Sunday, March 14, 2010

Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2010

At the eleventh hour I decided that I would submit some work to the RA Summer Exhibition again this year.  With barely a fortnight between making the decision and the deadline for submissions I paid up and set to work!  My current squeeze is video tape and I wanted to use it in both my pieces.

"Wound Up" 


My first piece is a sphere constructed entirely from video tape and mounted on a vintage table mat.  I used eight reels of video to make the ball which is just over 2 miles of tape!  It's a simple piece, tactile and reflective, with a whimsical side to it.    

"Her Honesty and Her Pain"

 

With my second piece I wanted to combine assemblage and writing in an artist book.  I altered the book by creating one deep niche to house the writing and using acrylic paint and inks to change the appearance.  The text is written on video tape with white chinograph pencil.  The tape is affixed to the book at one end only and sits in the niche in a jumble.  To read the text the tape must be handled and untangled.  The text is my own words and reads:

"She felt her honesty and her pain. The honesty came first, crashing in unexpectedly, in the early hours of the morning, a tsunami of raw emotion. She laid very still in the vast bed, feeling utterly alone. The gentle breeze from the open window caressed her bare skin, the kiss of the outside world on an intensely private moment. The honesty weighed heavy, sank into every part of her, filling every pore, colouring her with pure truth. Her mind became crystal clear. The pain came later. It hovered menacingly for most of the day and then swooped in abruptly without warning. It crushed her, squeezing the breath from her lungs, leaving her gasping to be healed. The wounds opened easily under the pressure, fresh fierce pain forcing itself in against the flow. They had arrived now, her honesty and her pain, together as one, as surely as she had known they would."

Photos courtesy of Rob Morris.


 
 

7 comments:

Jill said...

Both are interesting pieces - i particularly like the book , the niche becoming a symbol of the surprise of secret/s coming out into the open - the writing is incredibly poignant which i relate to wholeheartedly. Well done, brilliant work :)

Artygal/Lalheg said...

Fab - bring on the ball!

Becky Mairi Farrell said...

Wow! Both are incredibly expressive - I think both pieces will stick in my mind and work through my thoughts for some time. I couldn't say which I like best - like would be the wrong word, they are both so uncomfortably powerful. But I particularly like the feature of the viewer having to take the trouble to untangle your thoughts. If they have that much care and patience they deserve to be able to read them.

Becky Mairi Farrell said...

Just come back to add that I've printed your book and description of it to use as a reference in my journal-making journal :) Plenty of inspiration to be found here, thank you :)

emhowl said...

I can't see any reason why they won't accept both this year. It would be hard to resist touching the ball (amazing to "see" two miles like that) but I feel the niche would be a curator's nightmare!

artfulzebra said...

Thank you everyone, all your comments have touched me. Her Honesty and Her Pain is a deeply personal piece, of course, and it's rather like opening up your chest and letting people peer into your heart when you put it out there! I wouldn't have it any other way though and I hope the pieces that follow this one (I'm working on a series of pieces all incorporating more of my writing) will be as meaningful and inspiring as I have found this one. I adore Wound Up, it makes me smile every time I see it! I want it to be touched, likewise with the other piece, they're both meant to be handled and I rather like the idea that my work is a "curator's nightmare"! lol Thanks again everyone. ;o)

Richard Savage said...

very striking work Maz.. I very much hope this will be your Year for the RA. you deserve it my friend these are both great pieces.. and a privalage to see so much of you in your work

good luck

Ric