Studio Drift

                                 Lonekke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta (2010-2014), Shylight, Available at                                  https://www.studiodrift.com/work#/work/shylight/ [Accessed 5/3/21]

Dutch artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta are the creatives behind Studio Drift. I first stumbled upon their Shylight installation on The Rijksmuseum social media page. As we are still on lock down for what seems like the millionth day, I, like many people, find myself spending more and more time on my phone and laptop. So, as I was scrolling through my phone one evening, I came across a video of Shylight in motion and I immediately stopped scrolling. I ended up watching it a few times, and was sort of mesmerised by these flowers opening and closing, they were beautiful, and it got me thinking about the natural world. We are living in precarious times, stuck inside, and often trying to pacify ourselves with whatever is on our screens, but the one thing that brought me a sense of calm that evening, was watching these silken flowers bloom and imagining myself outside amongst the flowers and the fresh air.  As human beings we can get so wrapped up in our digital world that we forget the world outside and forget that we are part of that world. It is so easy to take an anthropocentric view and disregard the wider environment.  This melding of nature and technology forms the basis of Studio Drift’s explorations. They describe it as “manifest(ing) the phenomena and hidden properties of nature with the use of technology in order to learn from the Earth’s underlying mechanisms and to re-establish our connection to it.” (Studio Drift, About, 2021)

Meadow, Shylight, and Semblance share a common thread as they were all created as an investigation into a process called ‘nyctinasty’ in which a flower closes at night as a form of self-protection. They show the connection between the physical change of the flower’s shape and the emotional changes human beings experience. Of their work, the artists say Most man-made objects have a static form, while everything natural in this world including people, are subject to constant metamorphosis and adaptation to their surroundings. Meadow is the result of examinations on how an inanimate object can mimic those changes that express character and emotions. (Studio Drift, Meadow, 2021)

      Lonekke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta (2017), Meadow, Centre Chodov Prague, Available at https://www.studiodrift.com/work#/meadow/  [Accessed 5/3/21]

With a continued theme of metamorphosis, Gordijn and Nauta created a large-scale performance piece entitled Franchise Freedom using drones to imitate a murmuration of Starlings. Lullaby like piano played gently to complement this performance and add to the emotional connection. In the wild, a flock of Starlings moves in swathes, changing shape and direction and appearing from afar as though it is one solid object.  The artists saw a connection between these flocks of birds and groups of people. Each person exists within a social group, we find safety in a group, yet we also seek the freedom of our individuality. They ask, “What is the perfect balance between the two? Is freedom an illusion?” (Studio Drift, Franchise Freedom, 2021)

Lonekke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta (2018), Franchise Freedom, Burning Man - Photo: Rahi Rezvan, Available at https://www.studiodrift.com/work#/franchise-freedom/  [Accessed 5/3/21]

                        Lonekke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta (2012), Fragile Future III, Available at                         https://www.studiodrift.com/work#/work/fragile-future-iii/ [Accessed 5/3/21]

The future of our planet hangs in the balance but green walls, wind farms, and solar panels illustrate how technological advances, human ingenuity, and nature can work together for a promising outcome.  Fragile Future III is an aesthetic expression of this concept that intermingles natural forms with the man-made. Comprised of a collection of Dandelion seeds attached to lightbulbs and encompassed by brass electrical circuits. The installation can be continually added to and expand in any direction. This multiplication imitates the natural spreading that occurs in Dandelion seeds. As an abundant and resilient plant, it poses the question: what attributes can we take from the Dandelion to benefit our own lives?  In Lonekke’s words she asks whether nature is the high-tech part in our world? Scientists look at the process in nature and mimic this and create a new technology, so in a way technology is an evolution from nature. (Studio Drift, Fragile Future, 2021) Whether we're looking for answers to our social and emotional well being or the well being of the planet, Studio drift's work encourages us to first, look to the earth. 

More information can be found on Studio Drift’s website at https://www.studiodrift.com/

 

Eileen Agar: Angel of Anarchy Exhibition at The Whitechapel Gallery

 

Curator, Laura Smith from the Whitechapel Gallery gave a fantastic talk on the life and works of the surrealist artist Eileen Agar. I feel embarrassed to say I had never heard of Agar until last week, and what a shame that is because her art much like her personality is filled with joy, playfulness, and curiosity. With a career spanning over 70 years, she utilized paint, collage, photography, sculpture, and fashion to create an exuberant body of work.  A rare female within a male dominated group of surrealists, against the will of her parents, and in a time when war loomed over the world, Eileen unwaveringly dedicated her life to her art.

Eileen Agar, The Autobiography of an Embryo, 1933-4, Tate Modern, London

Agar displayed a fascination with natural forms and organic matter throughout her oeuvre. Drawn to organic forms for their absence of any man made overhead or male construct, they posed no threat of deviation to her own artistic expression. The biodiversity of the sea served as a great source imagination and ingenuity for Eileen.  Often combing the beach for shells, star fish, and other found objects for her assemblages and imitating the swirling forms of the ocean in her paintings.  The Autobiography of an Embryo is divided into 4 sections which are the four seasons or the four stages of the embryo.  Within each section are images of sea life: fish, coral, fossils, and waves of colour; human silhouettes are created in varying shapes and patterns and a foetus rests gently in a circle within the first panel.  The narrative of the painting is not implicitly clear without Agar’s explanation, which is a common thread amongst surrealist artworks. She describes her painting as ‘a celebration of life, not only a single one, but life in general on this particular and moving planet.’ (Illustrated Catalogue of Acquisitions 1986-88, p.240) Though Eileen had not set out to paint in a surrealist style, she simply created things of interest to her. It was only when Paul Nash, Herbert Read, and Roland Penrose visited her at her studio in Swanage that they declared her a Surrealist. (Five Women Painters, Channel 4, 1989) It would seem to me that at this early stage in her career she may have been going through a stage of contemplation.  Eileen made a conscious decision not to have any children as she felt it would detract from her artistic pursuits.  I wonder if this piece was an exploration of her feelings about motherhood or the lack thereof, a kind of simulation process to help her confirm that decision. On the other hand, I can look at this piece and see it as the conception of her life as an artist and the entanglement she felt with the natural world in which she drew inspiration from. 

Eileen Agar, Angel of Anarchy, 1936-40, Tate Modern, London

Being thrust into the spotlight in 1936 as the only British woman to be included in the International Surrealist Exhibition was a landmark moment for Agar. Among the most famous of her pieces in the show was Angel of Anarchy; made from a plaster cast of her husband Joseph Bard’s head. It was adorned with decorative feathers from her mother’s hats, surrounded by beads, shells, and scraps of fabric with haphazard stitching. It was created during a tumultuous time when the UK was amidst the Second World War. The distinct blindfold over the eyes is purposefully placed to show that people had become blinded by the war and blinded by hatred. She wanted it to be a “terrifying but powerful symbol.” (Five Women Painters, Channel 4, 1989) Her mask can also be seen through a feminist lens. Agar was surrounded by powerful, influential men who primarily saw women as nothing more than muses, their value lying only in their outward appearance. Women, just like in the Angel of Anarchy, have historically been told to cover up, decorate themselves with accessories and fine fabrics, and been discouraged to strip back the blindfold, and see the world through their own eyes. Eileen’s piece poses a challenge to those misogynistic practices and gives an opportunity to create a dialogue for change.

The works discussed are but a snippet of the vast amount of art Eileen created until her to death in 1991. She has been a source of inspiration for many contemporary artists such as Lucy Stein, Allison Katz, Michaela Yearwood-Dan, and Penny Slinger just to name a few.  If I could rewind time, I would love nothing more than to spend hours with her combing the beach for treasures and joining in on the hunt for a face in the clouds or a shape in the rocks. If I am completely honest I’m envious of the freedom she demanded for herself; no deadlines or outside expectations were able to penetrate or stifle her creative process.  She says, “You must take life not only seriously but playfully, the more playful you are in your work, the better it will be”. (Five Women Painters, Channel 4, 1989) It takes a strong sense of self to know exactly what your passion is and be determined enough to make that a reality.  This self-assurance coupled with a great artistic talent elevated her to a level of success many other women artists were unable to achieve.

 

Details of the exhibition can be found at https://www.whitechapelgallery.org/exhibitions/eileen-agar/ and large collection of her pieces can be viewed online at https://www.redfern-gallery.com/artists/37-eileen-agar-ra/ .

 

Allmer, Patricia (2009) ‘Angels of Anarchy: Women Artists and Surrealism’, in. exhibition catalogue, Manchester City Art Gallery, Manchester 2009, pp.1-24.

Chakrabarty, Sonia. "Eileen Agar". Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Nov. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eileen-Agar. [Accessed 3 March 2021]

Eileen Agar, The Autobiography of an Embryo 1933–4 https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/agar-the-autobiography-of-an-embryo-t05024 [Accessed 1st March 2021]

Five Women Painters, Eileen Agar, 18:30 07/10/1989, Channel 4, 30 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/buf64f3a4?bcast=131328020 [Accessed 02 March 2021]

 

 

Eve Provost Chartrand on Ageing and Ageism

Old hag. Over the hill. Battle-axe. Old biddy.  She’s such a Karen! So many creative ways to insult an older woman. Who knew crows’ feet and saggy tits could cause so much disdain. Seriously, why are we so scared of getting old? It’s strange because “vintage” is so trendy, I guess just not vintage humans. Why is it that older women are seen through such a negative lens?  I had the pleasure of listening to Eve Provost Chartrand discuss her work recently. Centred around themes of ageing, ageism, death, regeneration and the metaphysical connections we make to objects and the departed; she explores the mental burden these negative social constructs place on women over a certain age and how those negativities invade the physical body. As there are many different approaches to ageing globally, Eve has chosen to look specifically at middle aged white women in North America.  Inspired by the tragedy of witnessing her parents suffer from degenerative diseases in the final years of their lives, and the loss of agency they experienced, her sculptures and assemblages act as a tangible re-establishment of emotional bonds, and portray the eternal perpetuation of life. 

 

​Conservo. The Father – The Daughter – The Mother (Installation view) 2017, Eve Provost Chartrand.

In her piece titled Conservo, she states, “I wanted to create family portraits of both my parents and me and found objects that most effectively represented and recalled my mother’s and father’s late health struggles, hence the bed pan and the urinal, as well as my own frays with the degenerative state of my own ageing body, ergo the pie safe and reversed spinal cord.” (EveProvostChartrand, 2021) Here she uses clinical, sterile objects as the central theme of each piece, yet they become more of a plinth for the decorative adornments that surround. The collection of curiosities instead becomes the focus of interest. As in life, it is not our final moments that define us but the culmination of memories and experiences.  

Is There Any Body Home? Specimen #2: Dentures (+ detailed view). 2018, Eve Provost Chartrand

The Saprotrophic Body (detail). 2019, Eve Provost Chartrand

Mushroom cultures in the studio. 2020, Eve Provost Chartrand

Is There Any Body Home? Specimen #1: A Brooch (detail). 2018, Eve Provost Chartrand

Icons of Absence: The Body as a Memorial Site (detail). 2021, Eve Provost Chartrand

The delicate undulating floral like curves of the fungi and elaborate rococo adornments of The Saprotrophic body are in direct juxtaposition with the grotesque Specimen # 2. Its deep cavernous shape rimmed with human teeth and filled with beads in similar shade to that of oral tissues is akin to that of a horror film. She complements her pieces by writing poetry and taking bacterial samples from the objects. This layering of her concept expands the channels of comprehension for the viewer, giving a well-rounded view, thus opening a window into the deeply personal connection she has to her work.  Her words conjure up visions of tenderness and childlike innocence. As a result, the repulsion softens and is transformed into an affinity for the owner of the objects.

 The bacteria growth in the petri dish come with surprising results, the samples taken live, grow, and reproduce. Despite potentially having existed without any use for years, they still contain living organisms, potentially organisms from the previous owner. They contain a living essence, that essence is both tangible and made visible through the growth within the petri dish, but even more intriguing is the intangible, enigmatic sense of soul that is connected to the item. We relate bacteria to the realm of living, and somehow once the items cease to be used, it would seem any connection to the living stops, illogical I know, but so often we are guilty of unconsciously seeing life in finalities. Eve’s work challenges those habits of compartmentalising.

A study in feminist Gerontology found that older women are culturally devalued, and older women’s bodies are judged harshly for showing signs of age. (Garner, 1999) In a world where Botox and plastic surgery have become commonplace, many live in fear of aging and losing their aesthetic appeal. Eve’s work shows the beauty and worthiness in all stages of the evolutionary process of life, that there is no definitive end and every living organism makes a contribution.

Eve Provost Chartrand https://www.eveprovostchartrand.com/ [Accessed 18/2/2021]

Garner, J.D. (1999) ‘Feminism and Feminist Gerontology’ in Journal of Women & Aging, v. 11, n. 02, pp.3-12.

Sabik, Natalie J. (2013) ‘Ageism and Body Esteem: Associations With Psychological Well-Being Among Late Middle-Aged African American and European American Women’ in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, v. 70, no. 2, March 2015, pp. 189–199.