Saturday 23rd June: Central St Martins degree show TWO / NOVA Awards = MA Material Futures

As mentioned in the previous post, the students of the MA "Material Futures" at Central St.Martins are equal part scientists and engineers as they are artists.  All of those disciplines require creativity to solve problems so they go hand in hand instinctively.  Here are two separate projects both challenging the sustainability of fabrication.  

The top two photos "This is Grown" are work by Jen Keane who has invented a textile hybrid membrane from growing bacteria.  The finer details are waiting for a Patent so she doesn't have the whole process on show but here you can see petri dishes and a final sneaker made from the fabric.  She has invented a loom to lay down the warp for the bacteria to then follow and weave in the weft.  This cellulose composit can not only be used for product design but also in bio-medical practise for surgery in the body.  Jen's background is from working at Adidas so its incredible that she has come up with this idea and found further applications for its use.

The bottom two images "Foreign Garbage" are a project by Katie-May Boyd as a commentary on the current ecology issue of how the UK and USA deal with waste polystyrene.  Apparently we have historically sold it to China for recycling but this has just come to an end so we have a massive land-fill time-bomb ticking.  Katie told me that Polystyrene is mostly air so even treating the substance to remove this breaks it down considerably.  She has experimented with acetone and come up with a way to totally recycle the substance to make a new plastic material for manufacture.  Just for this concept she has moulded it into Chinese good luck cats as a statement on the trade plans taking place.  

I've only summed up the surface key points of these two extensive research projects to break it down for the blog.  Its so impressive that these students are coming up with real solutions to the world's ecology.  For anyone under the impression that art school is about naval-gazing, they need to look beyond their own preconceived misconceptions and give credit to this honourable work.  

So with that in mind, its brilliant that the Mullen Lowe Group NOVA awards are set up to credit these exceptional students for their ingenuity.  The title "NOVA" coming from INNOVATION.  Both Jen and Katie have been nominated and made it onto the final shortlist of 14 students from the 1,300 graduating students!  Check back here over the next few days for more work and how you can vote for your favourite to win in the NOVA awards. 

See Show TWO at 1 Granary Square, King’s Cross, N1C 4AA on now til Sunday 24th.     

Thursday 21st December: Emma Aitchison Jewellery workshop for Hackney Arts, Part 2

Following on from the previous post at Emma Aitchison's jewellery studio to her wax ring workshop for Hackney Arts.  In the two hour session we got to discover the process of this traditional craft and also see Emma's work to inspire us to find our own style to sketch a design.  From using the selection of tools I sculpted the jewellery wax to translate my 2D drawing into a 3D model.  With this original carving, Emma then took it back to her studio to turn into a finished polished metal.  Here is my final piece which I'm in love with and can't believe that I managed to make from scratch without knowing the technique beforehand.  That's the beauty of this initiative.  It's not necessary to have previous knowledge of any of the arts featured so you can turn up on the day to experience something new and create a tactile result to take away.  

Find out more about the Hackney Arts manifesto in the previous post and check out the timetable of upcoming events here.

Thursday 21st December: Emma Aitchison Jewellery workshop for Hackney Arts

We're all watching Blue Planet from the comfort of our couches, witnessing Polar bears and Walruses struggling to find some ice to sit.  It's heart-wrenching facts that we feel totally useless and unable to do anything about in reversing the effects of devastating pollution.  It shouldn't take a David Attenborough documentary to really bring these issues to our attention.   I'm sure if the world's leaders didn't have anywhere to rest, they would do something about it straight away, but until it's on their own doorstep its going to be scarily slow progress.  

So it's encouraging to see that it's not only campaigners communicating this situation but also artists and craftsmen.  Here is the studio of Emma Aitchison who is a dedicated "planet conscious sustainable brand" and bases her designs on weather systems.  Here you can see bangles formed from NASA satellite maps of lost ice and glaciel retreat.  They are beautiful shapes derived from natural narratives such as mountain gradients or volcanic lava molten rock.  Emma's interpretations of natural phenomena are hand crafted from fairtrade materials for a completely ethical package.  Her ethos and methods start from the hand-made domestic process to the wrapping in recycled packaging.  As a member of NDG (No Dirty Gold) all sourcing of metals and gems is sustainable to ensure conflict-free materials.  In this way she's simultaneously promoting ethical practise in addition to her concepts of climate change patterns in the aesthetic.

Each collection and commission is unique as every piece is individually hand-crafted.  Thanks to Hackney Arts I had the opportunity to learn some of these traditional jewellery techniques with Emma at her wax ring workshop tailored for the programme.   Her talents are just one from a wide range of multi-disciplinary designers teaching their skills via the Hackney Arts platform.  The scheme has been set up to give creative opportunities to residents, providing a platform for local artists to share their work. The social enterprise uses the power of creativity to make a positive impact on the lives of individuals within the community by bringing everyone together.   Studios are opened for viewing and local landmarks host the events such as the Geffrye Museum for the wax ring workshop.  Closed spaces are opened for investigation and there is even a session of wild wood foraging in the next term of classes!

Head over to the site to see the full listings from floristry, herbals, Henna design, graphics, ceramics and poetry to tie-dying!  There's also another chance to take part in Emma's workshop .............. see more in the next post.

Friday 20th October: Yinka Ilori for the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair

“A United Family Eats From The Same Plate” by Yinka_Ilori for the interior of the lounge at the 1:54 Contemporary Art Fair ,Somerset House .

Tuesday 27th June: Royal College Of Art MA Shows

Congratulations to this year's graduates from the Royal College of Art who just presented their final static show, including the textile students who I recently visited for tutorials.  My favourite was Lok Ka Kong who weaves recycled waste material to make these cosmic plant pot solutions called "Turn Trash into Treasure"(top photo).  

Other works here include Pratik Ghosh's plant air purifiers, Emma McCusker's mixed media textile sculptures,  Kyungmin Han's Colour Toolkit for VR, Pasquale Totaro's pyramid synth, Nathan Webb's solar panel pattern blinds, Monika Haeussler-Goeschl's knitted installation and Jacob Patterson's knitted socks!

Thursday 6th April: "The Japanese House" at The Barbican

"The Japanese House: Architecture and Life after 1945" at The Barbican is yet another transformation of their gallery space. I'm always so impressed at how each show utilises the open-plan gallery in such different ways. This exhibition is no exception! The top floor explores the history of Japanese architecture whilst the ground floor is an immersive set to get lost in whilst exploring. There is even a little mini house on stilts for which you have to take off your shoes to climb up into. It's great fun and a double-whammy of inspiration for any architecture fans as the Brutalist Barbican centre is a mind-blowing setting. And, make sure to check out the gift shop so you don't miss the Sushi Roll socks!