We met up in Finchley Road at the gallery. I arrived early and so went for a walk around the block. It was so lovely to see blossom on trees and even a little grass. Vauxhall has the river but no grass and Kings Cross is a hard surface jungle with a canal. I'm missing green!
The exhibition was a real mixture. There were a couple of stand out pieces and I appreciated the thought that had gone into the curation to group artworks by theme but on the whole I find I struggle with exhibitions like this where everything is just so different. The pieces I liked I really like though! There was an enormous diptych of squeezed and maybe rolled paint across two canvasses that really made me ponder how it had been made. Jonathan and I had fun trying to figure it out.
It was next to the other piece I really liked. Jonathan joked that it was Noah's desk, but we decided it couldn't be as nothing seemed to have been incinerated or exploded! I managed to get a picture of it with Sean, Shirin, Emma and I on the screen and I really love the picture!
I found the rest of the exhibition rather mixed and nothing else really grabbed me. I do find these really mixed media and theme exhibitions quite challenging. I was considering the job of the curator (with a mind that we are going to have to curate a not dissimilar exhibition in June) and thought that there were interesting ideas around the rooms being grouped by a loose theme and an explanation of this given which certainly helped the viewer. I mentally started wondering ho in our group might work along a similar theme to me and Rachel is the obvious answer, her ideas of journeys and walking have echoes of what I do. I'm starting to get really interested in what everyone else is thinking of exhibiting and how I might be able to compliment it or sit beside it. Lots of things to think about and reflect on further here.
In the afternoon Julia Flood lead a session using the materials archive which I really enjoyed! she talked about sustainability criteria and showed us how to search the collection. We then investigated some objects. Sean and I looked at PineSkins which I was fascinated by. I'm wondering whether I could get some pine bark and treat it to get it to be something like this. The process sounds rather long and a little complicated but I might be able to replicate it on a smaller scale in a lesser version maybe. I was thinking I could print onto it if I could. Definitely further investigation needed (but maybe to go on the list after the MA!).
I really enjoyed the process of investigating the objects and seeing what is held in the collection. I also made me think about my own 'collection' and whether I should consider it more seriously when using it as research material etc.