Performances, films and Exhibition – 27 February

Performances by Vidmante Cerniauskaite and Wanda Zyborska

Performances:

An Experiment – Vidmante Cerniauskaite

What didn’t he do so that he would be what he already was without trying to be what he already was

What didn’t he try he sang in a choir bought several ties shoe polish a full length mirror joined the Wildlife Society

All in vain he thought after all, it’s impossible to become what you already are when you try to be what you already are then you are not already what you already are

What didn’t he try that he might become what he already was so he would already be what he already wasn’t

And he thought, Lord, what if someone saw me? How embarrassing he thought while it’s not too late I must run

And he broke into a run knowing that he wasn’t running by himself in the way he would run for himself in the way he would run without trying to run as if he were running without trying as one really runs

However much he tried not to try it was still trying to try not to try

How ridiculous he thought how ridiculous this whole thing is it would seem that someone is trying to mislead me so I’d become even more confused

But it’s impossible to run so that you don’t run and still you must run so that it doesn’t look as if running you’re trying not to run because it just may be that a higher force is watching

If you were to stop he thought, then again you wouldn’t be stopping by yourself wanting to be what you already are not running and therefore you must run to run away somehow from this silly running

And he runs with the feathers from his pillow clinging to him with eyes that don’t see he runs to be first and is chased by the bodiless forces of several worlds

Repeat Transgressions – Wanda Zyborska, Music by Ann Matthews

As a child Wanda used to look at her mother’s medical books when she was at work (against her wishes): the before and after pictures, especially of skin diseases. Later Wanda became interested in the different aesthetics used to represent women in different contexts. For example, even in contemporary women’s magazines, in adverts for hair removal or fat reduction the old medical aesthetic comes back; for the ‘before’ pictures anyway. The women in the ‘before’ pictures always look slightly abject, their posture is slumped or careless, the lighting unflattering. It is a bit like the mug shots taken of criminals. In the past women who have wanted to make representations of aging or surgery, Jo Spence for example, have used this aesthetic in a challenging way. More recently artists have used glamour shots similar to those in the film, fashion or sex industries. In Repeat Transgressions Wanda attempts to find something else, something more surreal, and more universal, while relating it to her own very personal experiences of surgery, and her interest in performative becoming. In her work Wanda shows that which is usually concealed, to make public the private struggles between ego and unconscious, the delight of the new and the fear of the unknown.

Exhibition:

Vidmante Cerniauskaite, Robert Moon and Lola O’Reilly. Vidmante, Robert and Andrew were artists in residence during the month of February. Lola was artist in residence in January and Wanda artist in residence August 2014

Robert Moon displayed sculptural works completed in 2014 made from canvas and hessian and new work completed during his residency. His residency aim was to respond to the mountain landscape and the topography of slate quarrying within it.

Lola O’Reilly exhibited copper plate drypoints printed on paper, hand-dyed with plants from around Corris and paintings on slate, as well as larger studies on paper of the local landscape – drawn from initial sketches done in situ, memory and feeling.

Films:

Failing to Matter – Wanda Zyborska, Veronica Calarco and Robert Zyborski

Where’s Ruth – Ben Partridge

First shown in the ICA London in 2012, Where’s Ruth was produced for Straight 8, a film competition that requires Artists/filmakers to shoot of film on a single roll of super 8 film stock, with no post production or editing. The films are submitted undeveloped and seen for the first time by their makers and general public at the screening. A combination of live action and stop motion and shot in Aberystwyth University’s iconic School of Art, the film explores the consequences of pushing art student’s, and their equipment, past breaking point.

Stone Bone Boogie Printanimation 2010 – Gini Wade

Life and Death are indivisible. Atoms dance even in stone and bone. Dance is the essence of life and the human skeleton symbolizes Death. Stone Bone Boogie investigates the possibilities of extending still images drawn on a lithographic stone into the realm of movement, in other words, bringing them to life. Gini’s starting point was to watch many hours of dance videos on Youtube. She made drawings of Fred Astaire in action, that were the basis for two large lithographs showing a skeleton and a silhouette in 60 different dance positions. These were scanned into a computer. Gini’s next task was to find a suitable soundtrack. “Soul Power” by Kokolo, a New York band, was perfect as it references skeletons. The length of the animation was decided by the track- just over three minutes. Next a storyboard was made, planning each frame – using six frames a second.