrew Taylor, the participating
poet for this project, has declared to be so inspiring
that he has written lots of poetry in this space.
Further
information on the upcoming projects at the Loft Space,
contact Jo Derbyshire (Curator of Loft Space Project)
on aprilskies1204@aol.com
or 07946353251. Viewing is by appointment (www.joderbyshire.co.uk).
The
next series of exhibitions are:
4
March 2007 - 10 March 2007
City, Regeneration, Redevelopment and Waste, ACEO's
by Jo Derbyshire Peter Worthington.
11
March 2007- 17 March 2007
Nietzsche's Urbanised Icon by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney
and Tony Knox.
18 March 2007 - 24 March 2007
Social Commentary on Urban Space, Place Within by Rob
Davies.
When the City Speaks (Performance in the Room) by Laura
Baxter.
25
March 2007 - 31 March 2007
Liverpool and Cologne by Natalie Bennett.
01
April 2007 – 07 April 2007
Escape from Genesis (The Canon of Human Body, Society
and Culture) by Lucia Andrea Sweeney.
15
April 2007 - 21 April 2007
From New York to Liverpool and Back Again (Femmes des
Futur) by Kofi Fosu Forson with collaborations from
Dawn Cherie, Carolyn Day and Nadja Hoyer-Booth.
22
April 2007 - 28 April 2007
Overview of Loft Space: Salon (on-line publication and
exhibition).
| Review
of ‘City, Regeneration, Redevelopment and
Waste, ACEO's’ by Jo Derbyshire and Peter
Worthington, Part of Loft Space Project, Curator
Jo Derbyshire, Liverpool, England, 2007. |
Written
by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney.
Photographs by Tony Knox 2007.
12 February 2007. |
The
‘City in Regeneration, Redevelopment and Waste,
ACEO’s’ was conceived in collaboration with
Jo Derbyshire and Peter Worthington at the ‘Loft
Space’ between 4 March 2007 - 10 March 2007. It
consisted of a large collection of small ‘ACEO’s’,
which are small reproductions of different local, national
and international artists work.
In
the environment of the ‘Loft Space’, these
had been presented around the four low perimeters on
white card in groups of about four with the artists
names printed next to them. On one main wall, there
was an installation of one image, which was shown reproduced
several times from large to small on presented on an
angular line of gradation. This was a visual representation
of the process of taking art from its original source
and the reductivism of how art is reproduced and becomes
the dimensions of the ACEO’s.
To
understand more the objectives to this exhibition, Gaynor
Evelyn Sweeney interviewed Jo Derbyshire, who in association
with Peter Worthington conceived the idea to present
this mass reproduction of the art work.
Sweeney:
What are ACEOs?
Derbyshire:
Art Cards Editions and Originals. They are 2.5 x 3.5
in miniature cards. I think the original purpose of
this art form was to share pieces of artwork with others,
while promoting the artist
Sweeney: Where did the concept originate?
Derbyshire:
They are popular in the USA, but some claims
are laid to them being used from around 1996 by a Swiss
artist
Sweeney: Whose are the artists who have contributed
images? In addition, how was they selected?
Derbyshire:
Eddie Lyons, Alison carling, peter Worthington, John
Bridson, Jo Derbyshire and others from the South Bohemia
Art Gallery. Alison who produced the ACEO's through
her printing Business Boho Dolls, selected the work
for the exhibition. My job was to make sure they kept
with them I set 'When the City speaks'.
Sweeney: Are the images varied in the
collection of ACEOs exhibited or is there a common theme?
Derbyshire:
The theme surrounds the theme I set in place
for everyone when the city speaks. Images are produced
in ACEO format of regeneration, Liverpool icons like
the Beatles and scenes from Sefton Park. There are miniature
photographs alongside miniature painting prints
Sweeney: How did you and Peter curate
the ACEOs in the space and why did you choose the style
of the presentation to show them?
Derbyshire:
Peter did not curate but I asked Alison Carling who
works at the south bohemia gallery to get some ACEO
images together they also asked me for some images of
various Liverpool scenes and I know artist like John
and Edie had various images of Liverpool Icons
Sweeney: How do the ACEOs in the context
of the Loft Space relate to each other?
Derbyshire:
The common them was Liverpool and how we see it and
what we would put in a trading card/small piece of art,
which essentially what ACEO's are. I went for photographs
of regeneration and change, Alison went for urban landscapes,
Peter included some of his pastels of the city, Eddie
and John used cultural icons as their imagery. They
work together as these various layers of Liverpool and
Liverpool’s culture are presented.
Sweeney: The ACEOs seem to have a commercial
relevance in the distribution of art? How does this
relate in their design, function and purpose?
Derbyshire:
They are small affordable pieces of art and each one
essentially is a limited edition print 1-50 so they
are collectable
Sweeney: Does the commercial nature
of the ACEOs relate to the urban context of the space?
If so, how?
Derbyshire:
It does not really but no one else seems to
be using them as a collectables in the city at the moment
although in the states and on the internet there are
websites set up about them. I know the MA By Creative
Practice Class who will have their exhibition in South
Bohemia on 25th May this year will be utilising ACEOs
as a marketing tool and a limited edition run of 12
will be printed and on sale on the opening night so
I think they will catch on.
Sweeney: What feed back have you have
on this current exhibition? Both positive and negative,
if any?
Derbyshire:
Positives we have a resident poet who is publishing
a book of his poems that come from this, people like
the alternative type of space. Negative is that I feel
people in art circles in the city are either becoming
apathetic or elitist and not many people form the Liverpool
art scene have visited the space yet on a positive note
again some Liverpool a students have and I have had
visitors from London, Japan, Edinburgh, Leeds, Italy
and the USA. People have also come along as they are
aware of my website and the Transvoyeur website and
we are getting visitors from the local music scene,
writing scene, more so than local artists. People like
the space, because it is different and true to the residential
setting, it is not just a house housing art as a renovation
project incorporating elements of around 1905 when the
house was built is going on, and that was a lot of research
on my part.
Sweeney: Would you do this type of
exhibition again and why?
Derbyshire:
I would definitely plan it differently but with any
project things never go according to plan. We will see
though, watch this space. I am proud of the fact it
has been a truly independent piece not funded by anyone,
not rich benefactor in the background, no people in
the know who have championed the whole exhibition and
it has run successfully without this to me that epitomises
the idea of when the city speaks it is like lifting
the layer off a part of everyday life that can be ignored
or forgotten but is very much there.
The
idea behind the ACEOs was interesting and how art can
be available and distributed in terms of socio-economic
structures of a place, making it accessible and affordable
to the broader social groups in society. This is a re-invention
to the function of the image in terms of mass marketing
too. The reduced art comparable to how iconic images,
such as Mona Lisa by Da Vinci, Monet’s flowers,
etc., are reproduced on an array of consumer items.
In terms of curatorial relationship to the nature of
the Loft Space, it would have been interesting to see
the mass reproduction of the art images correlated more
with the theme and parameters of the space, as the presentation
imbued more a commercial platform with the regimental
lines of small collections around the perimeter.
Further
information on the upcoming projects at the Loft Space,
contact Jo Derbyshire (Curator of Loft Space Project)
on aprilskies1204@aol.com
or 07946353251. Viewing is by appointment (www.joderbyshire.co.uk).
The
next series of exhibitions are:
11
March 2007- 17 March 2007
Nietzsche's Urbanised Icon by Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney
and Tony Knox.
18 March 2007 - 24 March 2007
Social Commentary on Urban Space, Place Within by Rob
Davies.
When the City Speaks (Performance in the Room) by Laura
Baxter.
25
March 2007 - 31 March 2007
Liverpool and Cologne by Natalie Bennett.
01
April 2007 – 07 April 2007
Escape from Genesis (The Canon of Human Body, Society
and Culture) by Lucia Andrea Sweeney.
15
April 2007 - 21 April 2007
From New York to Liverpool and Back Again (Femmes des
Futur) by Kofi Fosu Forson with collaborations from
Dawn Cherie, Carolyn Day and Nadja Hoyer-Booth.
22
April 2007 - 28 April 2007
Overview of Loft Space: Salon (on-line publication and
exhibition).
|
Review
of Nietzsche's Urbanised Icon at the Loft Space,
Liverpool, England, Collaboration by Tony Knox
and Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney, Curated by Jo Derbyshire,
18 March 2007. |
Written
by Andrew Taylor.
Photographs by Tony Knox and Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney
2007.
18 2 February 2007. |
Andrew
Taylor, the artist in residence at the Loft Space Programme
(Liverpool, England), curated by Jo Derbyshire, reviews
the Nietzsche's Urbanised Icon exhibitions of Tony Knox
and Gaynor Evelyn Sweeney:
Sweeney
and Knox's collaboration is both interesting and thought
provoking. Using the gallery in an interesting way –
its white walls are used sparingly, to provide the visitor
with the sensation of space.
Knox,
using photographs taken on successive Remembrance Sundays,
of war 'heroes' honouring their fallen comrades brings
a sense of loss to the fore. The most striking image
is of a wheelchair bound veteran, sat next to a youngster
(who I presume to be his Great-Grandson), who share
regimental colours. Knox further utilises the space
with the continuation of the theme of the photographs,
using lettering installed at a right angle, on the fresh
white walls that reads:
to the departed friend and to us all his servants life
everlasting
Sweeney
known largely for her 'live art', has developed a strong
counter position to Knox's photographs in the shape
of 'Portrait of a Tin Soldier', a sculpture mounted
onto a blank canvas. The sculpture, made from recycled
metal thread with cotton, highlights the former position
of the tin soldier in society and its disposability.
In this context, allied to Knox's images of the War
veteran, the tin soldier becomes a symbol of war alongside
the attendant position of victorious hero. Sweeney shows
the fragility of the memory of war (we are after all,
60 plus years on from the end of World War II) by displaying
photocopied images of the piece, scattered around the
base of the sculpture. Though the sculpture is reclaimed
metal – the metal given a second chance, the paper
copies will eventually return to organic matter.
By
choosing understatement in this exhibition, the two
artists have allowed visitors the space and time to
interact in a respectful manner. I found the exhibition
to be moving and thought provoking.
Andrew Taylor
Poet-in-residence, Loft Space Gallery.
Further
information on the upcoming projects at the Loft Space,
contact Jo Derbyshire (Curator of Loft Space Project)
on aprilskies1204@aol.com
or 07946353251. Viewing is by appointment (www.joderbyshire.co.uk).
The
next series of exhibitions are:
18
March 2007 - 24 March 2007
Social Commentary on Urban Space, Place Within by Rob
Davies.
When the City Speaks (Performance in the Room) by Laura
Baxter.
25
March 2007 - 31 March 2007
Liverpool and Cologne by Natalie Bennett.
01
April 2007 – 07 April 2007
Escape from Genesis (The Canon of Human Body, Society
and Culture) by Lucia Andrea Sweeney.
15
April 2007 - 21 April 2007
From New York to Liverpool and Back Again (Femmes des
Futur) by Kofi Fosu Forson with collaborations from
Dawn Cherie, Carolyn Day and Nadja Hoyer-Booth.
22
April 2007 - 28 April 2007
Overview of Loft Space: Salon (on-line publication and
exhibition).
Exhibition
and Artist Information ...
11
March 2007- 18 March 2007
Nietzsche's Urbanised Icon by Gaynor Evelyn
Sweeney and Tony Knox.
Collaboration
…
Sweeney and Knox through their independents
research of genetic intervention of the body and
the concept of the postmodern hero respectively
will collaboratively explore in a contemporary
socio-urban context the fundamental philosophies
of Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche is famous for
his rejection of what he calls "slave morality"
(which he felt reflected the inverse of the "will
to power" and a perversion of useful altruism);
his attacks on Christianity (a character in one
of his works declared that "God is dead");
his origination of the Übermensch concept
(translated as "Overman" or "Superman")
in only one of his books; his embrace of a sort
of a-rationalism; and something he called "the
Will to Power" (Wille zur Macht).
Nietzsche
was strongly influenced by Arthur Schopenhauer
and his concept of "the Will to live".
H L Mencken's book on Nietzsche described his
work as an early effort to reconcile the philosophical
implications of Charles Darwin's "survival
of the fittest" evolutionary theory with
contemporary moral and ethical systems. Nietzsche
(or was it Mencken?) greatly disliked Darwin and
his idea of "the survival of the fittest".
In many respects, his thinking anticipated the
"heredity" side of the ongoing debate
about which has more influence on human behaviour:
learning Vs heredity in the modern discipline
of psychology ("irrationalism" in human
behaviour typically stems from genetic / instinctively-derived
impulses).
Nietzsche's
thoughts also anticipated the "biological
world view" and genetic interpretation of
social behaviour in the modern discipline of socio-biology
(c.f. one can find updated "Nietzsche"
in A New Morality From Science: Beyondism by Dr.
Raymond Cattell, which draws from concepts elucidated
in Socio-biology: The New Synthesis by Harvard
professor Dr. Edward Wilson as well as other emergent
discipline |
