One of my Spidey Pods prints is currently on show in London at ‘Vamalgam 3’, The Victoria and Albert Museum’s third almost-annual staff show.
Editions are also on sale throughout London at ‘Beyond The Valley’ (off Carnaby Street), ‘The Jago’ (Shoreditch) and ‘F-art’ (off Brick Lane).
However, to buy a print direct from me at the commission-free price of £100 (almost half the gallery price), send me an email at waynechisnall@yahoo.co.uk or w.chisnall@vam.ac.uk and I’ll get back to you. If you want I’ll even throw in a few stickers for free.
Each of the ‘Spidey Pods’ silk-screen prints is hand printed on acid-free, high-grade archival paper. All of them are signed and numbered. They are from an edition of 300 and there are a few low numbers left as I have not been selling them in chronological order. However, for some reason I do get more requests for the prints with low edition numbers so they tend to go faster.
The dimensions of each print are roughly 58 x 53 cm.
All prints are rolled in acid-free tissue paper and posted in sturdy cardboard postal tubes with sealed plastic stoppers. Postage and packaging is free to UK customers (with a small charge for customers outside the UK - sorry).
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Spidey at Victoria & Albert Museum
Monday, 7 July 2008
'Whaleless' - Strychnin Gallery (opening night - Friday, 11th July, 7pm)
This is my contribution to the Strychnin Gallery's 'Whaleless' Exhibition (details below). The piece is called 'Poorly Remembered Whale' - the idea being that once the creatures have become extinct and our memories of them as real, living animals fade, they almost become things of myth and legend. And our only physical record of them are as old bones in museums.
For the majority of this piece's construction I chose to use stuff that I had collected whilst mudlarking along the Thames at low tide. As well as the aquatic connection, this material provided a link to the story of the unfortunate whale that recently perished in the Thames. Sadly, that incident was probably the closest that many of us Londoners will ever come to seeing a whale.
WHALELESS, an international group show dedicated to the whales, will be on display at the Strychnin Gallery London – from July 11 to August 10, 2008.
Curated by Giovanni Cervi and Res Pira, Whaleless will feature work by Catalina Estrada, Stuart Semple, Gemma Compton, Wayne Chisnall, Luke Insect, Pure Evil, Lee Baker, Dan Hillier, Arianna Carossa, Squp, Chris Bonobo, Ryan Obermeyer, Zaelia Bishop, Aurelien Police, Nicoz Balboa, Guiliano Sale, Silvia Argiolas, Kokomoo, Tamara Ferioli, Myron Campbell and Marie Luise Emmermann.
Whaleless is an art project dedicated to those artists wishing to express their indignation, rage, shame, disbelief or concern about the slow disappearance of the fascinating giant marine mammals. Pollution, whaling and unacceptable fishing practices are only some of the causes that seriously endanger their survival.
It seems that whales are slowly but inevitably growing extinct, while the consequences of their gradual disappearance are impossible to predict. And yet we can be certain that the world’s ecosystem – not just the oceans’ but that of our entire planet – will be affected by this change.
Whaleless was born three years ago on the pages of the Italian PIG magazine and on the Whaleless website. As a result, over 200 pieces of art work – from the USA to Hong Kong, from Russia to Venezuela – were submitted to the project and some of these will be on show in the London exhibition.
Over the next few years, the exhibition will visit other major European cities in an attempt to raise awareness for this global environmental problem.
The world would not be the same without whales, which is why action needs to be taken immediately. Therefore, a percentage of sales from this exhibition will be donated to Greenpeace to support them in their actions to save the whales.
Times: Friday to Sunday – 12 noon to 6pm. Open for Time Out‘s First Thursdays on August 7 (5pm to 9pm).
Strychnin Gallery, 65 Hanbury Street, London, E1.
Monday, 30 June 2008
A Gothic Story art exhibition
The opening night of the 'A Gothic Story' exhibition went really well. Lots of people turned up and every one seemed to enjoy the suitable eerie atmosphere of the venue, down in the basement of Shoreditch Town Hall, London. I'm sure the free drink also helped things along.
I had a fantastic response to my five sculptures displayed in the main entrance hall and the eight smaller pieces that comprised my shelf installation in the pipe room. 'Sleeping Beauty Box' (just about viewable in the above photo) proved to be a favourite with many people. This was great as it was the first time that I exhibited this piece. To view more images from the show simply click on the 'recent flickr images' slide show at the top left-hand corner of this page.
On Thursday 3rd July at 7pm there will be a talk and torch lit tour through the show. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Ambassadors @ The Jago
This is an interior shot of The Jago, the new gallery/bar located half way down Redchurch Street in Shoreditch, London.
At the moment I am showing three of my paintings here, The Ambassadors (as seen at the far end of the bar), Kitchen Blue and Spidey Segments. A few of my signed and editioned Spidey Pods prints (taken from my Spidey Segments painting) are also available from The Jago.
On a slightly different note - the Strychnin Gallery show which featured two of my sculptures, The City and Pelvis, has just come down. However, Pelvis can still be viewed throughout the new exhibition, downstairs in the gallery's permenant collection. The new show is called 'Ugly American' and I'm looking forward to meeting the artist, Chet Zar, at tomorrow's opening (Friday, 13th June, 7pm). If anyone else fancies checking out what looks like being an amazing show then the address for Strychnin is 65 Hanbury Street, off Brick Lane, London E1 5JP.
See ya there.
Saturday, 24 May 2008
John Malkovich & Me ;o)
I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from Sony the other day, telling me that they had commissioned an animation from the script writing competition that I had entered and won. And here it is, 'Snow Angel'.
If you scroll down to the 'Interesting Sites and Blogs' section on the left of the screen and click on 'John Malkovich On-Line Script Project' you can view the original script for the animation. John Malkovich's piece is scene 1 and mine is scene 2.
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Me at The Battersea Contemporary Art Fair
It was pretty tiring doing the stand but I met some fantastic people and there was a lot of interest in my work. The three most popular pieces that I exhibitied were the sculpture, Nail Box, and the two paintings Kitchen Blue (seen here in the photo) and The Ambassadors. I had to keep on my toes for the entire time I was there because Nail Box was sitting on top of a tall thin plinth and people kept catching their clothes and bags on it as they leaned in for a closer look. More than once I had to make a lunge to catch it as it tried to leave with a visitor.
Most people think that the figure in the painting, Kitchen Blue, is a bloke but it's actually a girl called Joolz. She just had very short hair at the time.
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
Battersea Contemporary Art Fair (16-18 May)
I do have a very limited supply of two for the price of one tickets to the fair so if anyone out there would like me to post them one just email me your address and I'll pop one in the post to you. But be quick - you know what the postal service is like. Here's my email address - w.chisnall@vam.ac.uk
The Battersea Contemporary Art Fair, which takes place Friday 16th - Sunday 18th May 2008, is one of the largest and most popular independent art exhibitions in the UK. Now in its sixteenth year, the fair will once again take place at the Battersea Art Centre, showcasing around 150 artists.
I will be at stand L28 and will mostly be showing 2D work including Spidie Pods and The Ambassadors. Some of my smaller sculptural pieces will also be on display.
My popular Spidie Pods print (see image above) will also be available for sale at a special Fair price of £100. This limited edition, hand-printed, silk-screen print is on acid-free, archival high grade paper. Each print is signed and numbered (edition of 300). Dimensions: 58 x 53 cm.
Maria Newton, director of BCAF, comments: "The Battersea Contemporary Art Fair is tried and tested triumph for both artists and buyers. By cutting out the industry 'middlemen', the public enjoy keen prices and personal interaction with the artists, and our competitive stand costs ensure that the fair is on the map for fresh talent and established exhibitors alike."
Wayne Chisnall comments: "I love the buzz and the informal nature of art fairs. Being able to meet the person who has bought your work and find out what it means to them is amazing. Art fairs are also great opportunities for the public to chat to artists and find out what the artwork is really about."
When: May 16-18 May 2008 Where: Battersea Art Centre Lavender Hill London SW11 Time: Fri - 6-9pm (with drinks and live jazz music) Sat - 11-5pm Sun - 11-5pm Tickets: £7 (concessions £4)
www.bcaf.info
Monday, 5 May 2008
Exhibition @ Strychnin Gallery London
Here are the exhibition details -
'In The Absence Of Colour' (a black and white group show)
Opening Night - Friday 9th May, 7pm
Duration of show - 9th May - 9th June
Strychnin Gallery
65 Hanbury Street (off Brick Lane)
London E1 5JP
www.strychnin.com
Opening times - Friday through Sunday (12 noon until 6 pm)
Saturday, 26 April 2008
What You Own Will Finally Own You (work in progress)
After meeting Luigi Vernieri, Editor and Art Director of FEFE magazine, at an exhibition of work by street artists in Shoreditch, I was invited to be one of the 25 artists to feature in and create a new piece for the next issue of the magazine.
This pencil drawing is the initial stage of the painting that I’m now working on.
The brief for each artist is to realize the theme of the magazine by interpreting a line of dialogue, selected from a movie. The phrase for this coming issue is ‘ WHAT YOU OWN WILL FINALLY OWN YOU’, which is a line that succinctly sums up one of the main issues that I try to deal with in much of my sculptural work.
Oddly enough, I noticed this same line crop up in the book, ‘Bonfire Of The Brands’, written by a friend, Neil Boorman. Because a lot of my work centres on the premise that one of the main things in life that tie us down is our addiction to things (that we are possessed by our possessions) I told him about my interest in the phrase and asked him where it came from. I shouldn’t really have had to ask as it comes from ‘Fight Club’, one of my favourite films.
“FEFE is an experimental Italian project, projected towards innovation and the search for new ideas in the world of communication and visual arts.The magazine is distributed in Europe, Asia, America and Australia.The acronym FEFE (Free Entry Free Exit) represents a group of individuals who have created an international magazine with the objective to reunite creators of visual arts invited to participate in its initiative.In each issue we invite 25 artists, a child and a writer.”
Friday, 18 April 2008
Pelvis Maquette (detail 1)
To see a full length view and more detailed images of this piece you can check out the Painting and Sculpture gallery on my flickr account. Clicking on the image above will take you to that account.
Thursday, 10 April 2008
A Big Thank You To Nico & Co
Cheers guys
Monday, 31 March 2008
Rickety Lens Structure Sketch
This is one of many working drawings that relate to the tower sculpture that I am currently working on (see work in progress photo below). I find these working drawings very useful. Some times the sketches and the finished sculpture bear a close resemblance. At other times they don’t. This is usually because either, in working the idea out on paper, I see the flaws in a particular idea or because a certain material that I decide to use might suggest another line of enquiry.
There seem to be two separate ways that I work as a sculptor. One where I have a set idea for a piece and where I set about making it so that it matches that original vision and another where I have a very loose idea for a sculpture and I simply let the materials and the chosen mode of construction dictate the end result. Although, it’s often a mixture of the two.
Untitled Tower (work in progress 2)
Sunday, 30 March 2008
'Spidie Pods' Print
Just a quick reminder that I still have copies of this print for sale. Also, I have found a company, 'Eden Image', who can make up really great lookin white box frames that go perfectly with the print.
Here's the print's details -
Limited edition, hand-printed, silk-screen prints on acid-free, archival high grade paper. Signed and numbered. Edition of 300.
Title: ‘Spidie Pods’.
Dimensions: 58 x 53 cm.
Price: 100 pounds
To buy a print contact me at w.chisnall@vam.ac.uk
Alternatively you can buy this print from:
Beyond The Valley, 2 Newburgh St. London, W1F 7RD (020 7437 7338)
F-art, Cheshire St. off Brick Lane, East London (020 77295411)
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
Skeletal Components Sketch
This was just a quick sketch that I did. I was playing with the idea making some peculiar skeletal figures from bits of wire, string, old bones, broken tools and whatever else I could find lying around. For some strange reason my scanner and computer (which appears to be going a bit senile) seem to have taken a dislike to this sketch. Neither of them would recognise it and it took weeks before I finaly managed to get it scanned.
Crutch & Tumour Box Sketch
When I first had the idea for my 'Crutch & Tumour Box' sculpture I didn't have my sketch book to hand so I quickly scribbled down this thumb-nail sketch (afraid that I would have otherwise forgetten the idea) on a piece of scrap paper and taped it into my sketch book at a later date. Even though this is little more a scribbly little doodle I get quite precious about my drawings and sketch books. I suppose they are the hard copy manifestations of my creative thoughts.
After nearly loosing half of my sketch books to a recent flood in my studio I really should take better care of them. Time to invest in some water-proof containers, 'me thinks'.
Friday, 14 March 2008
Magnet
I would have mentioned me showing my work at the fair earlier but this was a bit of a last minute thing that only came about through last night's private view.
Title: Magnet
Dimensions: 112 x 46 x 46 cm
Materials: plastic toys, wood and casters
Suck Pod Sketch
This drawing came about after joking about what might happen if genetic engineering and the sex toy industry ever got together.
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
'& When I'm a Man (I'll Think As a Man)', Wayne Chisnall
I've posted an image of this piece because this year is the tenth anniversary of the year that I properly became a sculptor and this sculpture was the starting point. Although, technically speaking I started making the molds for it in the latter part of 1997.
A couple of years after I first exhibitied this piece I started getting emails and phone calls from friends asking if I was exhibiting it in different galleries all over the place. It turned out that a few other artists had made similar sculptures after I had made mine. I suppose there was a bit of a zeitgeist thing going on. I'd be interested to know if anyone had made something similar before 1998.
Ironically, 'And When I'm A Man' is probably the largest sculpture that I have made to date. Most of my current sculptural work tends to be made up of small detailed components that grow outwards or upwards.
As well as being made from 12 separate body casts of myself (a self portrait, I suppose) 'And When I'm A Man' is based on the type of model kit that I used to buy as a child. When creating the piece I was interested in childhood perceptions of adulthood and the role that toys played in this, as I noticed that many figurative toys were that of adult characters.
Date: 1998
Dimensions: 230 x 170 x 18 cm
Materials: fibreglass, resin & plastic.
Wednesday, 5 March 2008
Sleeping Beauty Box (interior)
In making this box sculpture my intention was to create a piece that from the outside appeared quite dull and ordinary. Yet, when you peered through its window you could imagine that you were looking at a scene from a fairy tale or a dream. This piece was also heavily influenced by the work of animators such as the Brothers Quay and Jan Svankmajer. I have always been facinated with animation and I sometimes think that many of my sculptures, especially the box and tower ones, resemble parts of animated film sets. I like to think of this interior shot as a still from a film that doesn't exist.
Monday, 3 March 2008
Entrail Plasma Box Sketch
I seem to have an obsession with wheeled boxes that trail entrails behind them. I think it might be something to with the conflict between man-made geometric forms and the biomorphic aspect of the natural world. Or maybe it’s something to do with the body being seen as this pristine box that tries to deny the existence of its viscous, smelly and often rebellious insides. There’s probably something deeply Freudian going on.
Anyway - this is the most recent drawing and it’s for an idea that I had that requires the use of a plasma cutter and a welder. Unfortunately I don’t yet have a plasma cutter so this particular project has been put on the back burner.
The Ambassadors (with side view)
This photo shows the side view of the painting where you can see how the lines sheer off over the edge. The white line of the drawing is actually the primed surface showing through, so when you actually view the piece in the flesh, so to speak, your eye fluctuates slightly between the painted surface and the line drawing below. This can give the impression that the line of the drawing vibrates slightly.
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
Hairy Tower Sketch
This sketch is of a sculpture that I've been planning for some time now. Its for a piece that would be a hybrid between my 'Fetish Tower' piece, which is made of human hair, and my sculpture, 'The City', which is predominently made of wood. It will be interesting to see how much the end result looks like this initial sketch.
Tuesday, 26 February 2008
'Spidie Pods' Print
Limited edition, hand-printed, silk-screen prints on acid-free Somerset paper. Signed and numbered. Edition of 300.
Title: ‘Spidie Pods’.
Dimensions: 58.3 x 53.9 cm.
Price: 100 pounds.
Artist: Wayne Chisnall.
To buy a print contact me at w.chisnall@vam.ac.uk
Alternatively you can buy this print from:
Beyond The Valley, 2 Newburgh St. London, W1F 7RD (020 7437 7338)
F-art, Cheshire St. off Brick Lane, East London (020 77295411)
Monday, 18 February 2008
Batman Skull Sketch
This is for an idea I have for taking some human skulls and altering them so that they appear to have morphed with aspects of certain super heroes. I think that this should be quite a fun project but I’m not too sure how original it is.
'Crutch & Tumour Box', Wayne Chisnall
Taking the construct of the box as a starting point, this piece pursues the biological anomaly of the cancerous cell as a mode of enquiry.
Whilst mimicking the out of control mechanism of the malfunctioning and self-replicating cancerous cell, the piece hopefully manages to convey a biomorphic presence.
Teetering like a top-heavy fraction, ‘Crutch & Tumour Box’s’ comical appearance is further heightened by the necessitation of its crutch section - a support that is deliberately undermined by the application of a wheel.
John Malkovich - On-Line Script Project
Ok – this isn’t, strictly speaking, artwork but I thought I’d include it in my blog anyway. One, because there was a certain amount of creativity involved and two, because I thought that it was fun.
Basically, I entered an on-line script writing competition run by Sony. In the competition entrants got to submit a 500 word section of script that had to follow on from a piece written by John Malkovich. Then it would get whittled down to five scripts, John would choose the winner and then the process would start over again.
Anyway – John chose my script, ‘Doppelganger’, as the winner of the first round and this is what he said about it:
“ … I’m going to go with the “Doppelganger” script. It’s clever, inventive, and somehow both surprising and inevitable. Very neatly done all in all.”
John Malkovich
Jan 4th, 2008
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
'Nail Box', Wayne Chisnall
‘Nail Box’ is a sculpture greatly indebted to and influenced by the minkisi artefacts of central Africa. Many of these ritualistic objects are carved wooden totems that have had nails and other metal items hammered into them. However, where as the minkisi derive their power from their contents, with ‘Nail Box’ I was trying to create something that’s presence was derived from its adornment of carefully selected nails and rusty metal. By bringing together so many items that had interacted with the elements and their specific environments I hoped to create a piece that would generate a cumulative resonance.
As is the case with many of my sculpture, the found materials used in this pieces’ construction were selected for their ‘resonance’ and collected over several years.
Whilst most of the metal items used in this piece were found in London, anywhere from the streets of Hackney to the inside of the Dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral, much of it was collected from the my travels around Britain and abroad, including Europe, Mexico, Cambodia, Thailand, Tunisia and India.
Considering the obsessive nature behind the way I collect and hoard the materials that I use in my work (you should see my studio – it is full of boxes of rubbish (a.k.a. treasure) – I fear that I am a lost cause), I see these sculptures as totems or magnifications of the ritualistic side of everyday life. Physical embodiments of the personal belief systems we all create around us.
Junk Metal Nest Sketch
I was surprised how coherently this sketch turned out. Originally I just set out to scribble down a rough idea for a spherical nest-like sculpture that I planned to weld together from bits of scrap metal.
Usually when I only have a vague idea for a piece, and no actual materials in front of me to draw from, the working drawing can initially look quite vague or messy (as I sketch out a rough image and then redraw over it – working it out as I go). Yet this one came out quite tight and finished, almost as if I was doing a drawing of a finished piece
As you can see, the exhibition is called A Gothic Story. The show is taking place in the suitably eerie surroundings of the Shoreditch Town Hall basement, in East London.
On Wednesday 25th June (6-8:30 pm) we will be having an opening night ahead of the official opening. So if anyone out there would care to join us for a free drink and a early view of the artwork, please feel free to come along.
Here are the details -
Address: Shoreditch Town Hall (basement), 380 Old Street, London EC1V 9LT
Opening Night: Wednesday 25th June (6:00 - 8:30 pm)
Exhibition Open: Thursday 26th June until Sunday 6th July, 1:00 - 6:00 pm daily
Nearest Tube: Old Street, Buses 243,55,505