Platform Gallery 2008 Exhibitions
Manipulate
15th March - 10th May 2008
Lisa Ellul pictured
Manipulate investigates the many ways that contemporary makers use their hands to fold, pleat and form materials. Using repetitive elements and processes, they investigate the nature of the 'fabric' itself (whether it be textile, metal, paper or clay) with delightful and breathtaking results. The exhibition draws together 15 makers working in various materials:
Sarah Brown is fascinated with the traditional techniques of bookbinding, through which she explores aspects of social history and science. "The techniques I use are often very repetitive and force a real engagement with the materials - I strive to create a balance between art and craft".
Minji Cho uses recycled objects (such as rubber gloves) to create jewellery that can be enjoyed both on and off the body. She celebrates the joy of making and the endless potential of the materials to be used in different ways.
Sarah Driffill makes contemporary jewellery and body adornment inspired by the forms, patterns and colours of fungi and the structures of their microscopic pores. Repetitive forms created from dyed mesh fabric over fine cotton are replicated many times to create vibrant, flexible and tactile pieces of jewellery that expand and stretch when worn.
Lisa Ellul is inspired by plant, bark and coral structures. Her ceramic forms are constructed from tubes or cones of clay organised into a structured formation. She aims for the work to have a dialogue between delicacy and solidity and texture and form.
Nawal Gebreel is a textile designer who specialises in fabric manipulation. Using sumptuous materials and colours, the fabrics are hand pleated to create sculptural forms that can be worn in a variety of ways to enhance and emphasise the human form.
Karina Gill produces small-scale metal bowls and jewellery influenced by colour, texture and repetition. Her organic and geometric forms in copper, steel, silver and brass are hammered and manipulated by hand, with rich surfaces created by etching and patination.
Becky Harle constructs unstable looking porcelain forms which appear to balance precariously, their fragile structures enforcing a feeling of awkwardness upon the viewer. The forms are wrapped in repeated layers, with increasingly difficult, dangerous and sharp edges.
Stine Jespersen creates ceramic forms from tubes and coils. "I chop and tear off pieces of clay, then pinch and press them together around plaster forms or in moulds. This act of repeatedly chopping, tearing, pinching and pressing creates a rhythm and a flow as slight variations between the elements naturally appear. It is like visual music".
Sarah Keay's jewellery explores the boundaries between jewellery, textiles and sculpture. Heavily influenced by botanical elements, the repetitive techniques used in the production of the pieces are mirrored in natural structures. She uses filament, precious beads and found objects alongside traditional construction techniques such as bobbin knitting and beading.
Hannah Lobley's Paperwork is a unique recycling technique that transforms the printed pages of unwanted books into a solid wood like material. Traditional wood working methods such as lathe turning are then used to create sculptural objects from the material. The surface, made from multiple layers of paper, echoes natural wood grain - wood becomes paper becomes wood.
Jessica Preston creates beautifully rich and intricate textiles that explore the possibilities of origami inspired techniques. Fabrics are hand dyed and treated, then manipulated into repeated, layered forms to create enticing, dynamic, sculptural patterns emphasised by contrasting palettes.
Clare Proctor uses hand felted fabrics and recycled materials in her unique sculptural forms. She replicates simple shapes to produce complex and multi layered objects and accessories. "I hope that I have produced objects that people find both intriguing and playful as well as beautiful."
Richard Sweeney manipulates pure white paper into amazing geometric forms based on mathematical principles. Richards's practice combines hand-craft with CAD and CNC manufacturing techniques, utilising the unique properties of mundane materials to discover sculptural forms.
Katherine Wardropper combines a personally developed 'Sculptural Fabric Technique' with a search to conjure up a sense of the 'marvellous' and 'extraordinary' into everyday life. The resulting fabric constructions in silks and satins are formed into 3-D patterns to create both decorative 'Wearable Art' and 'Sculpture' pieces.
Clare Webster transforms draping fluid fabrics into self-supporting structures by simple machine stitching and distortion. The repetitious nature of the pleats and tucks create structure and give movement to lifeless garment components that can be fastened together to reveal a multiplicity of possibilities.
For more information call Grace Whowell, Gallery Co-ordinator on 01200 443071
Platform Gallery, Station Rd, Clitheroe, Lancs BB7 2JT platform.gallery@ribblevalley.gov.uk
