Something that nourishes; food, nutriment, or sustenance.
This week has got off to an inspired start. So much so that Week 5's inspiration is completed today, Monday!
I was invited to attend a 'Long Lunch' by artists Simon Lee-Dicker and Rebecca Strain, which also co-incided with the end of their 'Show and Tell' exhibition held at the gallery and studio, Old School Room (OSR) near Yeovil.
The idea of the day was to connect and build networks with other working artists in the South West, with artists coming from Bristol, Taunton, Bournemouth and Yeovil, and share our experiences as artists who also partake in collaborative work as part of our practice. I was driving up to Yeovil in the snow this morning with local Avant-Garde artists Rebecca Strain and Jonathon Shelper, and it did cross my mind that getting stuck in the snow could certainly be a way of connecting if we all have to huddle under a blanket to keep warm and avoid certain death in the wintery depths of the Somerset countryside!
We got there safely.
The beautiful space of the Old School Room was a welcome shelter to the bitter outdoors and greeted us with coupled balancing old school desks and ballooned marigolds hanging from thorned stems reaching down from the ceiling. This was 'Show and Tell', an inspired collaborative exhibition responding to the venue and the history of the building.
After some chit-chatting we got to the formal part of the day. Each artist presented their work, many in the form of Pescha Kucha, 20 images@20seconds. There were also films and even a handstand on a chair as part of the presentation.
As part of the day and as an artistic contribution to the Long Lunch, were asked to bring a food contribution as a gesture to the traditonal festivities. The Long Lunch tradition had existed in the same space many years before us artists got there today, yet it was wonderful to be continuing the tradition with a contemporary twist.
My contribution, and this weeks Inspire is 'A Toast to Nourishment'. A Champagne glass filled with layered nuts and berries. You will see below the colour version of this photograph but in keeping with my current explorations, the final piece is indeed, black and white.
A Toast to Nourishment
Hazel Evans 2012
Black and white enables me to see beyond the colour. Notice the colour of the shapes and contours through shades and shadows without a diologue of actual colour to distract the eye. This, to me, makes for more colourful reading of the piece.
Notice the tomato - a red dot! (reference Inspire 52 -Week 4)
The shades of nourishment in the glass by the layering of the seeds, nuts and dried fruit have categorised themselves into three distinct grey scales through this transformation. Three stages of nourishment? Inspiration, Expression and Truth? - You decide what it is for you.
This glass could have stood alone, but today was about collaboration - creative nourishment. In this shot I now see that the cheese provides a potective wall around the glass, but the table also offers a cheese slice and knife for you to take your cut, share and break down the barriers. Wow - how deep can food go? lol!
I guess the nourishment I am giving to myself as an artist is to help myself continue on my creaive path. Part of that nourishment involves remaining 'true' to the journey I want to take and expression of artisic identity. At the moment, this involves my explorations into The Monochronium, this journey is not finished yet, and I feel that for the present time, I need to stay true to my black and white Yellow Brick Road. It is not to say that this is how it will be forever, but it is what I find most nourishing for now.
Below is the colour version - feel free to take a moment and compare the stories.
Below is the colour version - feel free to take a moment and compare the stories.
We did not just speak and eat, oh no ... we made art too! Here are some pictures of us in collaborative action, with the recreation of an Old School Room photograph. Thank you to everyone for such a great day.
http://osrprojects.wordpress.com/current-projects/show-tell-at-the-old-school-room/events/
http://osrprojects.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/spot-the-difference/
What I really like about this piece 'A toast to nourishment' was that it was not just a display object. As the glass was passed around and we ate from it, it was circumstantial as to what you took from it. The layers were respected and we happily munched on whatever nourishment that happened to be available to us at the time the glass appeared in front of us, maybe surprised by the flavours and textures we experienced. It was simple and yet poetic.
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