Some great news! I have just heard that I’ve been awarded the Printmaking Today prize for a large-format inkjet print at Print International exhibition 2013, Oriel Wrecsam, Wrecsam, North Wales.
The prize was awarded for [Imprint] Soft_Terrain (inverted) Ink jet print 110 cm x 110 cm
[Imprint] Soft_Terrain (inverted) Ink jet print 110 cm x 110 cm
I look forward to my work and text being included in the Printmaking Today’s Artists’ Eye column, Spring 2014 issue.
Printmaking Today was first published in 1990 by Rosemary Simmons. From 1994 to 2000 it was published by Farrand Press. Printmaking Today is the authorized Journal of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers.
On Saturday 14 April I travelled to the opening of Print International 2013 exhibition at Oriel Wrecsam, North Wales. Really pleased to have 3 of my digital prints selected for exhibition alongside around 40 international artists working in a diverse range of print media including: Etching, lithography, woodcut, mezzotint, screenprint, Ceramic, monoprint, various mixed media, lazer cut and installation.
Print International 2013 launched Creative International, a month of art activities in Wrexham that will run until Saturday 11 May. The exhibition is being held across 2 venues: Oriel Wrecsam gallery and Memorial gallery in nearby Yale College.
The exhibition included series of work ranging from 3 to 6 pieces from each artist in order to show continuity within the work.
Interesting to see The Bigger Picture exhibited in an entirely different context to This ‘Me’ of Mine at APT gallery, London last month. Print International is a survey of contemporary printmaking rather than being based on any particular theme; work with very different intentions were displayed side by side. Whilst in ‘This ‘Me’ of Mine’ APT the curatorial theme of ‘self in relation to context’ connected my work to others in quite a different way.
In Memorial gallery Wrexham, many of the works used black and white media – bringing different works together graphically rather than by concept: My prints were connected to others by exploration of print media rather than by curatorial concept- It’s interesting as an artist to view (own) work in these different contexts. Each undoubtedly altering the reception of the work.
Sandra Crisp – large format digital printsSandra Crisp: Opening day at Print International 2013; Oriel Wrecsam, N. Wales
I enjoyed a very friendly and lively opening and it was also great to unexpectedly met up with fellow artist Heather Upton and her husband who I had not seen for some time since teaching at Kensington and Chelsea College, London.
Also lovely to meet Pam Newall on the day and have a quick chat about silkscreen printing and etching. I had seen Pam’s work previously on Axis web website and also on Twitter – great to meet artists and see their work in reality rather than just virtually.
In fact, I was so busy talking that I forgot to pick up my exhibition catalogues before the event closed for the evening. Thanks to Oriel Wrecsam for kindly posting these on to me. Just received…..
Sandra Crisp‘s large format digital prints: Soft Terrain (Inverted), 2012. 5Ways Filmstrip 4, 2012 and The Bigger Picture, 2010. Print International catalogue with Pam Newall‘s screenprints (top of image) Urban 03, 2011. Urban 05 2011 and Urban 04, 2011 Heather Upton‘s waterless lithographs: Secret Map, Eternal Dust and Voyage
Print International included the following artists selected by Professor David Ferry RE FRSA:
John Abell, Michael Agnew & David Blyth, Amanda Agyei, Duncan Bullen, Cardiff Sessions with Bruce McLean, Cardiff Sessions with David Ferry, Cardiff Sessions with John Gibbons, Frances Carlie, Bill Chambers, Sandra Crisp, Paul Croft, Alexe Dilworth, Morgan Doyle, Ruth Gibson, Jo Gorner, James Green, Graham Hall, Yuji Hiratsuka, Linda Kosciewicz-Flemming, Peter Lloyd, Arabella Marsh-Hilfiker, Thomas Martin, Nan Mulder, Stephen Mumberson, Pam Newall, Sarah Robinson, Sander Schoonbeek, Kara Seaman, Giske Sigmundstad, Serena Smith, Eric Storey, Dionne Swift, Heather Upton, Gini Wade, Florence Walkey, Pete Williams, Roy Willingham, Christina Wrege, Josee Wuyts & Frans de Groot.
Memorial GalleryYale College, Grove Park Road, Wrexham LL12 7AB. 01978 317329. Monday – Friday 10 – 12 & 1:30 – 4:30. Term time only or by appointment.
The exhibition continues until 8th June and more information can be found on previous blog post: HERE
Here are some gallery shots and private view photos from This ‘Me’ of Mine exhibition at APT Gallery, Deptford, London 14 – 31 March 2013
Jane Boyer and a small team of artists have succeeded in hanging the exhibition in an innovative way that connects these quite different art works together very well: Each piece exists in it’s own generous space, however, all the work connects together well in the overall gallery space due to Jane Boyer’s clear vision for the exhibition theme- The work all shares a common thread of identity.
Media includes painting, drawing, digital print, 3D assemblage and a code-drive screen-based work.
Sandra Crisp: The Bigger Picture Archival digital print 110 cm x 110 cm – Installation view @ This ‘Me’ of Mine, APT Gallery
Many thanks to Jane who has worked very hard on the project in advance of the opening, conducting interviews, applying for venues and eventually securing funding from both Arts Council England.
An early review by Jack Hutchinson Curating by Twitter can be found Here
More information about This ‘Me’ of Mine’ on the blog Here
Exhibition continues APT GalleryHaroldWharf, 6 Creekside, Deptford, London SE8 4SA.14 – 31 March 2013 Wed to Sun 12 to 5 pm Tel: 020 8694 8344South London Art Map 29 March, 12 to 8:30 pm
Three of Sandra’s large format prints 5Ways Filmstrip4, The Bigger Picture and Imprint, Soft Terrain (inverted) have been selected for Seventh Print International 2013 open exhibition at Oriel Wrecsam Gallery and Yale College in Wales, April – 8 June 2013. A partnership project run with the Memorial Gallery, Yale College, Wrexham.
Opening Event: 2 – 4 pm Saturday 13 April 2013
I’m really looking forward to taking these images off the screen and onto paper for this exhibition. They will be printed at London Print Studio, Harrow Road and sent to N. Wales by post ready for the show.
The seventh biennial international printmaking exhibition drawn from entries made via open submission from professional printmakers around the world. This year’s exhibition selection will be made by established print professional Professor David Ferry RE FRSA.
Mapping London’s Subterranean Rivers video has been short-listed for ISEA 19th International Symposium on Electronic Art to take place in Sydney Australia.
Fingers crossed that my entry will go through to the final exhibition….
Presented by the Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT) and held alongside Vivid Sydney – a festival of light, music and ideas – ISEA2013 will showcase the best media artworks from around the world and provide a platform for the lively exchange of future-focused ideas.
Dates and Venues announced for This ‘Me’ of Mine forthcoming exhibition tour
I’m really looking forward to my large digital print The Bigger Picture being included in the forthcoming 2013 touring exhibition This ‘Me’ of Mine. The artist and curator Jane Boyer, who is based in France interestingly selected most of the exhibited works online via social media sites such as Twitter. It will be really interesting to exhibit with such a diverse range of artists working in contrasting media.
This ‘Me’ of Mine, a touring contemporary art exhibition which looks at self in relation to context, opens March 14, 2013 at APT Gallery in Deptford. It will present issues of socialization and the influence of social groups, our connection to objects as a means to express emotion and to hold memories, the passage of time and limitations imposed by circumstance, and finally the effects of living in a digital age. This ‘Me’ of Mine showcases work by: Aly Helyer, Edd Pearman, Darren Nixon, Hayley Harrison, Melanie Titmuss, Annabel Dover, Kate Murdoch, David Minton, Anthony Boswell, David Riley, Sandra Crisp, Sarah Hervey, Shireen Qureshi, Cathy Lomax, and Jane Boyer. Boyer is also the curator for the project, her first solo project as curator.
The exhibition will travel to four venues: APT Gallery, Strange Cargo|Georges House Gallery, Sevenoaks Kaleidoscope Gallery and The Art School Gallery at Ipswich Museum. A symposium discussing the effects of social media on identity and our connection to objects as mediators of emotion will conclude the exhibition tour at Ipswich Museum in the Fall of 2013. Members on the panel include: Dr David Jones, head of Visual Culture studies at the University of Exeter; Annabel Dover, exhibiting artist and PhD candidate at Wimbledon College of Art; Dr Aiden Gregg, psychologist, lecturer and member of the Centre for Research on Self & Identity at the University of Southampton, and Dr Emma Bond, sociologist and senior lecturer at University Campus Suffolk.
A companion book including interviews with the artists, essays by symposium panellists and other writers will also be published in conjunction with the project.
Very good news: On Saturday 26th January I was delighted to discover that my grant application to The Eaton Fund has been successful. I was so surprised when the letter arrived (and still am!)
The grant will be used to fund the printing and framing of a large format digital print ‘The Bigger Picture’ for forthcoming UK touring exhibition This ‘Me’ of Mine 2013. This kind assistance is extremely welcome at this point in my career as the costs involved in producing such large works for public exhibition have proved to be extremely challenging in recent times.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Trustees and Eaton fund administrator Lorna Stagg for their generous support.
About The Eaton Fund
In 1954 the Eaton Fund for Artists, Nurses and Gentlewomen became a registered charity and the trust is named after Ellen Mary Maria Eaton (1866-1949). Faiths younger cousin Faith Sybil Eaton (b. 1927) was a Trustee for 37 years. Originally, the Trustees were all family members, and the Trust was first chaired by Mr. Charles Eaton Mills, JP.
Since 2007 there have been five Trustees including Marian Shaw (Chairwoman) and Nicola Brooker who are grand-daughters of the first Chairman.
Trustees: Mrs. Nicola Brooker, BA (Hons), Dr. Harry Dawson, MRCP, MRC.Psych., Mr. Tim Edwards, ACIS, Mrs. Marian Shaw, BSc. (Hons), Mr. Charles Stewart, BA (Hons).
Faith Eaton: A highly-regarded collector of dolls and dolls’ houses
Jane, who conducted the interview via email from her home in France, is a perceptive interviewer devising questions that really made me think about my own practice in new ways, ranging from the place of digital archiving within today’s ever burgeoning stream of information and images through to influence of the Internet and social media etc
UPDATE
Interview excerpt is now below….
Sandra’s art is some of the most visually complex work I have ever seen; every time I see her work I am amazed all over again. She works with both static and moving images, curiously the boundary between what is static and what is moving seems to fade away; bits of data are set in motion and bits of life are captured – one easily becomes the other in her hands. In this interview we talk about the barrage of media, memory, continuity and the archive. Is stream of consciousness a natural state equal in magnitude to outside media overload? I think so after talking with Sandra.
(NB: click on any of Sandra’s images to zoom into more detail).
Jane Boyer: You’ve mentioned that your process is slow and you engage this purposefully to counter the invasive speed of media information. Is this engagement with slowness a kind of self-imposed isolation or is it an immersion? Do either help counter the barrage of media?
Sandra Crisp: I think that my approach does form a kind of immersion really, it is key to my working process which evolves gradually over time. People have often commented that the work is very complex. It requests an action of slowing down from within to take in the density of detail. I am not sure that I can claim that this slows down the barrage out there, but the intention is definitely to provide a sense of contemplation or slowing down – a counter action.
When I began working digitally just over ten years ago, there seemed to be a general idea in the area of fine art that working within this medium was somehow faster or easier, that the results are impersonal or detached. In fact, most off-the-shelf software is marketed to perform industry image or film editing tasks ever faster and therefore more economically. Each new software update offers an almost obsessive increased speed factor as a main selling point; I still really enjoy the challenge of using out-of-date software versions to address this issue of built in obsolescence. The work is not really about using the latest technology more about using what is around me and readily available, continuing the idea of digital bricolage in my practice.
JB: It strikes me in looking at your Work-in-Progress posts, the notes you make are very intimate much like notes in a studio notebook intended for the artist’s eyes only, yet you choose to make them public. What is behind the removal of this boundary between private and public and why have you chosen to do it with such a complex mode as stream of consciousness thinking about your working process?
SC: My practice largely revolves around process, so I have approached the blog as I would any other new process; testing it out, trying to explore its form from a fresh angle. From a practice point of view, I am really interested in whether doing these regular informal updates will take the work itself in new directions, becoming entwined with the creative process itself or remain as a diary or record. For me, a stream of consciousness is not a complex approach at all as this is exactly how I work, by holding on to different ideas and developing them through thought process and memory, aided by digital technology and the archive, until connections evolve between previously unrelated elements. The blog format does not have to follow a traditional written literary or academic structure with sentences, punctuation, line and paragraphs, and have any a definite start and end point; it can be open ended, more like an open dialogue and that suits my way of working really well.
JB: Your own technique of collecting pieces of information presents a ‘compossible’ world, which you relate to personal memory, your own continuity. What is behind your work ‘The Bigger Picture’?
SC:‘The Bigger Picture’ uses multiple thumbnail visuals found online and scanned media visuals arranged within a grid formation and contact-sheet format; visuals are continually erased and reworked until the work hovers upon the boundary of disintegration and erasure: Information reduced to a near-abstract mosaic. Similar to other works in the same series, the image addresses meaning, or loss of this; traces of figures and objects are just discernible but their exact origins or source has become blurred. A narrative seems to be present, but is totally fragmented. The title of the work – ‘The Bigger Picture’ is asking the viewer to stand back and look at the overall context- to see the bigger picture and question the continual everyday bombardment of information; that was the idea anyway.
JB:“Images with their origins in the mass media become ingrained in memory – attached to other bits of personal information, ideas and concepts: A cyclical process of internalising information from ‘out there’, through my own thinking space and then releasing it outwards again…. Collecting, collating, making sense and discovering what is meaningful.” This is an interesting statement on influence from your portfolio website. Do you think the influence of mass media is changing the way we perceive? Do we perceive beyond our own senses; perception as amalgamation rather than perception as sensory?
SC: I think that this is undoubtedly true; we do not witness this entire media as passive bystanders by looking in from the outside. Popular culture, the media, and more recently the proliferation of communication media surround us, influencing how we navigate our world. Perception may be altered through both amalgamation over time and also via direct sensory input or experience, we know that we are operating within electronic networks but I don’t think anybody actually sits down and thinks about that directly!
JB: Do you feel this transience of information means we are beginning to construct our memories, in the sense of filling in the blanks, and does the archive present a structure to do this? Do you agree with many emerging artists that memory cannot be trusted?
SC: Maybe this is why Facebook as a form of vast public archive/database is so popular – by uploading personal photographs and information we are constructing memory, using it as a way of editing and ascertaining what is important; filling in the blanks. So yes, I think that the archive does offer a structure for this. I often think of my work, both still and moving images as memory surfaces particularly when I am working with pixels on screen. There, transient and borrowed information is anchored and reconfigured until new meanings are formed; a process of filtering the digital until it fuses with my own memory and associations. Recollection and memory is affected by so many different inputs and stimuli, therefore, in this data driven age where the information we absorbs is transient and in continual flux it would seems that memory can be trusted ever less.
I’ve asked the artists to share a list of books they find informative for their practice. Follow the links here or visit the Bookshop to see all the books suggested so far. We hope you will see something inspiring for your own interests. Your book purchase made through This ‘Me’ of Mine will help raise funds for the project.
I have been accepted by axisweb.org and my new membership profile is now up on the website. (Link to follow)
I’m looking forward to joining Axis network and hopefully connecting with other artists on the site. As well as making full use of their resources in terms of opportunities and news updates.
Axis is your contemporary art radar. The website features profiles of professional artists and curators, interviews, discussions, art news, debates and showcases the artists to watch.
Thanks to Sharon Haward for sending these pics of recent outdoor screening ‘End Of The World – Experimental Video Night’ showing my video Oceanics on 8th December 2012.
The experimental video nights event look place on a piece of rough ground known as the ‘Space’ near to Warrier Square railway station, St Leonards on Sea (Near Hastings) UK.
The event was the last of a series of exhibitions and events based upon the theme ‘End of the World‘; although the weather was reportedly awful on the previous night with lashing rain and wind, the 8th December screening went off in a much calmer fashion- it’s not the end of the world yet anyway…..
I am very pleased to say that my film/video Oceanics will be shown as part of an End Of The World – Experimental Video, Projection and Performance night.
Wrap up warm!! The Space, a rough outdoor plot which adjoins the Warrior Square Railway Station, will host a series of experimental video installations, projections and performances as a part of an ongoing programme of outdoor sculpture and installation projects curated by Christine Gist. From 6pm on the Friday 7th and Saturday 8th of December the dark winter night will be lit up by outdoor projections devised by underground artists Sharon Haward and Sarah Locke as the final part of the ‘End of the World’ series of projects, projections and screenings.
The experimental video, projection and performance event is the second ‘End of the World’ event held in The Space, and will feature work by Sandra Crisp. Underground are pleased to be able to show Sandra’s ‘Oceanics’ where the viewer is taken on a spatial journey through various simulated environmental layers suggesting the evolution of climate change, hinting at possible future consequences and environmental damage.
Sarah Locke will also be undertaking a performance entitled Mother of Grace Moskow Discow / The Bar at the End of the World, at 7 pm each evening. Mother of Grace is the alter ego/identity Sarah Locke and for this event we find her in a bar, grasping at visions of the past and treading carefully around an uncertain future.
Other artists featured include Matthew Pountney and Johnny Crump who have created an audio-visual ‘mash-up’ that pulls viewers into an intensely hypnotic and at times nightmarish world. The audio design was created to challenge the way we hear music and to break some fundamental rules of music production. Installation artist Sharon Haward will be showing ‘TransitionOverload’ where an abstract industrial fragment is overlaid with ambiguous and ominous sound to create a sense of disquiet and dislocation and Belgian artist Sebastien Seynaeve’s ‘Integral Conversation’ imagery and sound are an expression of the radiating aspect of our contemporary environment and the withdrawal of the individual and his loss of control in profit of superior forces. The inspiration for these projects comes from numerous sources including Angela Carter, William Gibson, Jean Luc Godard, JB Ballard the golden age of TV and our ever expanding including dependence on technology.
New work by past and present students from Sussex Coast College will also be showing – Shammi Begum, Lucy Dixon, Izabela Montoya and Rosie Haward
