When I say here inspirational images, I mean it much more literally this time – because the chosen piece is a film rather than a single still photograph.

Mark Lewis came to do a lecture at Brighton when I was at univeristy studying Photography and I have been interested in his work ever since.  I have previously touched on the fact that often video art leaves me a little cold.  I rarely see a piece where I feel the medium is being used in a manner that is befitting.  There are exceptions like Christian Marclay and in particular his amazing work The Clock.  But, more often than not, I am left wondering why the person is working in film and not something else.

So then, Mark Lewis was one of the first video artists whose work I really connected with.  No doubt this is partly because his work is essentially moving photographic scenes and so it holds a natural appeal with me.  I think this is an untapped resource of inspiration, because seeing small segments of the world, moving in their natural state is a wondrous thing.

The film Algonquin Park, Early March kind of sums this up for me.  I’m afraid there is no way I can embed the film here without abusing all manner of copyright law – but click on the still image below to be taken to see it on Mark Lewis’ own website.

MARK LEWIS - ALGONQUIN PARK, EARLY MARCH (2002)

This film is brilliantly atmospheric and the composition and chosen scene quite beautiful in their own right.  What I really love however, is the exploration of film that is also contained within the piece.  The simple act of choosing a view and re-composing it through the course of filming by tilting and zooming is disorientating and then endlessly rewarding.  A simple camera trick fools the eye and at the point of the ‘revelation’ gives me enormous satisfaction each time.

MARK LEWIS’ OTHER WORK

I hope you like the film and check out some of his other work, which is kindly shared in full on his website which you can find at: www.marklewisstudio.com/films.htm

Some of my other highlights are:

2001 – Windfarm & Algonquin Park, September

2002 – Children’s Games, Heygate Estate

2003 – Airport

2005 – Northumberland

2007 – Roundabout

Perhaps a slightly macabre choice of image to choose as inspirational and I am perhaps not normally one to single out documentary war photography as a point of general interest.  However, I have taken a slightly more active interest of late having seen Don Mccullin‘s amazing retrospective show at the Imperial War Museum.

SUSAN MEISELAS ‘CUESTA DEL PLOMO’ 1981

SUSAM MEISELAS - 'CUESTA DEL PLOMO' 1981

Whilst my last choice of war imagery to feature on the blog was perhaps a bit more on the comical juxtaposition side (see post WAR…HUH…YEAH, WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?), this one is purely brutal and blatant in its approach.

Taken on a hillside known as Cuesta Del Plomo just outside Managua-a in Nicaragua, the image depicts a well known assasination site as used by the national guard.

There are many horrific images taken of war and the cruelties that lay therein, but this one is particularly stark in its approach.  We are not just witnessing a slumped body or a mass of flesh where we are left to make an assumption as to what has taken place.  This image almost pulls your eyes out with its up front honest depiction of the cruelties that man is capable of committing on its decided enemies.

Remove the body and you could be looking at a tourist’s photograph of a picturesque landscape – where as the reality of the site is much harder to bear.  In fact, Cuesta Del Plomo was a first port of call when searching for missing persons, so common where the assasinations that took place there.

I think this images sums up why war and conflict should always be struggled against and once again extends my respect for those journalists and photographers who dedicate their skills to bringing the reality of it to the general public.

Dulce Est Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori and all that bollocks.

Chek out more of Meiselas’ work at her website…it isn’t all war! www.susanmeiselas.com

~~~And on a lighter note, After several years of writing this blog, I think this might be the first time I have lapsed into the low depths of using the word Juxtaposition. For that…I must apologise ~~~

Whilst I am very far from being religious and very far from holding any sort of faith at all, I am fascinated by religion and churches.  I think my lack of understanding and personal belief make the world of religions a curious place and churches a strange and alien world to enter.

In my photographic enterprises, I have done a few projects on religion and churches to try and understand peoples faith and beliefs better. I have never really nailed it, but continue to pop into churches wherever I see them and sometimes take a photo if the mood takes me.

Usually a Church is a church is a church and apart from the usual architectural appeal they do not really jump out as being something different.  However, when I came upon a very unlikely looking church in Tintern – I couldn’t believe what I saw.  I say Tintern, but technically I think it is in Brockweir just outside Tintern!

THE MORAVIAN CHURCH

SEAL OF THE MOVARIAN CHURCH

Greeted by a rather kitch picture of a lamb holding a flag – this was one church that had to be investigated further.  The lamb is the symbol of the Moravian Church, which I must confess to not having known anything about prior to stumbling across this strange little church.

With roots going back to the 1400′s the Moravian church is an evangelical protestant movement which focuses its practices on simple doctrine placing importance on unity and piety. Apparently with a worldwide congregation of 850,000 it is not a huge movement – but none the less one that seems to have a congregation in humble Brockweir and a splattering of churches in the UK

It seems to be a rather open church, happy to accept anyone of Christian faith to actively participate in its community.

I have done a bit of research trying to find out more about them, but there isn’t a great wealth of information as far as I have seen – however, they do focus their practises around  simple statement know as The Ground of Unity.  Here is an extract:

With the whole of Christendom we share faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We believe and confess that God has revealed Himself once and for all in His Son, Jesus Christ; that our Lord has redeemed us with the whole of humanity by His death and His resurrection; and that there is no salvation apart from Him. We believe that He is present with is in the Word and the Sacrament; that He directs and unites us through His Spirit and thus forms us into a Church. We hear Him summoning us to follow Him, and pray Him to use us in His service. He joins us together mutually, so that, knowing ourselves to be members of His body we become willing to serve each other.

Any clearer?  No, not sure I am either.  The church itself was a strange place – felt more like a cross between a scout hut, someones house and a country chapel

MORAVIAN CHURCH BROCKWEIR (2010)

The church was rather plain really, quite protestant in its decoration with nothing particularly fancy.

However, what was always there was the lamb staring at you from the centre of the wall above the altar.

It made a strange but perhaps slightly less oppressive sight than the usual Christ on the cross that is usually in its place.

MORAVIAN CHURCH BROCKWEIR, WALL DETAIL (2010)

It never fails to intreague me how very many different religions there are as well as how very many denominations and variations within that religion.  People’s thirst for spirituality is something that I suspect I will always be fascinated by but also utterly perplexed by.

I happened upon this old photograph yesterday and it’s summery glory made me long for loosing my Long Johns.

PICNIC BUGGY (2010)

I then happened upon this old photograph which made me more angry because the bastard weather doesn’t even have the decency of descending into the depths of proper and exciting snowy glory.

SNOW DIGGER (2011)

Anyway stop moaning it is only 5 days in, here is to a happy new year regardless!

Long live January and thank you for all your dedicated reading in 2011.

P.S – How British is this post, starting a new year moaning about the month, the weather and the dark!

Part of my core being rebels against the Picturesque.  As an aesthetic, I find it false, imprisoning and rather obvious. Instead, my eye is often drawn to that, which some might deem as ugly or a visual blight.

Industry falls nicely into this category and is something that I find rather visually appealing. Removing any thoughts of capitalism, destruction of the environment or the retreating countryside – it has a beauty in its formal, bleak and constructed nature, sometimes virtually approaching a macabre aura surrounding it. Factories, power stations, refineries, car parks – I love them all.

As mentioned in the past – everything is and can be beautiful if gazed on in the right way (see my post I never saw an ugly thing in my life).

So to our story for today. The other week I was driving along in the Mach when I almost veered off the road in excitement, as out of the left of my peripheral, the huge edifice of an abandoned power station loomed into glorious gaze.  Distractions such as this are a danger to me when I am driving as I desperately try to peak a glimpse whilst maintaining full driving capability.

On this particular day, there were three fold of such distractions: 1) an enormous wind farm in the distance 2) a small glimpse of Thanet Earth (Europe’s biggest Greenhouse) and 3) an abandoned power station.  To say I was in visual heaven would be an understatement.

Now, you might think as a Photographer I would screech to a halt, leap to attention and start snapping. But no. No my mind works in a very singular manner – I was driving to somewhere to achieve a particular goal and therefore to deviate off this would be unthinkable.

Luckily enough for me, the Good Lady Hannah was sitting beside me and began her semi-regular torrent of persuasion that I should not exist in such a one dimensional brain space and act with the spontaneity that graces the great and good. A marginal tussle of stubbornness occurred after which I relented and parked up in a questionable lay-by.

Hurrah for GLH is all I can say because as luck would have it, I was armed with my old steed – the Mamiya C3 Professional. This was my first ever medium format camera – a beautiful twin lens, square format beast that served me well for the best part of 18 months.  Recently, I have cracked the old girl out once more for a new project I am a working on, to be revealed at a later date. Needless to say for now, the project is Black & white, medium format and Square – hence I was well prepared for this chance encounter.

So I shot a few rolls and was very pleased I did, because the Power Station looked as good on film as it did through my peepers and the side window. Below are a few of the more interesting shots.

As a brief side – please forgive the slightly poor quality of the images, but they have been scanned from negs at not the greatest resolution on a rather dusty neg scanner.  Also they were shot on a fairly old film which I suspect had started to deteriorate – but it is all I had!

ABANDONED POWER STATION AS SHOT ON THE OLD STEED

PONDER

Grayson Perry and The British Museum are two institutions that one would not normally expect to join forces to create a new exhibition.  But come together they have and in quite remarkable style to create a new exhibition that is nothing short of a wonder, of artifacts new and old.

Perhaps Perry is known by many for his lavish pots, lavish dresses and lavish winning the Turner prize in 2003 and from conversations I have had in the past, seems to divide opinion as to whether his work is brilliant or over the top and hideous.  Personally, I am a fan of his work and think the contemporary reflections of life and society that adorn his pots are both visually stunning as well as politically poignant.  Like many and possible quite naively, I only really became aware of him through the Turner prize but have enjoyed his output ever since.

So when I heard that he was curating a new show at the British Museum displaying new works alongside items picked out of the museum’s collection, it sounded like a show that should not be missed.

INSPIRATIONAL ARTIFACT

The concept is a simple one, Perry created works and selected some from his back catalogue and then scoured the museum for items that in some way appeared connected to his own output.  As you progress through the exhibition it becomes apparent that the museum (and no doubt others like the V&A) have always been an integral part of his work and a source of inspiration and reference in his own art.  No doubt any artist of note could go through a similar process to find old arts, craft and artifacts that appear to relate or sync with their own work, but at times the similarity between the artifacts chosen and Perry’s work is startling.

This is a real strength of the whole exhibition and concept, because I believe it makes an interesting point about the evolution of creativity and our visual history.  Effectively, what Grayson Perry has done is to reverse engineer his own works of art.  Like any artist, or any person for that matter, he has been partially shaped, moulded and influenced by all that has come before him.  Like all of us, he would have been bombarded with these references throughout his life – whether intentionally through repeated visits to museums and galleries, or subconsciously through media, marketing and our everyday exposure to all things visual.

FACEBOOK IS MENTAL ILLNESS

HOLD YOUR BELIEFS LIGHTLY

Given this fact, is it any wonder that references in his own work are found riddled throughout ancient artifacts? I think not and believe the show is a fantastic way of paying homage to all those who have come before him and will no doubt come after.  I have used the analogy before that in Science, someone investigating a new problem does not conduct every experiment needed to prove their theory.  They take it as read that for hundreds of years scientists have worked on and proved a great many things.  They start from this point of already existing knowledge and take it to the next level or develop it to work within a modern context, for example they don’t have to first re-discover the boiling point of water each time they use it.  This is the same for art – we all take the experiments those have come before us as a starting point and, whether aware of it or not, we move on from that point.  When I take a photograph of an industrial structure, I may not be thinking of the Beecher’s whilst doing so – but I am certainly aware of their work and therefore it has had some influence on my stance and approach to that subject matter.

INFLUENCED BY EVERYTHING

Throughout the exhibition, Perry commentates on the items that he choose from the museum’s collection, talking about why he is interested in them, how they relate to his life and modern society and of course the visual stimulus that lie therein.  You also get the impression that this is a show Grayson Perry has been waiting to do for years, perhaps even his whole life. It is rare and quite unique that all content is directly chosen by the artist themselves and this extends beyond the exhibition to the essays written by Perry himself in the accompanying catalogue.

SUNDAY BREAKFAST

An artist that lives and breathes the Post Modern you would have to travel some distance to find and Grayson Perry joins alongside artists such as Tracey Emmin or Gilbert & George who very much explore and include their own life within their art works.  The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman is centered around Perry’s childhood friend and teddy bear Alan Measles.  Alan Measles seems to have been an alter ego, father figure, hero and friend that filled his childhood and provided the catalyst for numerous adventures and explorations.

POWER

Measles was an explorer, emperor, warrior, professor and a thousand things more and in this show enjoys a second coming where he gets to explore the history of the world and be cast into a myriad of new roles that sit alongside contemporary culture.  As the title of the show suggests, there is a respect and acknowledgement here to the unknown and unnamed craftspeople whose work, millions of people appreciate each year.  So in Perry’s exhibition, Alan Measles becomes a face for all of these artists both alive and dead.

The concept of the omni-present teddy sits well with me as I too spent large chunks of my childhood immersed in a fantasy land ruled by soft toys that became ever more elaborate and complicated as years passed.  Perhaps it is easier to dissect and place understanding on the world when it can be reinterpreted and reenacted through something as simple and innocent as a childhood toy.  So I think Alan Measles probably has something to say to all of us and we can all relate to the multi-fasceted hero character that he has become.  Almost like a reflection on the possibilities in modern culture itself through advanced computer games, celebrity culture and mass media, Alan Measles is no longer confined to the imagination of one child but can become the realised product of his dreams.

There are numerous of Perry’s own works on display throughout the exhibition and this is the first time I had come fact to face with any of them in the flesh.  Whilst I had always been drawn to the colour and stylistic charactertures in his work when looking at it in pictures, I was not prepared for how beautiful they would be in real life.  Perhaps beautiful seems an inappropriate word for what some would call garish pots, but seeing them close up, the skill and intricacy involved in their creation becomes apparent.

MAP OF TRUTHS AND BELIEFS

The exhibition firmly breaks him away from just being a ceramicist as it contains tapestry, sculpture, drawings and even a motorbike.  All have the same Perry style and present a similar set of messages about the world and how it is viewed by modern man and all are equally skilled.  His mammoth tapestry is a wonder to be in front of and his drawing, which depicts him and Measles making a pilgrimage to the tomb is simple but striking.  So much so that I even bought the tea towel…and that really is a first!

TAPPESTRY DETAIL 1

TAPPESTRY DETAIL 2

What also becomes apparent is that Grayson Perry is clearly an artist coming from the roots of a craftsman first and foremost.  So many of the objects he chooses to share from the museum demonstrate high levels of craft, and so in his own work, this skill and fine working is at the forefront.

PILGRIM

In a poetic way, his dedication to this exhibition pays a humble homage to the these craftsman and makes specific reference to the fact we have no idea who many of them are.  The tomb of the unknown craftsman the British Museum truly is.  Read almost any caption in any exhibit and you will rarely notice the name of a creator, the history of the person who made it and certainly not an image of them.  We might no the rough period something was made and where and for what purpose – but whose hand helped to shape such objects remains a mystery.

It is easy to overlook this fact when going round a museum and perhaps too the same is applicable for art in a modern gallery setting.  Like his work or loathe it, there is no dispute that Grayson Perry is firmly placing the art back into the heart of artisan.

Grayson Perry’s ‘The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman’ is running until 19th February 2012 and I strongly urge anyone and everyone to go and see it.  Not only rewarding visually (whether you are a Perry fan or not), for me, this is surely set to become an iconic and influential exhibition that will be referenced for years to come. Go, seek and be inspired.

More information about the show can be found at: www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/grayson_perry

SPORTS BAGS (2011)

BE A SPORT

I would imagine that upon reading the title of this post you fall into one of two categories which we shall explore and exploit below.

1) You are a regular reader, glancer or somewhat connected OurWorldMyEye reader and thought ‘Sports Photography, surely not – what has he come to. This I have to see’.  (Apparently you talk to yourself a lot).

2) You have been pumping the Goggle machine for information relating to how to do sports photography or for examples of good sports photographs and the title of this post cunningly suckered you into my fold.

Either way, prepare for disappointment as it is probably not what you wanted or expected!  I sure know how to sell myself don’t I!

The story goes that a College asked me to photograph their sports trials so they would have some stock shots to put into publicity material, prospecti (is that the legitimate plural of a prospectus?) and such like.  Now I am no sports fan but I had never done any sport photography before and figured it was a good learning experience – so I obliged.

A BRIEF SUMMARY OF SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY ADVICE

On the agenda was Football, Rugby, Netball, Badminton and Basketball.  All different beasts that boasted their own challenges.  So, for the benefit of those who have come here today hoping for advice on sport photography, here is my summary of each:

FOOTBALL – Really hard.  They move quick, pass the ball too much and by the time you focus on a shot it has gone.  Anticipation is the key and as someone ignorant to the game it proved a struggle!  My tactic – keep following the players that looked the best and wait for a tackle as its the only time they stay still and you can get a shot!

RUGBY – Fairly easy.  They are a bit more cumbersome than the Football players and the game stops and starts almost as much as American sports!

NETBALL – The easiest of them all.  They are forced to stop with the ball and do that pivoting thing, so you have ages to frame a shot.  No worries.

BADMINTON – Impossible.  Dark hall, fast movements, lots of courts – getting a good shot just doesn’t happen.  Looks like it is a slowish game but they move their arms too fast!  My advice – get someone to pose!

BASKETBALL – Well a mixed bag all told.  Again a dark hall makes it hard and they move really really fast.  But, get someone in the air and you are onto a winner.  PLUS basketball players show off more than the other sports so they naturally try and do something snazzy for you.

Right, now we have sorted them who came for advice out, with what will no doubt be classed – ‘the single best guide to sports photography…ever’ in years to come; we can get on with the main event.

As anyone who has graced these pages before will know, I get easily bored photographing what I am supposed to.  Hence, I soon realised that sports photography was actually a good thing as there where hundreds of far more interesting shots to be taken that didn’t involve the sport.  So, when nobody was looking and whenever possible – I fired off a shot for myself.

TURN THE CAMERA ON THE UNEXPECTED…

Therefore, I will not be sharing with you and of the ACTUAL sports photographs, but will instead show you a selection of my alternative sports photographs.

Here, I suspect, ends my career as a sports photojournalist!

LONELY (2011)	ESCAPE (2011)
SWOOSH (2011)	FLOOR SHAPES (2011)
JUMP (2011)	FENCE DIPTYCH (2011)

 OURWORLDMYEYE @ ART JUNKY 5th & 6th NOVEMBER  2011

That’s right, I am on the road again, this time to Sunny Brighton for the annual Art Junky fair at the Phoenix
Gallery in Brighton.

Bigger and better than ever – this year it boasts a 2 day extravaganza, occurring on both Saturday 5th &
Sunday 6th November from 11am – 5pm each day.

I will be there selling Lomo prints, Photographs, Matchbox Galleries (including 2 all new colour editions), cards and a host of other wonders.  Alongside will be m’colleague Rob Macdonald peddling his wares.  We
also guarantee to offer fine and friendly chat and mingling with the world at large.

If you are in Brighton pop in and say hello.  If you are not in Brighton – then why not make a trip to the
sunshine coast and add Art Junky to your agenda.

We can guarantee to solve all your Christmas present and card requirements!

If you do not know where the Phoenix Gallery is, here is a link to a handy map I have prepared for you (with the assistance of Google!!!):

CLICK FOR MAP TO PHOENIX GALLERY, BRIGHTON

So, let us rectify that with a brand new music mix for your delection!

This one came about because I got a new amp and speakers and a spare afternoon, decided to put a record on and, well, one thing lead to another!

Over 2 hours later I stopped.

A SHORT MEANDERING STROLL THROUGH MY RECORDS (2011)

So called a short meandering stroll through my records because that is exactly what it is!  A sort of cross section going from blues to 80′s pop to rock to soul & funk to a nice slice of Hip Hop (as requested some time back by The Brother) and off course a nice fat shot of reggae to round things off.

As ever, the winning Soundcloud has come to the rescue to host this marathon mix so you can listen online or download it from there…

Tracklist info is below…

MEANDERING STROLL TRACKLIST (2011)

Because I am endlessly giving – I have also put together a little zip package containing a better quality mp3 of the mix and the artwork for you to do what you will with.  I say small zip package, it is actually quite massive – so be warned and willing to download 160mb or so!  Click on this link to activate download.

Hope you enjoy!

PAGE FROM MY JOURNAL WHERE I WAS RECORDING VISITOR NUMBERS

A couple of Saturdays past, I spent the day in the belly of the overbearing mother.  Perhaps that is too abstract, rather I spent the day in the belly of a shipping container. Perhaps still too vague, I feel I should step backwards and address this from a place that bears a greater background!

I was lucky enough to meet one of the co-founders and curators of LIDO, a gallery space in St Leonards adjoining a set of artist studios.  From what might appear a modest establishment from the outside, LIDO has an impressively ambitious program of exhibitions, events and commissioned art works which puts pay to the ‘I’d never get the funding’ attitude of the rest of us.

The man in question was Dan Howard-Birt, a painter and curator who – as coincidence would have it, was born in the fair town of Aylesbury where I myself hail from (but we won’t dwell on that as I haven’t yet had a chance to bemoan the delights of the town with Dan himself).  The story of our meeting is also irrelevant, apart from to say I was surprised but delighted when I received a call from him asking if I would be able to invigilate part of a show he was involved in as part of Hastings annual Coastal Currents festival.

The project in question very much appealed to my sensibilities and so, without much further of a do, I found myself one Saturday morning in a rather blustery September, walking along the seafront of St Leonards to LIDO and was soon confronted by the structure that would be my home for the day.

The structure in question was the first outdoor sculptural commission by LIDO, created by artist Dylan Shipton and entitled ‘The Overbearing Mother’.  LIDO itself is so named because it fronts onto the site of the now grassed over outdoor swimming pool that once proudly boasted its way onto the seafront site.  At its conception the original Lido was massive – on a scale only matched by Blackpool’s and sadly, this grandeur was also it’s demise as the eyes of Hastings & St Leonards council were sadly much bigger than the belly of the public prepared to visited.

So now what was once an epic mass of water and bathers is now a large grassed area used mainly by dog walkers and Sunday Strollers.  Without the honor of a gallery space now named after it – it would to many, pass completely unnoticed.  What remains of the structure are two large concrete platforms, which rise up unannounced from their now inconspicuous surroundings. It is on one of these platforms that The Overbearing Mother sat through the lion share of September.

The sculpture consists of a beached shipping container that is encased in a Day-Glo protuberance on each side.  On the west face this forms a sort of veranda that appears as if it has something to announce or present.  To the East, a large advertising hoarding reaches up above the container shouting its message to the onlookers of Hastings and the sea beyond.  Shipton commissioned Ben Fitton to create the sign for the location, which in barely legible font reads: “The gap that has been left by the departure of / will soon enough make itself felt”.  Interestingly and I think intentionally, the banner was loosely fitted and so when a particularly aggressive gust of coastal breeze came along, the words came free of their tetherings and flew out to sea, perhaps to be one day to take on new meaning as they are found by a confused fisherman.

The sculpture is perhaps a comment on the changing use of space and surroundings.  The whole structure emerging from one of the few remaining aspects of the Lido to still exist and the advertising hoarding itself paying testament to considerations on how, as our landscape changes, and perhaps when things that were once important are removed or replaced, we only then become fully aware of their impact, resonance and relevance in our environment.

And so Shiptons Overbearing Mother takes on these metaphors – with its bright nu-rave coloured and complex shapes being spun out of a shipping container as if it had always been there but stood unnoticed.  How apt also that the sign that ties the piece together with its surroundings was eventually lost to the winds.

This work is very much a continuation of his previous incarnations – where his sculptural pieces seem to be a comment on the properties and limitations of space by constructing architectural shapes

THE OVERBEARING MOTHER 4 (2011)

and frames.  Whilst sometimes standalone, they often appear site specific and take inspiration and message from their surroundings.  Especially interesting are his tape works whereby large bodies of form, colour and shape are made entirely from an assortment of different tapes (see them online here).  Looking at previous works in context, it is almost as if Shipton is exploring and investigating the possibilities of a potential futuristic landscape with strange developments and structures emerging from their surroundings – both challenging and accepting the expected norms at the same time.

But, I know what is going on behind those slightly glazed eyes – your mind is questioning how I ended up spending a day inside the mother.  Very well (you are saying), we are interested in hearing about this sculpture (you continue), but your title drew us in and now you are leaving us dangling with curiosity (you finish).

Well, The Overbearing Mother had a double life and four weekends in a row, played host to a micro cinema, which nestled in its belly.  This part of the instillation was organised by Christine Gist at Interface and was a brilliant complement to the sculpture itself and the concept a stroke of genius.  The idea being that on each of the 8 days it was open, a different artist would be asked to curate a selection of films to be shown.

Stepping through the heavy blue doors of the container, the un-expecting visitor was confronted by a black curtain, which, upon opening revealed the secrets behind.  A large screen at the far end onto which a projector beamed at full capacity.  A set of wooden benches around the perimeter for film perusal and the usual ample selection of information and intrigue.

Over the different weekends, artists choose a huge array of different films – some showing just one long feature, others opting for numerous shorts.  The day I was asked to be ringmaster to this celluloid cinema, it was the turn of painter and co-founder of Lido, Jacqui Hallum to be the selector.  Jacqui selected three different films to show on rotation, all quite different from one another – but all equally brilliant.

THE OVERBEARING MOTHER 2 (2011)

As a quick and interesting (to me anyway) sideline – on quizzing Jacqui about her film selection, she told me that she had initially come across the films or their directors on Channel Four some years back.  It turned out that this inspiration had emerged off the back of Channel Four’s long time deceased late night short film seasons, which until this point I had completely forgotten about.  This sparked a string of memories for me of staying up to late obsessively watching the short films with my brother and being both amazed at how strange they were and wowed at the skill and variety of the film makers.  For a memory I had until then forgotten, it seemed to resonate as having been an important part of my creative education!

Unlike Jacqui, I wasn’t wise enough to commit the names of the directors I liked to paper and my ailing memory was never going to retain such information – but perhaps with a bit of cunning research, I can be reacquainted with some of my favourites from this period.

THE OVERBEARING MOTHER 3 (2011)

The day in question was a windy and slightly gloomy one, the sort of day where the seafront comes alive and everything feels more dramatic than it perhaps is.  So being in the trailer was no different, as the wind pounded the sides and flapped the curtain into a gentle sway, it sounded like there was a full blown gale outside the confines of the cosy cinema.  Of course, being in a metal crate it sounded far worse than it was, but this added to the experience of feeling somewhere unique in a refuge against the harsh world outside.

This also complemented Jacqui’s choice of films delightfully, as each one was slightly edgy and uncanny in its own right, whilst maintaining enough of a vein of dark humour to keep them from the dangerous precipice of severe paranoid viewing.

First up was Jan Svankmajer’s Food.  A brilliantly inventive film that uses stop motion animation using real actors and some cunning use of plasticine prosthetics.  The film is split into 3 parts – Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and follows the stories of sets of diners eating their meal and often much of their surroundings (including their co-eaters!). Dark, surreal and amusing (in a Czech sort of a way!) and expertly filmed and put together.  I have seen some of his work before and would highly recommend checking it out. To get you started, here is part 1:

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Next was Andreas Samland with Tag 26 which follows the fortunes of two lone survivors of an undisclosed biological world wrecking super hazard! Without giving too much away, the film touches on raw aspects of humanity and how people would deal with such a situation but again in a rather surreal fashion.  Coming in at 18 minutes long – amazingly the film was put together for around 7000 Euro, which doesn’t show from the clever direction of Samland.

Last but not least on the triple bill was a film called Kitchen Sink by Alison Maclean.  This is a kind of urban nightmare scenario with some loose overtones of Frankenstein influence.  Essentially, a giant ball of hair and gunk from a woman’s kitchen sink gets transformed into a real life man!  Imagine that.  Well, watch the film and you don’t need to.  Funny enough, I thought this film was quite amusing, but a few of the watching visitors said it was the most disturbing to them.  Does that mean I am warped or they are wimps…who can say?  Shot in black and white and filmed with an interesting sense of mystery and suspense, it is no wonder the film went on to win 8 awards at Cannes. Watch the full 14 minute film on Vimeo below…

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All in all – a good day out was had by all and probably especially by me.  The cinema proved popular with those who visited it and was rather snug once inside.  The odd thing was how natural one felt sitting on a makeshift bench, in a shipping container, on a windy Saturday afternoon – watching strange films.  One kind visitor even bequested me with a clutch of apples (later transformed into an Apple & Cider cake as well as a fine crumble) for being the guardian of her bike for the duration of her stay.

If you are in the area, check the LIDO website for their current exhibitions and projects and pay them a visit. www.lidoprojects.com

THE OVERBEARING MOTHER 1 (2011)