Liz West | Artist Blog: July 2011

My work will feature in the new exhibition 'Copy/Paste' in Leeds, opens Monday 25th July at Shine Business Centre.

Shine will launch its new art programme this summer with showcases by emerging and professional artists. Over 30 artists have contributed to the inaugaral show comprising of several solo shows and Shine’s first curated exhibition entitled ‘Copy/Paste’.

‘Copy/Paste’ presents artworks utilising or referencing digital imaging techniques, from artists working in a range of disciplines including graphic design, printmaking, photography, sculptural installation, performance.

Shine Business Centre
Harehills Road
Harehills
LS8 5HS Leeds
United Kingdom
Monday, July 25, 2011 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (PT)

Liz West has made a new site specific work in Kraak Gallery for Manchester Art Crawl, 2011.

KRAAK Gallery Website
Manchester Art Crawl Website

Manchester Art Crawl is part of the “Not Part Of Festival ” acting as the visual art fringe event to The Manchester International Festival. The MCR | AC takes the form of a visual arts festival revitalising art, non art, abandoned and occupied spaces alike. The driving force behind The Crawl is to create a large scale inclusive platform for contemporary artists living and working in Manchester and beyond in order to stimulate ideas, develop and show work to an international audience at a time when Manchester has the spotlight on less inclusive events.

2011' s Manchester Art Crawl sees a group shown hosted in Kraak Gallery's hidden new loft gallery space of 8 national artists work ranging from installation to sensor prompted moving image to roof top towers.

Opening Times: 12pm- 6pm Daily.

Behind Hula Bar (yellow fronted) on Stevenson Square there is a cobbled alleyway. Down this alleyway, at the narrowest point, there are two doors. Through one door is KRAAK Gallery. Through the other door is KRAAK Venue- go into Kraak venue where the maps and arrows are and go all the way up to the top floor.

Information on artists and work;

Liz West
Red Chamber
“I am concerned with the psychological influence of colour, its effect and sensory impact upon the viewer. In the installation Red Chamber a large collection of red objects are positioned to form an ambiguous landscape, produced using numerous mirrors which multiplied and extended the objects through reflection. My chamber installations can be site specific or incorporated into existing building spaces. The colour red induces feelings of fear and warmth, however it is also associated with warning signs and anger, it is overpowering when used in large quantities.”

Joseph Rowley
A Place Without Purpose Where Purpose Once
An exploration of the ideas of space and non-space and more particularly the idea of a place without purpose where purpose once was. Pallets have no use on their own, they are defined by their contents, and broken pallets have even less use. In conjunction with this a TV screen of static again links to this idea, since a television is also defined by its contents to a large extent.

Nicola Colclough
A Forest
The idea for the piece came from an observational photography series exploring 'things in trees' ranging from mysterious objects such as hula hoops to the more benign everyday sightings of plastic bags and disguarded rubbish. The piece is also a comment on the environmental landscape and the threat of public green spaces as they become more planned and manmade rather then wild open spaces that provoke a sense of freedom.

Caroline Backhouse
Deconstruction
Deconstruction is a large scale installation which immediately grabs you as you enter the gallery space. It can be interpreted on many different levels. “I was particularly interested in investigating ideas of scale and how colour can be revealed through a process of transformation. As you follow the gradual break down of a highly controlled process, the material begins to reinvent itself and construct a new form of its own. I slowly lose control and gravity takes over.” The piece is installed in it's complete form, and then over the process of a couple of hours the woollen hoops are cut and ripped, causing the wool to drop to the floor. There are small silver scissors attached to the hoops to encourage viewers to snip away as they please, and be involved in the creation of the work itself.

Ben Harding
Harding’s practice uses electronics and found footage to deal with our relationship to technology in a consumer society. The imagery references the cyclic, build and destroy nature of consumerism, whilst pointing to the constantly changing landscape of our built environment.

Stephanie Douet
Smoke and Mirrors
An experimental process by which Douet develops a prism through which the objects are refracted and reconstituted, a very low-tech version of Toby Ziegler's computer-mediated work, or a Modernist take on Cubism. “The starting point is when I set up objects together – ply off-cuts, paper cut-outs, lenses, architectural maquettes - and taking a batch of photos. Out of a large number, I select some too print out and make into a collage. This is then made up in 3D from real materials and becomes a large-scale installation/sculpture, which in its turn is photographed and the whole process repeated with whatever variations occur to me.”

Jamie Clough
“my work has become more of an exploration of myself, and my thoughts, rather than specifically my dreams like I used to paint. Internal thoughts and feelings manifest themselves into abstract images, which can no longer be defined as one object, but many combined and mashed together. “

Nick Rhodes
“For the Art crawl I aim to make a set of towers that will vary in scale, out of found wood and plastic objects etc. The tower obsession originated from a train journey to Manchester from Preston. Earlier in the day of the train journey I had heard a story about flooding on radio 4, and its devastating affect on people and their lives. I found it quite devastating and enlightening at the same time. The power of nature is a cruel being. So I set upon thinking about flooding, and how humans may cope in the future. Much of my towers are also about recycling too. I have spotted and collected many many images of tribes and populations around the globe that build living quarters up in trees, and above water, just to house themselves from the elements. Often a lot are made from what ever material they have come across which I love.... Once humans has a limitiation in life, they always produces the loveliest creations. With my towers I try to portray man's fragility, whether it be in the construction/materials or the scale of the stilts/legs that hold up the towers. Its also that sense of getting up there out of the way, that liberation you had when you climb a tree or even go up a tall building and look out of the window. I try to harness that in someway.” Nick Rhode's work at Kraak is linked with a large scale piece that can be viewed from platform 2 at Deansgate Train Station. Once on the platform turn left and look out from the side of the bridge.

Wednesday, 27 July 2011

THE TOMORROW PEOPLE - ARTISTS OF THE FUTURE NOW 2011

Friday, 22 July 2011

Red Chamber @ Kraak Gallery (as part of Manchester Art Crawl)

Wednesday, 20 July 2011

Liz West in 'The Tomorrow People'

Tuesday, 19 July 2011

Liz West in new Leeds exhibition 'Copy/Paste'

Thursday, 7 July 2011

New site-specific installation for Manchester Art Crawl

Wednesday, 6 July 2011

First Solo Exhibition