New project 'Painting in the attic'

"In our daily life we proceed constantly through the coexistence of past and future. The essence of what we call spirit lies in the ability to move within the horizon of an open future and an unrepeatable past....the same activity of spirit finds expression as memory and recollection, which incorporates the art of the past along with our own artistic tradition.... tradition means transmission rather than conservation. This transmission does not imply that we leave things unchanged and merely conserve them. It means learning how to grasp and express the past anew" (Hans-Georg Gadamer, The Relevance of the Beautiful 1977)

'Home from Home' exhibition in Leeds

'With ideas ranging from the domestic to displacement, over 80 artists from 7 different countries have contributed to this years Artist Book Collective exhibition around the theme of Home.

153 Woodhouse Lane, Leeds is the setting for Home from Home, to be shown alongside the 14th Leeds International Artist Book Fair. As a spacious Victorian terrace situated over three floors, it provides the perfect backdrop for this site-specific exhibition.

Artists have responded to the brief through exploring and expanding on the book as a time-based medium, whilst incorporating the notion of the everyday. Traditional book works as well as sculptural objects, text, narrative, video, furniture, audio and performance are represented throughout the show.

The concept of Home evokes various associations, including our experience of domestic spaces in relation to their designated public/private status, as well as the collection and curation of personal possessions within those spaces. Often our sense of self and security is linked to feeling ‘at home’, insinuating that this sensation is not always related to a particular place or building.

At first glance, Home from Home gives an impression of family, refuge and sanctuary, but upon closer inspection, it also begins to uncover associated feelings of anxiety and uncertainty relating to superstition, illness and transience'. (ABC Archive)

I am showing slide transparencies of a family photo archive on an old projector - these will eventually be made into an artist's book of images - this is my statement for the exhibition and an image of one of the slides

















My interest is in how memory is constructed; the fragility of memory and the passing of time; memories that have an uncertain relationship with reality. My focus is on the transitory and fragmentary nature of existence, human identity and mortality, and in exploring the tension between the concrete and the abstract - for this exhibition the focus has been on family memories of the home

The exhibition opens on Friday 11th March and runs until 18th - if you are in Leeds do visit and leave your comments. For more information on the other artists taking part go here