Sack

Sack; found, discarded & recycled materials (mostly from Barreiro post-industrial wasteland and Lisbon): jute, fabric (some botanically hand-dyed), twine, plastic, nylon, polystyrene, rope, wood, wire, thread; 2024. Photo by Celso Rose, PADA Gallery, Barreiro, Portugal

Sack (iteration V). I envisaged my final piece being installed in the site that inspired the work - an abandoned post-industrial wasteland of plastic, concrete and steel debris. Image created by Ellie Foreman-Peck. a virtual rendition of my idea, as it wasn’t possible to install due to logistical and time constraints.

Me with Sack. Photo by Ticiano Rottenstein

PADA Residency Exhibition, Barreiro, Portugal. Photo by Celso Rose

Sack (iteration IV), sited on river Tagus beach. I returned dismantled parts of my stilt structure to where they were found here. Photo by Celso Rose

Sack (iteration II)

Sack stitched together, with stilt structure

Me with stilt structure

Sack (iteration I). Sited as a hanging in the post-industrial wasteland, Barriero, Portugal - the site that inspired the work. Photos above & below by Celso Rose

Sack; mixed media relief collage: discarded objects/materials & graphite rubbings

Sack is a site-responsive artwork, created during my PADA art residency in Barreiro, near Lisbon, Portugal in February. The work evolved in stages, as a response to PADA’s history as a jute warehouse, and the nearby post-industrial toxic wasteland. The bodily form, a container of waste, is made from a hand-stitched patchwork of discarded materials/offcuts I collected in the locality, especially jute sacks. The warp and weft of the weavings reflect grids in urban surrounds. Colours reflect yellow wild flowers and lichen growing on concrete; and reds/oranges of iron and sulphur..

In Ursula Le Guin’s The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction, she describes the sack as ‘belly of the universe.. a ‘womb.. tomb…. unending story.’ It follows Elizabeth Fisher’s The Carrier Bag Theory of Human Evolution:. She suggests ’the first cultural device was probably a recipient’ (rather than a spear/stick). Symbol of a softer story. It matters what stories you tell (Donna Harraway).

I loved the residency. It was an intensive month working in a spacious studio alongside other residency artists, exploring the area, and utilising waste materials. My work was documented/filmed in sites relevant to its development, thanks to Celso Rose, and exhibited in our final residency exhibition. Days were long, many hours spent collecting found materials in the industrial park and along river Tagus beach to use in the work; back and forth with trolley loads.. I made a short film of this process (below). The tall stilt structure was made from found wood and rope from the beach. A new process for me was weaving found/to-hand materials into artworks, which became part of the larger piece, hand-stitched together to form the giant sack. They were laborious processes, and at times I wasn’t sure it would all pull together.

Our exhibition Private View event was a great success. It was lovely to see an old schoolfriend, Sonia there, and I’m grateful for the feedback I received from visitors. At the end of the residency, after de-installation, I placed the raft section of my stilt structure on the wall at PADA studios (pic 13 in grid below). I’m extremely grateful to Tim Ralston for hosting and for his technical support, all the artists involved for their comradeship and help, and Tania Geiroto Marcelino for curating the show. Sack is a living sculpture that will adapt, perhaps grow, according to future sites.

Current and upcoming exhibitions and projects:

Casting Shadows ACEarts Somerton, Somerset TA11 7NB;  2 March - 6 April (Tues-Sat), with Royal Society of Sculptors members.

Stilt Structure I; found, recycled & waste materials: wood, bark, coir, copper wire, leaves, pod, grass stems, charred feathers, fabric, plastic netting, polyester stuffing, jute, tennis ball, sisal, khadi paper, wool, thread, coffee beans, cardamom seeds, nutmeg pods, rice, nylon tights, oil; 2024

Sustainable Art Open, Atkinson Gallery, Somerset BA16 0YD. Book a free slot here to visit. Open 9:30am-5pm, 21 Feb - 21 March (Closed Sun - Tues). Tel: 01458 444322.

A giant collage installation with text spanned the galleries of the Baptist Chapel during the Shepton Mallet Snowdrops Festival in February.  Themed ‘Nature Unbound’, the work was created in a workshop with me, Polly Hall, and community, installed by Georgia Freely. Photos below: 1-4,6,8 Andy Ladhams; 5,7 Kirsten Madeira-Ravell

Excited about an upcoming collaboration with dance artist Vanessa Grasse. We will be working together in a residency over a 5 day period to create sustainable wearable sculptures for Vanessa to perform with as part of her choreographic project Elysia.

I’m co-curating an art project As Old as the Hills with Jan Ollis. Residencies will lead to an immersive exhibition with 10 artists + events in the Zig Zag building, Glastonbury for Somerset Art Weeks Festival ’24.

Back to teaching at Bath College. If you’re interested (or know someone who is), do sign up to my next Love 2 Learn Sculpture, Painting, Drawing or Life Drawing courses.

Please follow me on Instagram for more regular updates and images.

Have a wonderful Easter!

PADA Residency

I’m half way through a PADA art residency in Barreiro, near Lisbon, Portugal. I’m embracing the rigorous schedule of work, and a massive studio alongside other inspiring artists from across the globe. Sited within a post-industrial zone, parts of which have gone to ruin through toxic contamination and bankruptcy. The dystopian wastelands a shocking, mind-opening example of the repercussions of industrial/economic growth and ‘progress’.  Pyrite was used in making fertiliser. It oxidises, creating toxic sulphuric acid. Skeletal structures, piles of waste, remnants of plastic leakage, warped and crystallised into unfamiliar forms, materials mangled and tangled. Remains of disaster. Shadows of the past. Reminder of our future..

I’m responding to the dystopian wasteland and PADA’s history as a jute warehouse. Vasco da Gama discovered India, where jute originates. Trade routes, colonisation (eg Mombasa/Malindi..) mass production, and the Carnation Revolution (‘74) ensued.

I’m making a colossal sack, and stilt structure to support it. Sack is a bodily form, bundle, container of waste, made from a patchwork of discarded materials/offcuts gathered locally, especially jute sacks. Offcuts include Indian fabric from Malindi. Grateful to @soniapicolo who helped me source waste fabric in Lisbon. Some of the patches are weavings I’ve made with stuff from the wasteland, reflecting grids in surrounds, and warp and weft of jute. Others botanically hand-dyed - all hand-stitched together.  Colours of yellow wild flowers. moss growing on concrete, reds/oranges of iron and sulphur..

In Ursula Le Guin’s The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction, the sack represents the ‘belly of the universe..a ‘womb.. tomb.. unending story.. hope’. In a preceding book, Elizabeth Fisher claims man’s ‘first cultural device was probably a recipient’ (not bludgeon).

Collecting/scavenging materials has been part of my process. For the stilt structure I hauled a 4 metre pole back along river Tagus in a storm!

We’ve also had a bit of time to enjoy eating out, listening to local fado music, and visiting exhibitions in Lisbon. I had a visit from Mark Richards (Royal Society of Sculptors), and met up with an old schoolfriend Sonia, at the Berlinde de Bruyckere exhibition at MAC/CCB. Overwhelmed by the powerful work, curated in the huge avant-garde galleries. Glorious yet repelling bodily forms.

I’ll post final pics of my PADA work in my next blog. To keep more up-to-date with my ongoings follow me on Instagram.

Upcoming Exhibitions

PADA Residency Exhibition, Rua 42, n2, Parque Empresarial da Quimiparque,
2830-904 Barreiro, Portugal; Sat 24 Feb, PV 6-9pm.

Sustainable Art Open, Atkinson Gallery, Millfield School, Butleigh Rd, Street, Somerset BA16 0YD. PV Wednesday 21 Feb, 7.15pm. Book a free slot here to see it during our open hours. Featuring artists who work with environmentally-friendly materials and incorporate sustainable practices. Open 9:30am-5pm, from Wed 21 Feb - Thurs 2 March (Closed Sun - Tues).

Casting Shadows ACEarts, Market Place, Somerton, TA11 7NB; 2 March - 6 April; with Royal Society of Sculptors members. You’re invited to meet the artists on Saturday 2nd March between 11am-1pm. The exhibition runs from 2 March - 6 April.  I’ll be showing a new piece Stilt Structure I. It would be great to see you!

Shepton Mallet Snowdrops Festival, 12-18 Feb: A giant scroll-like mixed media collage installation, with text, is spanning the galleries of the Baptist Chapel, Shepton Mallet. It’s on show from 16-17 Feb during the Festival (theme ‘Nature Unbound’). Created in a workshop with me, writer Polly Hall, and community. Poetic words were laser cut onto the finished scroll. Georgia Freely and Polly installed the work while I’m away. See full diary here. Do visit if in the area.

Delighted to announce we’ve achieved our match-funding for a new project I’m co-curating with Jan Ollis: As Old as the Hills. Thanks to: The Arts Society Wessex area, a local charitable trust, Simon & Chrisi Kennedy Paddy O’ Hagan, & Ben Malin. Fingers crossed our ACE application is successful.. Residencies will lead to an immersive exhibition and events in the historic Zig Zag building, Glastonbury for Somerset Art Weeks Festival ’24. Rooted in heritage and environment, with community engagement, we have some excellent artists on board. Do follow our new instagram account.

Really pleased with exploration and outcomes from participants of my Online Sculpture Course - see their work below: