Wising up to things

OK, I’ve been quiet of late on account of having been very busy exhibiting in London and now in Ipswich.

I have curated and organised most shows and exhibitions I have taken part in and my background dictates that things need to be planned to the nth degree and being prepared for just about anything to go wrong and believe me anything can go wrong.

I was ready for the Espacio exhibition -Viewpoints, some 4 weeks before the show and just as well I was too as one print was badly damaged. The Printspace rectified that in a matter of 3 days but it had taken me 3 weeks of preparatory work with test prints before I had committed to the final version. There are just too many variables.

Anyway the Viewpoints show was a resounding success from a collaborative perspective but absolutely dire from a selling perspective. The gallery is great. I have curated an international show here in the past but that was not a selling exhibition. I seriously think that there is a marked downturn in selling art. The biggest thing for me was being paired with the very talented Consuelo Simpson who made exquisite sculptures from found objects collected on her daily circular walks. There could not have been a better pairing in my view and thanks to Anna McNay for curating this.

inside of gallery with London bus outside
Some of Consuelo Simpson’s work with mine

The tear down is always a bummer but at least I could dig out my frustrations on the allotment over the following few days to get it out of my system.

Then it was full steam ahead to hang a new show in Ipswich as a Fringe event for PhotoEast 2018. I have hung two shows here in the past but we faced different problems to London. In London Carlos spent nearly a whole night after an exhausting 10 hour hang to correct the flickering lights. In Ipswich the lights that were on started flickering just by screwing single screws into the sacrificial walls and then they just started blowing so we ended the day in much more darkness than we started. I’m hoping the local arts budget holder on the council can get some action done pretty sharply on this as they are supporting PhotoEast.

Coffee shop gallery with MEUS artwork
Coffee shop gallery with MEUS artwork

So after an exhausting day with Kevin Marrable and Paul Fisk hanging work before and after the gallery opened and in a degree of umbra it was off out with the view camera to grab some more images for my Industrial Landscape series in the Scary Wood. I haveĀ  not made any new large format work since early March on account of bad weather and exhibitions so it was a joy to get out in relatively calm but cold and variable light. But guess what the batteries failed on the spot meter so it back home to replenish it and on the way back up the track in this private wood I spied what I thought was a Little Owl in the middle of the track only it was not to be, it was indeed a little owl.

What to do, to wit to woo. How could I get this little thing to safety? I selected the use of my boot so I encouraged it to climb onto my boot which it was grateful to do using its beak and considerable talons to hitch a ride upon. What a sight that must have been as I hopped across the rough track with an owlet stuck to my left boot. He/she very obligingly settled into the safety of the path edge. All the time I was aware of the possibility of an agitated parent swooping down but that was not to be. So into Peter’s cottage and I left him to sort out the RSPCA to fetch the youngster which they did rather swiftly.

Owlet in th emiddle of the ScaryWood track
Owlet in the middle of the Scary Wood track
Owlet safe in the margins
Safe in the margins

And then it was back to business.

Ebony on tripod
Ebony on tripod

The wind had got up by now after playing rescuer to the owlet so it was just a token shot of the Veteran Tree Line that featured in pride of place at the Espacio. What a difference 5 months make!

Braken, ploughed field and tree line
A veteran tree line May 2018

I’m certainly a tad wiser now to what is going on the art selling world but at least we have 4 weeks here for MEUS in Ipswich before we rest for a month then re-hang in July.

There is hope yet.

 

 

 

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