Introducing... Jo Dunn

Si: Hi Jo, welcome to the Stations of the Cross exhibition. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your work?

Jo: Hi Si, thanks for having me. I'm a painter and animator. I was born and grew up in Liverpool - I trained in Fine Art in Liverpool and Leeds in the early 1980s. Over the last 30 years I have managed to keep making art by supporting myself in a variety of ways. It's not always been easy - and there have been some dark times - but things are working out okay at the moment. In the nineties, I focussed a lot on animation - which is a very time-consuming, but rewarding, process. My short films were shown at film festivals around the world and won awards. In the last few years I've spent more time painting. There is an audience for my work - I've exhibited a lot and sold paintings.

Si: I think that your work has that strong sense of place about it and I love that - even the more fluid, abstract-y pieces feel very grounded in a specific location. 

You clearly enjoy mark-making and that dance of the brush across the paper...

Jo: Yes, mark-making is what it's all about. Heheh - dances with brushes, I like that. One critic called my work a 'ballet' with paint across a blank piece of paper. But I don't think about it in those terms. There has always been an element of landscape in my work - well, it is a British tradition in art, isn't it? And you're right, a lot of my abstract work is inspired by landscape - or where I am at the time. I was young when I learned that a landscape can be a metaphor for emotion - or anything, in fact. So I would say that my work is about feeling as well as place. The brush marks or the pencil marks, whatever, they are what create the mood of the piece.

Si: I know that you love to get out into the landscape and draw, but I was wondering how much of your work is done out there on the spot and how much is made back in the studio...?

Jo: Well, that depends on a few things - the weather, the time of year, the location and so on. And my mood. Yes, I do a lot of drawing outside. I can talk and draw at the same time (usually) but painting is a different matter. The act of painting - to me - is an immersive experience, like talking to your God. I'm not saying that my art is my god - but it is not a trivial thing that I can do with my mind on something else. It's easier for me to paint when I'm alone. And it's hard to be alone outdoors in Leeds 8. A lot of my recent paintings of Gledhow Valley Woods are painted outdoors - at the moment I'm lucky enough to live next to the woods, so I just have to haul my gear out into the garden. Also sometimes I draw or paint from memory - and that's good, because it goes back to what I was saying about the feeling of a place.

Si: I love that idea of making art being like talking with god. I think that the exercise of creativity, art-making, is akin to a sacred ritual in many ways. Certainly the act of creation is a holy one... which leads me to wonder what the role of the artist is. 

There have always been artists with a very keen commercial instinct and a careerist outlook, but I know a lot of artists who would regard what they do more as a vocation or a calling...

Jo: Talking with god, yes... we all do it in our own way, we just might not describe it like that. Many artists through the ages have worked for god. I feel lucky to be born in the twentieth century - for one thing I didn't have to spend my life decorating a page of holy scripture - I can paint what I choose. As for our role, I think artists have to find their roles in society - and it's not easy. My role has always been there - but there were times I couldn't see it. Other people have helped me find the place I should be with my work. There's a lot of distraction. I am fortunate that I can sell my images - to an extent the commercial aspect reinforces the so-called 'calling' to be an artist. But you have to make sure it doesn't take over - I wouldn't feel like an artist if I had to make concessions to money all the time.

You can see more of Jo's work on her website here - http://jodunn.co.uk/ - and also during the Roundhay artists' open studios event on april 26th...

Introducing... Chloe Smith

Chloe Smith is a Roundhay-based printmaking artist. She uses a variety of techniques in her work, predominantly multi-plate or reduction lino cuts.

She draws inspiration from the often chaotic experience of life as a mother of young children, and also from the peace and solace that she finds in nature and the Yorkshire landscape.

We asked Chloe to tell us about five objects that have some sort of resonance for her and her work...


"Simple landscape shapes...

Small pot of sand

This sand is the colour of ginger nut biscuits and came back with me from the Sahara desert. 

The pot of sand takes me back to the endless soft rolling hills of the dune and the simplicity of the desert landscape." 

"Pattern and design...

Silver bird necklace

I have always loved the contemporary design of this necklace combining the pattern and the birds. I am inspired by how pattern is used in jewellery design."

"Nature...

Pussy Willow

Pussy Willow is one of my favourite plants. The cut stems will last years in a vase if left alone. The buds remain soft and the colours muted. I love the look of them, the colours and the texture."

"Bold colour...

Red drawers

Bought and stained red in the 1970s by my parents, these drawers were in my childhood bedroom and still brighten our hall today. Bold colour is important."

"Yorkshire grit...

'Growing Pains' An Autobiography by Emily Carr

Emily Carr's determined approach to her work and life inspire me to do more - stop dithering and get on with it. Her autobiography makes me want to trek across the Canadian Rockies with my sketchbook though Otley Chevin makes do. Her drawings and paintings were before their time too."

You can see more of Chloe's work on her tumblr.

Chloe'll also be taking part in the Roundhay artists' Open Studios event on April 26th.

Work in Progress... Phill Hopkins

"I've had the painting by Rubens of Christ being taken down from the Cross in my mind since I was invited to make a station. After my usual thinking, of going 'round the houses, I've started work in my studio on the piece. I've noticed in the Rubens that, although many of the people are trying to grab hold, the figure of Christ seems to be slipping away, ready to leave the painting".

Phill Hopkins

www.phill-hopkins.co.uk

PRESS RELEASE 1

LEEDS ARTISTS COMBINE TO REFLECT EASTER JOURNEY

Artists from Leeds’ thriving art scene are joining with St Edmunds Church, Roundhay in April 2015 for a unique exhibition of reflections on the Easter journey.

The Stations of the Cross will feature work from fourteen Leeds-based artists, each focusing on a different stage of Jesus’ path to the cross. The show will include sculpture, painting, video, installation and drawing, and hopes to open up some fresh insights on a familiar narrative.

The featured artists come from a range of Christian traditions, as well as those from other faiths or with no religious faith. Sculptor Jon Vogler, one of the featured artists, is a long time member of the St Edmund’s congregation. He explains the significance of the Stations of the Cross:

‘Art seeks to visualise the unimaginable. Since the Middle Ages, the Stations of the Cross have helped believers imagine how one man confronted agony, despair and the finality of death to redeem broken humanity. I am thrilled and fearful to follow great artists who have tackled this awesome subject.’

Exhibition curator Si Smith stressed that the exhibition is open to all:

‘Art provokes thought. Our aim is to stimulate some thinking and discussion about the significance of the Easter story today, rather than seeking to provide pat answers. The recent fuss surrounding Stephen Fry’s comments about God remind us that Christian tradition has never hidden from the issue of suffering. The Stations of the Cross exhibition will help people to reflect on how we make sense of that.’

The Exhibition will run from 26^th April to 20^th May 2015 at St Edmunds Church, Lidgett Park Road, Roundhay LS8 1JN

 It is curated by Si Smith, a Leeds-based artist and illustrator. He has previously exhibited work in St. Edmund’s church and curated shows and events at the Left Bank venue in Burley and the Greenbelt festival.

Issued by Stations of the Cross

For more information, contact Si Smith
si@simonsmithillustrator.co.uk

Introducing... Jay Gadhia

In this second 'Introducing...' post, Curator Si Smith talks with Jay Gadhia about the theraputic value of creating, looking up, and whirling, dervish-like. 

Si: Hi Jay, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Jay: I am a practicing artist and run my own studio.  I don’t consider myself to have a particular style and transiently flow between disciplines as the mood strikes.  I paint, draw, create installation and sculpt.  For me, the process is often as important as the work produced at the end.  A testament to the process.  Being process led is a safe space akin to a meditative process and often find myself creating work that incorporates repetitive patterns or forms or actions almost making the act of creating art a mantra or prayer. I often find myself lost in the work and consider the practice of making a pure form of divine magic and a type of therapy. 

Si: You've produced work for a couple of other shows that I've curated, and I loved those pieces, so when you agreed to make something for this exhibition I was really pleased :-)

Those other shows were both on an advent theme, and for the first one, back in 2009, you created this beautiful, fragile, sculptural piece on the theme of the magi...

Jay: The Magi piece stemmed from the Persian origin of the kings.  The line of scripture ‘We have seen his star in the East and have come to worship him’ was brush painted repeatedly in what looked like Arabic script but was actually in English on strips of paper.  I also incorporated henna footprints leading towards the light to represent their journey.  I wanted to create an ethereal magi-cal feel to  the piece that forced the viewer to look up in awe.  In the end, isn’t that what we all want and need. Something to look up to and believe in…

Si: Job done with that piece, then - I think it had the desired effect :-)

One of my favourite memories of that show was from a morning when a school group came to visit. At one point, one lad had somehow got himself inside the 'tent' of paper strips and was spinning round in there with his arms outstretched...

there was this mad scramble of teaching staff to remove him before he did any damage, but i loved the way that he just wanted to interact with it...

Jay: I love the fact this brave child dared to cross the socially accepted boundaries reacted to the work in such a physical way.  I like the idea that he flung his arms up spun like a whirling dervish in a trance.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be that free…

Si: Then for the 2012 'ADVENTurous' show, your piece was about the virgin Mary...

Jay: This was quite an emotionally fraught piece.  I really thought about what it must have felt like for Mary to have been given the news that she was to give birth to the saviour of the world.  I created an installation using repeated red prayer strings and beads. The prayer strings lead to a 3 holder candle stick representing the trinity.  In the central candle space I placed a pregnancy test kit and had the red prayer string trapped inside to show ‘Pregnant’ but by the power of the holy spirit.  Again, the repeated form making the prayer strings and attaching the tumble stone beads became a meditative process in order to represent the power of prayer…

Si: And now, looking forward to the Stations of the Cross exhibition - you're tackling the point in the narrative where Christ meets his mother... I think that there are potentially some strong connections back to those previous two works in that. So I was wondering whether you feel that link might carry through into the piece that you're planning to make now...?

Jay: I agree.  There is a recurring theme of a very human reaction to Biblical or divine figures throughout my work.  In the video installation I am using a line of scripture to explore parental relationships to try and understand what Mary must have felt at Station 4 witnessing her given son be condemned.  The piece is called ‘…And a sword will pierce your own soul too…. ’ (Luke 2v35).  I will be using footage of open heart surgery overlaid with submitted written statements from parents discussing their parental bond and what advice they would give their children to pass onto their children long after they have passed.  It is a subject that I am sure many parents think about but rarely discuss with anyone outside their own families.  I hope this piece allows a forum to explore and create a dialogue about a very powerful and sensitive area, but nonetheless key aspect of all our lives – as parents – and as children.

Si: So if people wanted to get involved, how could they do that?

Jay: I am looking for written contributions from across all family and parental groups, and from those who do not have children, for whatever reason. The questions that I would like the volunteers to answer are:

·         Give one piece of advice you would you give to your children to pass on their children?

·         Parenthood means…?

·         What’s the biggest sacrifice you have given for your child? 

·         What legacy would you want to leave to your children? 

You can chose to answer one, all or give a response of your own.  I will then edit down the responses to use in the installation and all submissions will be anonymised.

Please send the responses to: jayartstudio@sky.com

(photos © barnaby aldrick)