Follow me on Rise Arts

Dear Edd,

Last week I went to the RCA Secret viewing and fell in love with two postcards, two matadors. They were the only postcards I wanted. Last night, I sat in a sleeping bag on the street to get as close to the front of the queue as I could, (if you knew me, you’d be surprised) just because I wanted one of the matador cards.

Waiting in line, people were checking their long wish lists of postcards, watching the tv screens with the images of the cards in the sales hall and ticking off postcards as they were marked as sold. I didnt need a piece of paper, I only had two postcards in mind. I got towards the cash desk and one had been bought already. I got nervous. I asked for card 1934, and they still had it! I nearly cried!

I feel very lucky to have got it. I’m sure there were hundreds of people in the queue after me who would have been really disappointed to see the picture as sold.

Its the most beautiful and delicate piece of art I have ever seen. I’m completely in love with it and wanted to thank you very much. I’ll cherish it forever.

Thank you so much

Jane

(published with permission)

(From a series entitled ‘Lágrimas’ which will be published by Rise Arts in January 2012)

Ghosts of Gone Birds
2-23 November 2011
Rochelle School, London, E2
NEW ART PROJECT BREATHING LIFE BACK INTO EXTINCT SPECIES
Among confirmed contributors producing new work are Sir Peter Blake, Ralph Steadman, Margaret Atwood, Jamie Hewlett, Kai & Sunny, Charming Baker, Polly Morgan, Edd Pearman, Marcus Coates and Billy Childish, with live music by Doves’ Jimi Goodwin

A major new multimedia art exhibition will open in London this November, aiming to throw light on the increasing loss of bird species across the world. Over 80 contemporary artists, sculptors, musicians, writers and poets will come together for Ghosts of Gone Birds, which will run from 2-23 November 2011 at the Rochelle School, Shoreditch, east London. Each artist has been asked to choose a different extinct species, producing a new piece of art inspired by the bird and celebrating its life.

Ghosts of Gone Birds aims to raise awareness of the need for bird conservation and raise funds for BirdLife International’s Preventing Extinction Programme to prevent further losses. The natural rate of bird extinction is one bird each century but in the last thirty years alone, 21 species have disappeared. At present, 190 are classified as critically endangered and, without immediate action, many will not be here in ten years’ time. One clear example is the albatross family, which is fast becoming the most threatened family of birds in the world, dying at a rate of around one every five minutes. In fact, they are disappearing at a rate faster than they can actually breed – so 18 out of the 22 species of albatross are now facing global extinction.

Ghosts of Gone Birds has been created by filmmaker Ceri Levy, best known for his documentary film Bananaz about the band Gorillaz and creative director Chris Aldhous, of consultancy Goodpilot. Ceri Levy said, “We’re aiming to raise a creative army for conservation and it’s fair to say that we have been floored by the response of the artists we’ve asked to create new work for us. To have the likes of Sir Peter Blake, Ralph Steadman, and Margaret Atwood producing new work for the exhibition is a clear illustration of the enthusiasm and support that exists for the cause. The project is
reaching out to involve new audiences in conversations about conservation through their collective interest in contemporary art, music and poetry. We want to get people thinking about the diverse range of birds that have already been lost to extinction and introduce them to the work of BirdLife International.” Margaret Atwood said, “To find so many creative people engaged with the subject of birds and the threat of extinction that faces so many of them today, is truly inspiring. This magnificent show will reconnect us to the natural world, teach us about our past, and fuel our interest in saving what we are losing daily. See the show, love the show, add to the show, and learn how to help.”
To mark the exhibition, Jimi Goodwin from the band Doves will perform his soundtrack to Ceri Levy’s forthcoming film The Bird Effect in a nearby venue during the run of the show. Among other special events will be live readings and discussion with Margaret Atwood, artists working on pieces in the exhibition galleries and limited edition artwork prints being produced by Jealous Print Studio onsite for purchase by visitors. Ghosts of Gone Birds will continue to grow beyond the London exhibition to become an international touring show funding frontline conservation and bird protection projects
run by BirdLife International.

We All, Us Four, Will Fly   Edd Pearman

Mall Galleries have invited twelve artists whose practice reinterprets the traditional medium of watercolour and other water-based media to exhibit in this dynamic group show.
Showcasing a broad range of experimental approaches to watercolour, this exhibition explores the boundaries of the medium through digitally manipulated paintings, watercolour collage, sculptural work built from acrylic paint, delicate miniatures and works that focus on subversive or deliberately naïve subject matter.

Exhibiting artists: Iain Andrews, Patricia Cain, Simon Carter, Louisa Chambers, Stefan Ciulu, Annabel Dover, Lucy Jones, Eva Lockey, David Orme, Edd Pearman, Melvyn Petterson and Daniel Preece

Edd Pearman

Avairy, Digital Print, 84 x 55cm

Estimate Price: £500 – £1000

To make an advanced bid, please email Guy Noble – guy.noble@uclh.nhs.uk

A downloadable pdf of the catalogue can be found here

N.B. :-

(i) Question No.1 is compulsory.

1. “Each society has its own social institutions.  These are not buildings or places, but structures of relationship, obligation, role and function.  These are social concepts and practices, but also involve cognitive structures.  Members of a society have a similar mental concept of right and wrong, order and relationships, and patterns of good (positive values).  Those who do not honor these concepts are “criminals,” or at least antisocial.”

Dr. Orville Boyd Jenkins

‘Exam.’ is a study of externalised anti-social existentialism.  An exhibition of art, which operates outside of, or discusses accepted communal norms and customs. Unorthodox relationships, death and superstition, sociological confusion, and stereotypes are exposed through the media of painting, sculpture, collage and print.  If society is collaborative then these artists are practicing in isolation.  Their intent: to bring themes of unrest, obsession and morbidity to the fore.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Artists Biographies

(1) Alex Ball (b. 1985, Northampton, UK) 

www.alex-ball.com

Graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2007 with a First Class Honours degree in Fine Art, Ball has exhibited at Nettie Horn Gallery (London), Gallery Primo Alonso (London) and Eitoeiko (Tokyo). In November 2010, Ball exhibited his first solo show at the Arts Gallery (London). Ball’s work is held in a number of private collections including the David Roberts Foundation and Anita Zabludowicz Collection, as well as the Kabin Contemporary Art Collection and University of the Arts London Collection. He was awarded the Catlin Art Prize in 2008.

Ball creates several works simultaneously to produce collections of intricate, small-scale oil paintings. Ball’s work is remarkable for its virtuoso technical flair and intriguing subject matter. Fascinated by Samuel Beckett’s solitary characters, Ball’s compositions recurrently posit objects and lone figures in bizarre, unsettling compositions, which allude to the liminal space inhabited by Beckett’s protagonists.

(2) Matt Brown (b. 1978, London, UK)

Matt Brown studied Fine Art Printmaking at Brighton University then went straight on to achieve an MA in Fine Art Printmaking in 2003 at the Royal College of Art. Brown has since worked for a variety of artists including the Chapman Brothers where he project managed the remake of the piece ‘Hell’. Currently he is working for Gavin Turk assisting him on a variety of projects alongside developing his own practice.

Since the birth of the Internet the world is experiencing a huge shift in peoples relationships with computers. We have come to believe in technology more than we believe in ourselves, feeling inferior to their ability to multi-task and jealous of their seemingly organized logical existence. We are even shifting into a perversely ironic ideal of becoming more socially significant in the isolated constraints of virtual environments rather than in the ‘real’ world. We are giving over control to the computer letting it become the pilot guiding us through a large proportion of our everyday lives resulting in technology becoming the centre of ourselves.

If it is assumed that the natural world is comprised of unthinking simple rules that have the power to create amazingly complex systems without any conscious thought, Brown raises the question, will the lightening fast development of the digital realm soon mirror this type of evolution and with what consequences to this already faithful following? His painstakingly preciously constructed pieces uses cubes as a base to represent the building blocks of this environment. These cubes (pixels) are ordered to create exquisite patterns to which a random equivalent is overlaid, creating a friction of order and chaos.

(3) Adam Dix (b. 1967, London, UK)

www.adamdix.com

Having completed an MA in painting at Wimbledon College of Art (2009) Dix has received recognition as part of the Future Map and the Catlin Art Prize. Having exhibited widely across the UK over the past 15 years, he was selected for ‘Creekside Open’ (2009) by Jenni Lomax of Camden Arts Centre, the ‘Jerwood Drawing prize’ and by Victoria Miro for the ‘Creekside Open’ in 2007. Dix has previously been nominated for the ‘Paul Hamlyn Award for Visual Arts’ (2000) and selected by Peter Blake for the ‘Discerning Eye’ exhibition.  Recently Dix exhibited at the Haunch of Venison and features in collections of Anita Zabludowicz, Alsdhair Willis and Fatima Maleki.

Dix’s paintings explore the inherent paradox between man’s desire to conquer technology, with the danger of its unknown potential to exist beyond our own dimensions and control. This is conveyed at first glance through neatly presented ink and oil compositions – human formations such as crowds and athletic displays – yet set against something slightly more sinister – teeming satellite dishes hang off a bungalow in front of a gathering crowd, whilst spaceships hover over a playing field.

(4) Julie Cockburn (b. 1966, London, UK)

www.juliecockburn.com

Cockburn studied sculpture at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (1993-1996).  She has had solo exhibitions at Flowers East (2010), Forster Gallery (2008) and Seven Seven Contemporary (2008). As well as exhibiting in group exhibitions throughout the UK, most notably at Blyth Gallery (2010) I-MYU Projects, (2010), The Eagle Gallery (2010) Sartorial Contemporary Art (2009) and ‘Space Now! The Triangle’ curated by Caroline Douglas (2008) and has been selected for the ‘Jerwood Drawing Prize’ twice in 2007 and 2010. In 2010, she won the ‘Matt Roberts Arts Salon Art Prize’.  Her work is held in private collections worldwide and in the collections of British Land, Goss-Michael Foundation, The Wellcome Collection and Yale Center for British Art.

Cockburn’s practice evokes memories of delicate craftsmanship, collaging printed image, paper, embroidery, found objects and child-like marks making a curious mix of optical illusion and the simple transformation of discarded objects. In a creative journey that involves the sourcing of materials and the time-consuming labour of intricate cutting out, she decimates and decorates the paintings and photographs she accumulates. Using these as a starting point, Cockburn contradicts the generic and mass-produced with something crafted, to make these physically and intellectually worn objects precious again, and weighted with a different value.

(5) Adam James (b. 1978, Birmingham, UK)

www.mradamjames.com

Graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2007, James has performed at Tate Britain, the Royal Academy and the ICA. His films have been shown around the world including, 700IS in Iceland (2008), LOOP Festival, Barcelona (2008) and at BIBLIARTES in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin (2008). His recent exhibitions include: ‘The St Unicorn’s Trust’ at Alma Enterprises (2009), ‘Unspeaking Engagements’ at Art Center of Chulalongkorn Uni Bangkok (2009) and ACTART 6 at the Arches London (2010).

Adam James works across the disciplines of sculpture, performance and film, his work mixes traditional processes with slapstick and the observations of modern day social tragedies. His practice seeks to exhume the hidden narratives dwelling in the darker recesses of society. By deconstructing and re-staging encounters with fringe characters, his films, performances and statues raise questions of the artist’s role as voyeur and the audience’s role as a spectator.

(6) Edd Pearman (Curator) (b. 1976, Aldershot, UK)

www.eddpearman.co.uk

Pearman graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2002 with an MA in Fine Art. Pearman has been included in a number of group exhibitions in the UK, New York, Berlin and Japan, including Bloomberg ‘New Contemporaries’ (2002) and the ‘New Artist Unit’ at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (2006). Pearman’s work has been published in The Guardian, The Independent and The Times and features in collections around the world including the V & A, the Chapman Brothers family archive and the Bazil Alkazzi Foundation.

Pearman’s recent works utilize uniforms from national organizations as reference, for example: St. John’s Ambulance, Boys Scouts and The Salvation Army etc. Through Pearman’s depiction of them as mostly solitary figures outside of their individual institutional contexts one sees the disbanded loners as suddenly melancholic, human and vulnerable.  In other pieces, Pearman subverts the often-celebrated cool precision that uniforms tend to imply in order to suggest the other facets associated with them; chaos, blood-lust and brutal or lethal force.

(7) Boo Saville (b. 1980, Norwich, UK)

bonesanddust.blogspot.com

Saville obtained her BA in Fine Art Painting from The Slade School of Fine Art in 2004. In 2008 she was nominated for the Sovereign European Art Prize. Recent solo exhibitions include ‘Butter Sunk’ (2009) and ‘Totem’ (2010) both at the Trolley Gallery, ‘Ghost/Ghost/proff’ (2009), Other Criteria and ‘Idolum’ (2010), Studio Giangaleazzo Visconti, Milan. Recent group exhibitions include ‘Sweet Sheets’, Zelle Art Contemporea, Palermo,2007; ‘Saatchi Online Stand’, Form Art Fair, London, 2008, ‘Death’, Take Courage Gallery, London, 2008 and ‘Wonderland’ at Assab One, Milan, 2010.

Saville’s preferred sources are often photographs from scientific or archaeological textbooks like ‘Glob’s’. Purely documentary and non-subjective in their approach, these images catalogue an archive of curled and gnarled human phenomena, also often the victims of bizarre and intriguing sacrificial murders. Her work explores the totemic and sacrificial nature of representation. Her response is an imitation of nature, yet translated through her own analysis of the subject and its form.

(8) Ceal Warnants (b. 1984, Guildford, UK)

www.cealwarnants.co.uk

Since obtaining a Masters in Printmaking at the Royal College of Art in 2008, Warnants has won several prizes, including the Tim Mara Prize, the Printmaking Council Award and the South Square Trust Scholarship. She was also shortlisted for the Stanley Picker Tutorship, the Adobe Design Achievement Award and the Conran Foundation Prize. Warnants has exhibited extensively throughout the UK, Europe and America.

Warnants’ recent autobiographical work explores her feelings of social dislocation.  Raised in suburbia, she was sent to a private school where she was considered one of the ‘poor’ attendees.  Later, at art school, Warnants was deemed too middle-class.  In recent years, the artist lives between Hackney and Peckham, two of the poorest areas of London, and works in a minimum wage factory job whilst simultaneously exhibiting at the Royal Academy of Arts and other prestigious galleries and institutions across the country and internationally.  ‘Urbane’ is a series of works that illustrate this perplexity through the stereotypes and clichés of a country known for its rigid and outmoded class system.

For more info – http://www.wilsonwilliamsgallery.com/venicebiennale.htm