Install for 10Days Winchester.

Here are a few images from the third and final canvas for 10days Chalk in Winchester. 

Yesterday was the installation for opening on Sat 10th Oct. With very little idea how these were going to look until they finally made it up on to the wall I had resigned myself to adding sections on site. 

Throughout the entire making process I had these 3m panels flat on the floor. Making it very difficult to fully see the work or understand the overall impact.

Along with the three large panels made to hang on the red brick wall originally an exterior wall within the Theatre. 
I also included some smaller test pieces and several 50x50 cm squares that I had initially worked through exploring how the chalk was reacting to the surface the differences between varnishes, matt mediums and egg. 

Much like my exhibition at Siobhan Davies I wanted to keep the entire body of work together creating a narrative from start to finish throughout the space.

The second Canvas going up with the help from Spatz at the Theatre. Installation was complete within four hours my record time and I maintain that was down to the expert help and patience from Spatz who was a complete star from start to finish. 

These are taster images as I don't want to spoil the entire exhibition before it opens. 

I will be posting more images up in the next few weeks.
The Biennial opens on Saturday everyone is welcome. There will be a trail of openings  across the city starting at the gallery at Winchester College of Art. I will be at the theatre from 4pm where I will give a brief welcome and will be around for any questions afterwards.

http://www.10dayswinchester.org/exhibitionlist

Chalk 10days Winchester 2015 work in progress

This is a quick update about the work I'm currently making for 10days Winchester opening in October.

Since my last post I've managed to move it along slightly with one of the three large canvas panels almost finished. 

After a conversation with Sasha this morning I'm still undecided about how the smaller test pieces will be hung in the space. I started photographing them outside in natural sunlight this afternoon and there are some interesting elements beginning to unfold, which has now made me think about lighting and possibly positioning them away from the wall in order to be able to see these details more clearly.

Chalk in three stages some of the process work will be on display along with some photography taken in  Sombourne chalk quarry.

As for the larger panels these are going to be hanging from the red brick wall but I can experiment with spot lights once the work in installed. It's something to consider and will give the white expanse a little more depth as the marks made through making will have a stronger resonance. 

Sombourne Chalk Quarry: Hampshire

Last weekend I visited Sombourne chalk quarry in Hampshire to choose the chalk I need for my next exhibition. After several conversations with Mark Yorke who owns and runs the quarry single handily.

 Ben and I drove down with plastic boxes in the boot and began selecting the chalk from the various different shapes and sizes from large boulders to dust.

Throughout the quarry, the chalk is divided into different sizes according to it's use. 

The dust to 20 is used for agriculture to line the flooring for cow sheds. 

Chalk is also used within the building trade for construction work such as building or lining river banks.

The larger blocks some weighing up to a tonne are often used for larger projects or art works. It's interesting to find out how this material is utilised but also the handling processes involved in the quarry itself. It's removed from the landscape in metre levels according to the natural seam lines.  

The quarry is normally only in working order during the summer months as it's an impossible task to work with such a dusty material during the wet winter. In many ways it's fairly similar to the way clay pits function.

Where industry is very much dependant upon the weather conditions and seasonal cycles.

Image taken by Ben Winkley 2015

Whilst I was there we filled two boxes of dust to 20 and a further two boxes of the larger chunks which can be seen in the forth image here. 

When we arrived brilliant sunshine was beaming down into the quarry. 
This was a new experience! 

I had never been into such a space that was saturated by the colour white before. 
With the addition of sunshine it becomes blinding but also quite invigorating. 
You realise how powerful it is and the spiritual connections white carries with it. 

It's something I've been interested in for a while now and White ultimately plays a huge part in this current piece of work but it's so rare that you find yourself immersed within a natural landscape surrounded by one solid colour. 

Flint is embedded within the chalk and has to be removed by hand this type of flint is quite rare with the white skin and dark black interior and is only found within this locality. When you visit Winchester flint has been used in many of the older buildings some of the interior walls within the theatre have been lined with it.

I brought one piece away with me which I intend to include in the final process display in October.

Please follow the link to take a look at the quarry as there are very few chalk quarries left in the country anymore and it's quite a special place and a big thank you to Mark for all his help.

http://www.hampshirechalk.co.uk

White

Is white a colour or a non colour? 

Having talked about the colour black in a previous post I thought it would be interesting to look at white. Monotones have been prominent in my own design work for a while possibly because I think I find it easier to intially see what's going on, particularly at the beginning of a new project or process. It also enables me to think with more clarity. 

White

'A symbol of purity, truth, innocence and the sacred or divine. 

White is the colour of Christian baptism, conformation.

Colour of spirituality and Sancitiy truth and revelation. 

White for mourning in China, Rome.. white may also symbolise the deceased's initiation into a new existence.'

Quote from: The complete Dictionary of Symbols in myth, art and literature. Editor Jack Tressidder 

 Bone China tests

Anyone who managed to catch the three part series on BBC4 A History of Art in Three Colours: White was portrayed to be a controversial colour in art used to represent power strength and supremacy.  

I'm currently exploring ideas based White whiteness, translucency, light and shadow, weightlessness and texture. Sasha and myself are currently starting work for the Chelsea Fringe Festival 2013 we are looking at concepts based around quietness. 

White is fascinating as there are so many variations like any colour you have warm and cold tones or shades. White can move from grey to cream tones so layering white on white creates a subtle range, but it's important to find the correct shade to create an impact within the site, taking into consideration other colours are going to be introduced once it's finally positioned.

Here are some embryonic work in progress ideas... 

Fabric tests on site to see how light is diffused through various materials.