Images and text from the recent multi-media show at The Cello Factory curated by London Group member Erika Winstone.
The idea for this exhibition began in Spring 2017, stemming from a body of my work titled La Durée, encompassing video, painting and metal point drawings, exploring the fragility and value of both real and fictional relationships.
I selected the other works in the show from exhibitions I visited in 2017, finding connections to my interest in subjects of displacement, temporality and contingency, together with the individual qualities of each artist, which expanded and greatly enriched my initial premise.
I began to search for a suitable space and after one initial disappointment I was thrilled when Susan Haire accepted my proposal for an exhibition/event in The Cello Factory, as I knew this space would give each artist the particular qualities needed such as height, changing light, potential for live and digital performance, scale of walls, acoustics, different levels etc, enabling one work to segue to another, and revealing the relationships and spatial complexities of the show as a whole.
I requested one week, and allocated equal time – three days – for the install and public viewing. Due to the nature of the works involved, it was vital to give enough time for both myself and each of the artists to work together, rethinking and sometimes remaking the work in relation to this space and one another’s work. In addition this short duration emphasized the underlying premise of Here Today Gone Tomorrow as a changing live event, with its prerecorded and live performances, changing natural light, reflections, etc.
As curator I agreed the positioning of works in advance with each artist, based around key decisions: for example, Liz’s Corredere2 had to hang from one beam, giving two choices! Cara’s and Naomi’s work had to be in separate spaces due to sound and contrasting dynamics; my glass panels and projection had certain restrictions and lighting requirements. Video and performance was interspersed with paintings, ceramics, sculpture, and drawings, to emphasise contrasts and relationships between still and transient works.
Each artist volunteered to undertake specific tasks: Naomi Siderfin, press release and exhibition text; Susan Sluglett and Liz Harrison, publicity and press; Cara Rainbow, signage and bar; myself curator, invitation design and overall organization.
We were all excited by the exhibition, and pleased at the amount of visitors, not only to the private view on such a hot evening, but over the subsequent three days. With huge thanks to Susan and Frank.
Erika Winstone, 2018
Here Today Gone Tomorrow took place at The Cello Factory from Fri 20 to Sun 22 April 2018