Sunburn on the South Bank

Thanks to everyone who came along to the Writing On The Wall event at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank this Saturday just gone – especially Mr James White, without who’s assistance I definitely wouldn’t have got the sculpture finished in the allotted six hours.
At first we thought that we would pace ourselves in case we finished the piece before the 4 pm deadline but as 2 O’clock came round we suddenly got the fear as we realised that 2 hours to design, cut and sew a cloak (including making and attaching the arm sections) was not a lot of time. Fortunately we managed to complete the work with a few seconds to spare and judging from the amount of kids who were playing with it while we were still making it and the number of adults having their photos taken along side it, I think it was a successful project.
Even with the early morning start and the showery weather meaning that we had to move the roof-top after party downstairs to inside the Queen Elizabeth Hall, everyone involved seemed to have a great time. Apologies however to everyone if I wasn’t very chatty on the day but the mixture of sleep deprivation and sun burn had taken its toll. By 11 pm as the United Underground part of the event wound down I was definitely ready for bed (after a couple of quick pints in the pub first – obviously).

A5 Magazine – Hero Issue

Dreams of Being Batman, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

The new Hero issue of A5 magazine will be featuring a photo (taken on the set of the soon to be released feature film, ‘Scratch’) of my ‘Dreams of Being Batman’ sculpture. It is out now and features 65 works by 62 creators from all over the world. All images in the magazine appear in Black and white, printed on 72 pages and bound in a way that the pages can be easily separated and hung wherever where ever you wish. Each issue is printed in a limited edition of 1500 copies.

A5 Magazine is a non profit tri-annual printed magazine and presents works from various fields of art and design based on a given theme, with previous themes being Beginning, Fantasy, Obsession, Portrait, Future, Sex and Childhood.

You can see online versions of the mag at http://www.thea5magazine.com but I suggest checking out some of the hundreds of amazing and funny images that they have at - http://www.flickr.com/photos/a5magazine

The creative team behind A5 are Keren and Golan Gafni from Studio Keren and Golan in Tel-Aviv, Israel,graphic designers who specialize in the printed media and Tali Green, also a graphic designer.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=31345244810

http://www.behance.net/A5_Magazine

Corruption Incarnate (work in progress)

Corruption Incarnate (work in progress), originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

In preparation for tomorrow’s ‘Writing On The Wall’ at the South Bank I’ve been working on the framework for my piece – working title, ‘Corruption Incarnate’. As the theme for this event (organised by Ctrl+Alt+Shift) is Corruption, I’ve decided to have a bit of fun and on the day I will be creating a very over the top, camp-gothic creature – complete with dripping talons and a black cloak. To emphasize the corruption element the creature will be made out of dollar bills, have a gold snout that appears to be dripping black oil and have an exaggerated Nosferatu-like body.
The logistics of creating the framework for the sculpture have made this an interesting project to work on. And in some ways it will be a shame when I have to eventually cover the figure in its cloak, and hide the supporting armature. But that’s me I suppose – more interested in the process and the underlying structure than the end product.

To find out more about this event, check out –
http://www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk/#/Magazine/article/917

Spidey Pods Print

'Spidie Pods' Print, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

Roll up, roll up - You've seen the stickers - now buy the print.

I've been a bit remiss on the old salesman front lately so I thought it about time that I gave the Spidey Pods prints another mention. So here's the details -

Each print is a signed and numbered, limited edition 3 colour silk screen print on high grade, archival paper. Dimensions: 58 x 54 cm. Price: £100 unframed, although I do have a small number for sale, mounted in custom made, white, box frames for £150 (cost price for the frame). These framed prints can be collect direct from my Bethnal Green, London studio or delivered directly to London addresses. Anywhere outside of London and I can't guarantee that the picture glass will arrive intact so sorry but only unframed prints can be sent to these areas.

If you are interested in purchasing a print please contact me at waynechisnall@yahoo.co.uk

I thank you.

Art, Music & Party

Ctrl_Alt_WOW-flier1[1], originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

Well, Saturday 18th July looks like being a fun filled day. From 10 am till 4pm myself and a whole gang of artists will be creating artwork on the theme of ‘Corruption’, as part of Ctrl+Alt+Shift’s ‘Writing On The Wall’ event at the Southbank Centre (on the Riverside Terrace outside Queen Elizabeth Hall) in London. After the event finishes at 4 pm, all the work will be taken inside the Queen Elizabeth Hall where a winning piece will be selected. As to whether this is decided by the voting public or by a judging panel, I don't yet know. But whatever the outcome, I think that everyone involved is just looking to have a bit of fun on the day. To find out more about this event, check out –
http://www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk/#/Magazine/article/917

As the only 3D practitioner in the group (the others being graffiti artists) I was initially a bit worried as to what I could actually achieve, sculpturally, in just 6 hours. Normally I work to a calendar, not a clock. So I’ve come up with a compromise and have been working on some interconnecting components that can be assembled on the day. Is that cheating? Maybe. Also, I'd like thank fellow artist, James White, who has kindly agreed to double up as my glamorous assistant on the day. Don't worry - he's promised not to wear his little sequined number.

And if that is not enough for you then Ctrl+Atl+Shift will be hosting ‘UNITED UNDERGROUND’, a rooftop party later in the evening (5-11 pm, tickets £5 or £2.5 for students). Details of which can be found at -
http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/music/productions/united-underground-47150
or on the Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=98241873911

Below are a few details of the who and what will be going on at the party –

Music plus activism.

You don't have to leave London for a summer festival experience. Across the spaces of Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall - including the reopening of the roof as a venue space - hosted by Ctrl.Alt.Shift, British Underground and actor and musician Riz Ahmed/ Riz MC, United Underground is a unique mix of cutting-edge street culture, music, artwork, fanzines and film set against a backdrop of new-school activism.

The event has been specifically created to promote active engagement with new music and its potential as a catalyst for change.

An amazing line-up of artists and speakers so far includes:
Plan B
Mpho
Man Make Music
Bashy
Afrikan Boy
Professor Green
Ice Kid + Dirty Canvas
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
Illaman, Rattus Rattus, Klose One (Urban Nerds), Theoretical Girl, Gabriel Prokofiev, The Official Secrets Act (One Little Indian Records), Maverick Sabre, Nathan Flutebox Lee, Jamie Woon, True Tiger, Speakers Corner, Dj Djinn, Noel Clarke, Peter Kosminsky, Ali Alizadeh, London 4 London, London Coaltion Against Poverty, Countryside Alliance

United Underground takes place:
- On the Roof. Live music alternating with activists and speakers from across the cultural, social and political spectrum;
- Inside the Building. Live music and DJ sets hosted by London's best underground clubs; the live creation of a dedicated fanzine by Ctrl.Alt.Shift, documenting the event as it happens; and, new short films and features selected by talent spotters at Film London and Ctrl.Alt.Shift.

Ketos 2.0 – ‘Whaleless’ in Italy

I’ve just found out that my sculpture, ‘Poorly Remembered Whale’, (which had previously been showing at Strychnin’s Berlin gallery) is to now travel to Italy and go on show at the KETOS 2.0 exhibition. Below is the official press release with all the relevant details.

KETOS 2.0 is the title of the first “Whaleless” exhibition in a public space and will feature site specific installations and digital as well as fine art. It opens at the Civic Museum of Reggio Emilia, Italy on July 9th at 9pm.

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 they 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. The world would not be the same without whales, which is why action needs to be taken immediately.

The project "Whaleless" was born in 2005 on the pages of the Italian Pig magazine, created by the Italian curator Giovanni Cervi. In 2008 Whaleless started an international exhibition tour at Strychnin Gallery London. It has since travelled to major European cities and was shown at Strychnin Gallery Berlin in March 2009.

Artists featured in Reggio Emilia are:
Wayne Chisnall, Arianna Carossa, Squp, Zaelia Bishop, Aurélien Police, Giuliano Sale, Kokomoo, Tamara Ferioli, Bethany Marchman, LostFish, Lisa Mei Ling Fong, Ansgar Noeth, Karin Andersen, Mimi S, Fernanda Veron, Elena Rapa, Madeleine von Foster and Leonardo Betti.

"Whaleless" is realized with the kind support of PIG Magazine, Res Pira and of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, whose German office is based in Munich.

Musei Civici
Palazzo san Francesco, Sala Vallisneri
Reggio Emilia, Italy

Opening night: July 9th, 2009, 9 p.m.
End date: August 31st, 2009
Opening times: Thu - Sat 9 – 12 and 21 – 24; Sun 21 – 24

Losing it in Venice

What can I say about Venice Biennale 2009? Crazy, amazing, peculiar, debauched - but definitely not boring. Even if I did lose my mobile in one of the canals on my first night there I still had fantastic time. OK, I admit that losing ten years worth of telephone numbers (yes, I know - I should have backed them up) and the prospect of being without a mobile for a week might have put me in a bit of a bad mood for a while, but the circus that is Venice Biennale soon put pay to that.

I travelled over with fellow artist, James White, and in no time at all we bumped into several groups of people we knew or were about to know. It seemed that half of the London art scene was there. Our first night back at Camp Fusina, we popped over to the cabin opposite to borrow a corkscrew and found a room full of artists that we knew from back home. We also hooked up with the girls from WW Gallery and Pharos Gallery’s Sophie Wilson (who I partly blame for me losing my phone – things always get out of hand when she’s around) who curated the short lived ‘Travelling Light’ exhibition. The highlight of their opening night seemed to be when our Miss Wilson (who may or may not have been in a slightly intoxicated state) decided to clamber aboard a boat and then had to be helped off by a mysterious Russian who stripped naked and swam across the canal to her aid.

As for the artwork on show through out the Biennale – there were highs and lows (but mostly highs). Although there was the odd country that hadn’t quite grasped the concept of the whole event and just decided to stage a corporate-looking promotion of their home land, the vast majority really went for it. Of the collateral exhibitions I especially liked ‘Distortion’ from the UK, not just because it had work by some of my favourite artists but because they also had a very chilled out bar and nicely sheltered courtyard where we got to hang out with and meet lots of interesting people. And opposite from Distortion was the ‘Australia’ participation with one of the most impressive pieces I’d seen – a 30 ton monolith made out of video tapes, with the collective running time of all these tapes apparently lasting the current average life span. The most fun pieces that we came across had to be the interactive works by Miranda July (if you haven’t seen it, check out her film, ‘Me and You and Everyone We Know’). On the whole, there was just so much there that I could talk about - from the surprisingly moving Estonian entry about the Bronze Soldier Monument to the mesmerizing and roughly hewn, figurative wooden sculptures at the Italian pavilion - but the best plan would just be to go there for yourself and see as much as you can. And if you intend to go to the next one in two years time, my word of advice would be to go at the very beginning and crash as many of the opening parties as you can.
Several times I heard people mention that the Venice Biennale is like the art version of the Oscars. Well, I’ve never been to the Oscars but if they’re half as much fun as this was, they must be blood good.

V&A Museum - Friday Late View

V&A Friday Late View - May 2009, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

Well, the cut-outs seemed to go down very well at the museum's Friday Late View, even if one little girl did tell me that the St. George one needed a bit more colouring-in. Unfortunately she'd left her crayons at home and I needed a beer, so we were forced to leave it as it was. But, all four of the cut-outs were getting a lot of use and a lot of laughs so we let that one slide.

All in all it was a very busy day for me. Prior the setting up and taking down the cut-outs at the end of the night, I had to set up some of my artwork for an Art Investment Conference at the London Business School. I also met up with a couple of fantastic young artists who are setting up an artist residence program in Poland. Fingers crossed that I'll be involved in that one - it sounds incredible.

To see images from previous V and A Friday Late Views you can check out their flickr account at -
www.flickr.com/photos/fridaylate/sets/

Tomorrow 'Night at the Museum'

St. George V&A Cut-out, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

For a bit of fun why not pop along to the Victoria & Albert Museum’s 'Friday Late View' (nearest tube, South Kensington, London) tomorrow evening from 6:30 pm to 10 pm. This month’s event is based upon the theme of Photography. There are loads of free events, including a series of carnival cut-outs by fellow artist, Phil Sofer, and my good self. They are in the style of the old fashioned seaside cut-outs but based upon objects from the V&A’s collection. Here's one of me as a stained glass version of St. George sticking it to some poor lizard. So if you would like to join us, bring along your camera and you too could be one of the three graces, St. George, a statue of Queen Vic or have yourself devoured by Tipoo’s Tiger.
Among the evening’s interactive events, films, talks and displays there will be - From Daguerreotypes to Digital: A V&A Photography Trail, Road Dreams by Elliott Bristow, Photo Swap Shop, Green, Green Glass of Home by Liz Rideal, Opulent Dreaming by Neeta Madahar, Film Canister Jewellery, Carnival Cut Outs, Jem Southam and Sarah Pickering in Conversation with Martin Barnes, Elliott Bristow on Road Dreams and Photography and the Designed World.
For more information please check out - http://www.vam.ac.uk/activ_events/events/friday_evenings/friday_late/events/may09/index.html
I hope to see you there.

Vamalgam 4

Untitled Component Drawing, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

Because a lot of my sculptural work comes under the umbrella of assemblage I tend to collect large quantities of found objects and materials - always being drawn the things and forms that have a certain resonance, but not always knowing what I will eventually do with them.
In this drawing I have taken a few of these items and, without trying to concern myself too much over matters of how the individual forms relate to each other, I've attempted to morph them all together. This proved to be more easily said than done, as a life time of drawing, awareness of perspective and of trying to accurately create the illusion of 3D forms in a 2D plain can hard wire the brain to following certain rules. None the less I'm quite happy with how it turned out - there are some interesting connections going on. A friend recently said that there was a lot of sexual imagery in the piece. I'm not sure if that says something about him or me.
Anyway - this work has just gone on display in Vamalgam 4, the Victoria and Albert Museum's new staff show. This year's exhibition is the biggest of the four shows, with some of the best work yet. The work ranges from painting, to photography, to drawing, to mixed media and showcases the diverse creative abilities of the people who make up the V and A Museum.

Arty Business

LBS_Crossroads Art Exhibition set-up, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

I'd like to thank Julie Dagonet and the rest of the fantastic Crossroads Art Exhibition team at the London Business School for inviting me to be guest artist in their upcoming show. Above is a photo showing the setting up of the exhibition. It was refreshing to be involved in an installation where everything went smoothly – no tears and tantrums with this group. As far as I can remember this is the first time that I’ve had my work exhibited in a big office environment, and it works surprisingly well. There is a strangely surreal play between the everyday nature of the room and the work (looking like it has found itself somewhere that it shouldn’t be) – I love it.
The rest of the works on display are by members of the school community. Namely - Rikkya Oker, Dennis Valdez, Carl Clough, Kevin Talbot, Marie-Helene Dagonet, Shalini Chanda, Ninad Shinde, Denise Donoghue, Kyueun Han, Remi Savoya, Nina Kelemen, Caroline Bray, Juan Diego Sorbet Esnoz, Lok Ming Fung, Ming Gao, Yvonne, Svetlana Aslezova, Thibaud Simphal, and Erik Wilterding.
And considering that many of these people might not claim art to be their primary passion, there is some very accomplished work on show.
So Tuesday evening’s opening night looks to be quite exciting. Not only do we have Dean Andrew Likierman’s inauguration at 5:30 pm and the opening of the show in the Fairbairn Room at 5:45, there’ll be a concert in the Upper Quad at 6:16 pm, performed by students from the Royal Academy of Music. The performers are Midori Komachi on Violin, Helene Koerver on Viola and Alena Lugovkina on Flute. And the following day, May 27, we have LauYee Yeung on the Harp.

Edition / Power in Numbers (Opening Night)

Edition_Power in Numbers, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

Thank you to everyone who came along to Thursday's opening night of 'Edition / Power in Numbers' in Brick Lane, London. The turn out was unbelievable and the place was rammed, so sorry if I missed you in the crowd. Even the slight hitch of a temporary evacuation because of a suspected gas leak (in true British fashion everyone took the opportunity to nip outside for a cigarette) didn't seem to spoil everyone's fun.
With it being 'First Thursday' (when most of the East End galleries and museums stay open late) the rest of the FAD gang and I decided to check out the other shows in Redchurch Street and the immediate area. Needless to say - a few free drinks later, we all decided that the night was a great success.
For those of you who managed to make it there, I hope that you found something that took your fancy. I bought one of Mark McLure's fantastic prints with a built-in clock mechanism. And for those of you who couln't make it - the show is on till 27th May so there's plenty of time to nip down and get a bargain.

This Thursday - Meet The Artists

edition / power in numbers, originally uploaded by Random Boy.

Here's just a quick update/reminder about the opening of this week's 'Edition / Power in Numbers' art print show and sale. I'm very excited about it and am looking forward to meeting up with the other artists and getting my hands on some very fine (and ridiculously cheap) prints. Hope to see you there ;o)

Thursday 7th of May from 7pm at Bodhi Art Gallery on Brick Lane, London (opposite the bagel shops). 48 artists each with an edition of 50 hand pulled and numbered screen-prints (including a few surprises). The soundtrack will be provided by the sound doctor Rob-Tronica. All of the prints are being sold for £20 - we can only accept cash so bring a few notes with you! The show runs until the 27th of May 2009 - there are lots of events along the way - go to www.curestudio.com or www.twitter.com/curestudio to keep up to date with what is happening.

Artists in the show:
Alain Magallon / Alice Stallard / Camelia Dobrin / Brett One Side Zero / Charlotte Smith / Chris Floyd / Claudia Boldt / Dan Speight / David Gibbons / Emma Vorster / Emmi / Haruka Shinji / Heejohng Chae / Ivan Mayorquin / Jake Blanchard / Jez Burrows / Jim Smith / Josephine Spencer / Luke James / Marc Stewart / Mark McClure / Maxwell Harrison / Naíma Almeida / Niko / Patrick Savile / Peter James Field / Peter Stitson / Raymond Wong / Rose Stallard / Royal Glamsters / Sara Nesteruk / Sichi / Splendidhand / Stephen Chan / Steve Price / Steven Emmanuel / Stuart Chatman / Tom Baxter / Trisha McNally / Wayne Chisnall / Yann Brien / Austin from New / Random Boy / Ministry of Love / Baldrick Buckle

Images of printing:
http://snipurl.com/curestudio

Video of printing:
http://vimeo.com/channels/edition

Very Limited Edition £20 Print

Spidey Pods (original Sketch), originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

This is my contribution to the 'edition / power in numbers' show which is a screen-printing exhibition featuring the work of 40 artists. It is being curated and organised by Fred Higginson (Print Club London) and James Hurst (Cure Studio). The image is taken from one of my sketch books and is the original drawing that led to my recent edition of 3 colour Spidey Pods prints.
The exhibition includes work by artists from Pakistan, Germany, Isreal, France, Norway and the UK. It is a mixture of established and emerging artists. All of the work will be an edition of 50 - all of it will be one colour and all of it will have been hand pulled by either Fred or James.
All of the prints will be 50cm x 50cm and cost £20. Once a print has sold out, it has gone. There will be a cash only store at the gallery so if you're interested remember to bring cash, not cards.
The exhibition will take place from Thursday 7th (opening night) – Sunday 23rd May at the Bodhi Art Gallery, Brick Lane. The gallery is split across two floors with a cafe and bar area, and is situated in the heart of East London.
Throughout the life of the show there will be a shop based at the gallery selling copies of the work, an eclectic series of talks and events based around the theme power in numbers and a screenprint bed that will be used for live printing demonstrations and workshops.
Once the gallery show has closed we will continue to sell the prints at Bodhi Art Gallery, on the Print Monger market stall, online and at future events.

Swirly Skull

Swirly Skull, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

Here's my latest drawing, Swirley Skull. It's from a small series of skull sketches that I knocked out one night while finishing off a rather nice bottle of red wine. So I'm surprised that the lines turned out as neat as they did. I'm planning to use it in my next edition of screen prints - although I've not yet decided whether to add colour or just to go with black on white.

London to Venice

Fledgling Process Drawing, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

Here is my entry for the Travelling Light exhibition which will start off at the WW Gallery in London, then travel on to a palazzo between the Accademia Galleries and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, within the orbit of the Venice Biennale.
This piece is a large ink drawing on tracing paper, showing a small selection of redrawn images from my sketchbooks. The idea was to try and show some of the thought processes that I go through when I'm working on ideas for new work - and how some of the pieces evolve or morph into new ones. I don't think that it holds together as a conventional drawing but that wasn't really my intention when I started it. I wanted it seem more like a visual mind map where ideas leak into one another. It was an interesting piece to work on because I started to realise just how much of my work is influenced by earlier pieces that I've done, and by reoccurring themes that run through much of what I do.

So here's the details for the shows -
The exhibition starts off at the WW Gallery, running from 15-28 May, then moves on to Venice, running from 6-11 June. I'm hoping to make it over to Venice this year for the Biennale but if you can't make it that far then please come and join us for the opening party at the WW Gallery on Friday 15th May 2009 from 6-9pm.

WW Gallery
30 Queensdown Rd
London E5 8NN
07531342128
wwgallery@gmail.com
www.wilsonwilliamsgallery.com
Nearest stations: Hackney Downs
BR (5 mins from Liverpool St.), Hackney Central BR.
Open Sat-Sun 12-6pm and by appointment during exhibitions.

People Magnetism

Affluenza_PV (105), originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

I'd like to say thanks to everyone who came along to the opening night of the Affluenza Exhibition. The place was rammed and everyone seemed to be having a good time. One of the highlights of the night had to be the Dancing Karlz, the Militia Canteen's Busby Berkley-esque line up of line dancing Karl Largerfelds.
As usual, my piece, Magnet, lived up to its name and drew quite a bit of attention - the funniest being from a cute little Japanese child in a strange animal costume that was having to be constantly restrained by its mother and sister as it repeatedly lunged for the toys that make up the work. In the photo above you can see fellow artist, Matt Humphreys, re-enacting (with his usual exuberance) the child's mode of attack. To see a few more pics from last night's show you can click on the 'Exhibitions' box in the top left-hand corner of the page.

'Affluenza' - Underground Exhibition

Affluenza Venue, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

Here's a photo of the room in which I will be exhibiting my sculpture, 'Magnet', at next weeks 'Affluenza' show. I popped in last week to have a mooch around. The venue is amazing - it's all underground and covers 20,000 sq ft. For any of you out there who are into 'urban exploring' (you know who you are), here's a good opportunity to have a wander round a very interesting building, with lots of spooky passage ways, without the worry of being chased off by security guards.
So if you'd like to come along to the opening night party on Thursday 19th of this month (6-10 pm), the venue is 187-211 St. John's Street, Clerkenwell, London EC1 - you could even check out the artwork while you're there.

Whaleless Flyer

whaleless flyer, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

Here's the flyer for travelling exhibition, 'Whaleless', which features my 'Poorly Remembered Whale' sculpture (the show, not the flyer). After starting off last year at the Strychnin's London Gallery and travelling round Europe, the show will finally end up at their Berlin Gallery on March 27th. I don't know if I'll be able to make it to the opening night but I'm sure that the lovely ladies (and gentleman) of Strychnin will ensure that its a night to remember.

Affluenza Exhibition

Magnet, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

I've just found out that I've been selected to be part of next month's Affluenza Exhibition which is taking place in a 20,000 sq. ft. warehouse space in St. John St., Clerkenwell, London. Affluenza is organized in collaboration with the Samaritans.

For the show I will be exhibiting 'Magnet' (see image above), one of four pieces from my Tower Series. Below is some info on the show that I took from the Affluenza website, www.theaffluenzaexhibition.org.

The Affluenza Exhibition is a multi-disciplinary visual arts exhibition and series of talks and events taking place in Clerkenwell, London from the 19th – 28th March 2009.

The Term affluenza refers to ‘the disease of affluence’ as detailed in Oliver James’ book on the subject. He describes it as a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. By placing a high value on money, possessions, physical and social appearances, and fame, we fail to distinguish between what we need and what we want.

The project as a whole aims to inspire debate and awareness about the destructive impact of consumer values on the emotional wellbeing of society and hopes to suggest some constructive alternatives for the future via series of talks and events.

The exhibition aims to promote talented emerging artists by showing their work alongside the work of more established artists, thus creating an inclusive environment of creative exchange. In addition, we are encouraging artists who have a socially engaging artistic approach.

The work will be judged by a panel of high profile art industry professionals. The panel members are Jonathan Barnbrook (Barnbrook Design), Silvia Sgualdini (Lisson Gallery), Michael Czerwinski (Design Museum) and Hege Saebjornsen (Project Manager).

Any Old Iron... Any Old Iron

Mobile Citadel Sketch, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

I'm on the scrounge again. This time I'm looking for any old sheets of metal to make my new sculpture with. The more battered and corroded the better, but preferably not too thick - maybe 1-2 mm. Above you can see a quick sketch that I did which should give a rough idea of how the final piece might look.
The piece is for a new, 'A Gothic Story 2' (a follow up to the 'A Gothic Story' exhibition that I had work in last year), which will be held at Coal House Fort, a historic fortification on the Thames Estuary in East Tilbury, Essex, England. The exhibition will last for 3 months somewhere between May and September. It looks like it will also coincide with a Shakespeare company production of 'As you Like It', due to take place somewhere within the grounds.
I checked out Coal House Fort on the internet and found out that it is often used for film sets. In fact, the Chinese prison scenes in 'Batman Begins' were filmed there. Being a batman fan myself - this has got to be a good omen.

Pressy for President Obama

Chisnall_Spidie (5), originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

Since finding out that Barack Obama is a Spidey fan (Check him out on the front cover of the new issue (no. 583) of The Amazing Spider-Man comic) I thought that I'd send him one of my Spidey Pods prints as a welcom to office gift. I think it'll look good on the walls of the Oval Office, don't you?
After two terms with a super villain in power, let’s hope there will now be two terms of a super hero (fingers crossed).
As Spider-Man already knows, and President Obama is soon to find out, ‘with great power comes great responsibility’.

Obama was quoted last year in Entertainment Weekly as saying: “The guys who have too many powers, like Superman, that always made me think they weren't really earning their superhero status. It's a little too easy. Whereas Spider-Man and Batman, they have some inner turmoil. They get knocked around a little bit.”

'Chiaroscuro' Opening Night

I know this is a little late but I'd like to say thank you to everyone who made it to the opening night of our exhibition,'Chiaroscuro', before Christmas - and a great big thanks to Sophie Wilson (who can be seen in the above picture being groped by one of my sculptures) for all the hard work she put into the show as curator. The turn out was amazing and by the end of the night there were so many people crammed into the space that it was almost impossible to see the work.
To see more images of the opening night (including photos of the set up and some of the work) click onto the new 'Exhibitions' slideshow on the left-hand side of the page. I will be adding images from previous and up-coming shows to this slideshow at future dates.

Merry Xmas Everyone

T & Rudolf Xmas Card, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

After being inspired by my two young nephews' home-made xmas cards I thought I'd have a go myself.
Keeping it old school, I went for the low-tech approach and made my cards as lino prints.
So here is my contribution to this year's festive spirit. The image is of my my pet dinosaur,T, posing as Rudolf.

Merry Xmas everyone, and here's to a fun and creative 2009.

Tomorrow's Opening Party (Thurs 11th dec.)

Pharos Cyclops (1 of 2), originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

Just a quick reminder - tomorrow (if you're reading this after 11th December, then I'm afraid that you've missed it) we are having an opening party for our new Pharos show, 'Chiaroscuro'.

It's at 2A Ada Street, just off Broadway Market, London E8.

It kicks off at 6 pm and runs till 9 pm, although I dare say that we'll be continuing the festivities in the pub nearby - probably The Dove.

If you'd like to find out more about the 2 pieces that I made for the show please click on the image about and that should take you to my flickr account where I've waffled on about them at great (and possibly tedious) length.

Hope to see you there.

Whaleless Article

Whaleless Article - Italian Mag, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

This is an image of one of my sculptures, 'Poorly Remembered Whale', which recently appeared in an Italian magazine. I'm not actually sure which magazine it is or what the article says, as I don't speak any Italian.
The clipping was forwarded to me by Giovanni Cervi, the curator for the travelling show,'Whaleless', for which the piece was created.
The show started off at the Strychnin Gallery in London, earlier on this year, and will be ending up at Strychnin's Berlin gallery on 27th March 2009.
For more infomation about the show check out 'whaleless.blogspot.com' or 'www.strychnin.com'.

RCA Secret (The Hardcore)

RCA Secret 2008 (No 1), originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

I probably should have posted this message last week but you know how things are – busy, busy, busy. Anyway, I’d like to say a big hello to all the fantastic people that I met at the RCA Secret show a couple of Saturdays ago when the Royal College opened their doors for the sale of the postcards. I’d especially like to say hi to the hardcore few I met who chose to camp out days beforehand (you know who you are - you crazy bastards). And I must say that since being sent a link to a particular blog (rcasecret.blogspot.com), I’ve found myself surprisingly engrossed by everyone’s stories, and by strong community element of those who make what seems to be an annually pilgrimage to the event.

When one of the chaps that I spoke to showed me what cards he had bought, I instantly recognised one of them as being by a friend of mine, Josie McCoy. I had not seen it in the show, but in my defence I must say that I only managed to grab a quick look round beforehand.

Although I regularly contribute postcards to the annual RCA Secret event, this is the first time that I’ve actually turned up as a buyer. And to be honest, I only went this time because my raffle ticket (the first time I’d bought one) won and allowed me to be one of the first 50 in the queue. I must say that being one of the first 50 there was a slight temptation to go for work by the famous artists but that some how felt a bit disrespectful to all those who had braved the cold outside for days on end. Plus I thought it best to go for the ones that I liked. In the end I managed to get 1 of my 2 favourite pieces by an artist whose name I didn’t know at the time, but whose work I recognised (as is often the case, I remember the work but not the name) from a group show in Hoxton Square. It turned out to be by Elinor Evans. My other purchases were a couple of quirky drawings that just made me laugh and a fourth one that will be part of my girlfriend’s Christmas present (Holly, if you’re reading this, don’t you dare check out the RCA site and try to work out which one I got you).

So now I have 5 RCA Secret cards (yes, I know I said that this is the first time I’d bought any cards from the show, but a few years ago I won a Marc Quinn card in a Time Out competition – jammy or what?) in my collection. I’m starting to wonder if I’ve caught the bug and will become a regular in the queue. Only next year will tell.

'Scratch' film set

'Scratch' film set, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

I spent most of this weekend on the set of a new film ‘Scratch’. Why, I hear you ask? Well I’ll tell you. On my birthday I met an interesting young film director by the name of Jakob Rorvik. After checking out, and being very impressed with his work (check out his website – www.jakobrorvik.com) I was pleased to receive an email from him asking if I would like to have one of my sculptures, ‘And When I’m a Man’ (the big green model kit piece) feature in his new film, set in the art world of East London. Strangely enough the original location was going to be Candid Arts in Islington, where the piece is currently stored. I thought ‘bonus’ – I won’t have to move it very far. However, the eventual location was to be the Jago Gallery in Redchurch Street, Shoreditch – a gallery where I had previously exhibited. In the end we used four of my sculptures in the shoot – with the other three being ‘Dreams of Being Batman’, ‘Baby Kit’ and ‘Nail Box’. Someone joked that it looked like I was having a solo show.

Here is some info about the film, that I lifted from Jakob’s site -

Lena is a young art student new to London. Calling it her art project, she obsessively follows and takes pictures of an unwitting Sol; a scruffy, charismatic 20 year old, by all appearances homeless, who drifts around in numerous detached relations to people affiliated with the art scene.
Her project takes a wrong turn when Sol discovers her. Fascinated by her odd behaviour, Sol is now the one to follow her.
Against a backdrop of contemporary East-London, Sol and Lena gradually expose each other’s dreams, fears and lies.

The cast includes Viktoria Winge (Reprise), Luke Treadaway (Brothers of the head, War Horse), Patrick Kennedy (Atonement) and Montserrat Lombard (Ashes to Ashes, Vanilla Song).
The film is produced by Tamsin Lyons at the Oscar-Winning production company Breakthru Films and Yngve Sæther at Motlys.

'Chiaroscuro' Exhibition

Pharos_flier, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

I know we're not far off the office party season but if you are free on the 11th December you are warmly invited to the opening party for the new show that I will be exhibiting in. For the exhibition I have created two new pieces (one of which can be seen in the flyer above). They are called the 'Pharos Cyclopes' and they look a little like a cross between victorian robots and mobile CCTV cameras. The lights that project from their single eyes is a reference to the ancient light house of Pharos, from which our group takes it's name. In the show, curated by Sophie Wilson, I will be exhibiting alongside 16 other fantastically talented artists - all of which are listed in the details below. So, I hope to see you there.

Pharos Gallery presents 'Chiaroscuro' (currated by Sophie Wilson).

Venue: Ada Street Gallery
2A Ada Street
(off Broadway Market)
Hackney
London E8 4QU

Dates: 12 - 19 December 2008.

The private view will be on 11th December (6-9pm).

Artists: Ania Dabrowska, Andy Wicks, Ryan McClelland, Eva Lis, Lucy May, Ella Thumim, Karl England, Neil Seligmann, Stephen Morallee, David Rusbatch, Ben Yates, Alex Booker, Wayne Chisnall, Lizzie Gosling, Taren MaCallan-Moore, Rita Soromenho and Hannah Dakin.

RCA 'Not So' Secret

RCA Secret 2008 (No 2), originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

It's that time of year again - where the Royal College of Art puts on it's annual 'RCA Secret' show - an exhibition of thousands of postcard sized artworks that are exhibited anonymously and sold to raise money to help support it's students. Last year Paula Rego, Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst were among the artists who made original postcard-sized art for this unique exhibition.

This is one of four postcard pieces that I made for this year's RCA Secret. Yes... I know it's meant to be a secret, but for anyone who's seen this blog or my Spidey Pods prints before, it's not going to be too hard to guess which ones are mine.

The Exhibition opened at the Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU on Friday 14th November and runs till Friday 21st November 11-6pm, with a late opening on Thursday 20th November until 8pm. Free admission.
The postcards are available for viewing on their website from Friday 14th November.
The Sale will be on Saturday 22nd November from 8am.

To purchase a piece from the show you must Register in advance of the Sale, which you can do by filling out a Registration Form.
First-Fifty Raffle tickets for a chance to win a place at the front of the Sale queue will be on sale at the Exhibition, until one hour before the close of the exhibition on each open day.

Price per postcard: £40. Postcards will only be available to purchase in person at the Sale. If you would like to make a purchase, it is recommended that you prepare a list of cards in advance, as the exhibition will not be open for viewing on the morning of the Sale.