Season's Greetings

 

(In) The landscape darling © Kate Elliott

 

Wishing you all a happy 2014!

Open Factory - 18 December

The month-long occupation of the Farringdon Factory culminates in a one day event on 18 December from 
13:00 - midnight. For information on times of screenings and events click here.

 

                            The Factory © Kate Elliott 2013

To an outsider 20 Farringdon Street appears to be out-of-service. An unregulated and unlit building whose surfaces have lost their gleam; an out-of-date monument to the not-so-distant past. Situated in the City of London, the surrounding architecture is permanently illuminated as the bulk of multinational corporations forms the backdrop to the labours of a workforce that operates into the night. 20 Farringdon Street is a seven-story building that has been stripped back to its skeletal structure. It is a hermetically sealed space formed of a series of cavernous L-shaped rooms which each encompass an entire floor of the building. 

Between the 25 November and 18 December, this empty space operates as the Farringdon Factory; an open studio complex for live events, screenings and installations, performances and talks. 

The Factory Cinema is located on the ground floor and will host a programme of short films made by both resident and invited artist/filmmakers. This curated programme will seek to connect the studio practice upstairs with both visitors and the pedestrians on the street, locating the building itself as a unique site for observation and discussion.

The Factory builds upon research by artists Natasha Cox and Keira Greene, whose collaborative practice engages with the construction of the photographic image and the mechanisms of cinema.

Resident artists include:
Max Atkins, Cilla Berg, Verity Birt, Lucy Clarke, Alex Culshaw, Amy Dickson, Hazel Dowling, Kate Elliott, Stephen Emerson, Sara Hibbert, Elizabeth Homersham, Emily Iremonger, Rebecca James, Benji Jeffrey, Ann-Marie LeQuesne, Genevieve Lutkin, Girolamo Marri, Bella Marrin, Ella McCartney, Emma McGarry, Isobel Mei, Justine Melford-Colegate, Jenny Berger Myhre, Karolina Magnusson Murray, Mette Boel Olesen, Karolina Raczynski, Annette Robinson, Jack Strange, Will Ward, Bea Wilson.

Click here to visit the Farringdon Factory website, and here for the Farringdon Factory's Facebook page.

Farringdon Factory - The Seagull

This work is being made as part of the Farringdon Factory. Click here for further information.

Farringdon Factory - FF 25.11.13

Using 20 Farringdon Street as a site for observation I am currently working on a few mini-projects, some linked, some not. A couple of days ago I made a series of portraits FF 25.11.13. I am interested in exploring the gap between our inner selves and the outside world, and in creating a dialogue between the internal and external (both physically and emotionally), and the still and the moving-image.

This work is being made as part of the Farringdon Factory. Click here for further information.

                            FF 25.11.13 © Kate Elliott

Farringdon Factory

The Farringdon Factory is a month long residency, curated by artists Keira Greene and Natasha Cox, during which I, along with around 20 other artists, have full reign of a huge, disused office space on Farringdon Street. Here's a film snippet I took during the first visit to the space (with artist Emma McGarry).

20 Farringdon Street is a seven story building in the City of London. A structure that has been stripped back to its basic form, it is a soundproofed expansive space with enormous, lengthy rooms which look out over the energy of the passing city. The hum of the building's past activities echoes in this suspended space-in-waiting. 20 Farringdon Street has six L-shaped floors, identical in dimension and vacuity. Each is a blueprint of the last - like a strip of film waiting to be exposed.

From the 25th November to 19th December, this empty space will become the Farringdon Factory, a seven story open studio complex whereby the curators and resident artists will plan live events, screenings, and installations, performances and talks.

The ground floor will be transformed into a constructed cinema, a space that encourages discursive engagement. The facade is glass fronted, and passers­‐by will encounter screenings and events as they filter down through the many levels of the building, and will be invited to become part of the project in this communal and public space. Resident artists, along with invited speakers, will present events that examine methods of research and production linked to both film-making and the temporality of the site. This curated programme will run during the residency and will seek to connect the studio practice upstairs with both visitors and the pedestrians on the street, locating the building itself as a unique site for observation.      
    
  
  

One day in a forest in Autumn

Peter and David at Four Corners - installation shots

 

(left to right) Lee Milne, Kate Elliott, Richard Kolker

 

(left to right) Lee Milne, Kate Elliott

 

The Study of Peter Pan and The Study of David, Kate Elliott

 

  

The Study of David

Close-up of The Study of David

 

The Study of Peter Pan and The Study of David

 

 The Study of Peter Pan

Peter and David is a two-part contrasting photographic installation which explores notions surrounding representation, beauty and youth. The first part – The Study of Peter Pan – is a series of nine photographic portraits in which the camera follows the subject through a 360 degree turn. It aims to capture someone at a point in adolescent development between childhood and adulthood, and to freeze that moment, the title of the work referencing the well-known mythological character of Peter Pan. The second part – The Study of David – is a site-specific montage of photographic images, depicting a replica of Michelango’s figure of the biblical hero, David. Through the process of editing and layering, David's body is gently and subtly remoulded and transformed from the original into something new.


Peter and David was exhibited at Four Corners between 15-25 October 2013. It formed part of the second exhibition in the Four Corners 10x10 Exhibition Programme, and was showing alongside work by artists Richard Kolker and Lee Milne.

Private View - 10x10 at Four Corners

Last night saw the opening of Peter and David at Four Corners gallery in Bethnal Green. The exhibition continues until Friday 25 October.

Peter and David forms part of the second exhibition in the Four Corners 10x10 Exhibition Programme, and is showing alongside work by artists Richard Kolker and Lee Milne. 

Click here for further information.

 

Photos from the Private View 

Peter and David is a two-part contrasting photographic installation which explores notions surrounding representation, beauty and youth. The first part – The Study of Peter Pan – is a series of nine photographic portraits in which the camera follows the subject through a 360 degree turn. It aims to capture someone at a point in adolescent development between childhood and adulthood, and to freeze that moment, the title of the work referencing the well-known mythological character of Peter Pan. The second part – The Study of David – is a site-specific montage of photographic images, depicting a replicate of Michelango’s figure of the biblical hero, David. Through the process of editing and layering, David's body is gently and subtly remoulded and transformed from the original into something new.


On Saturday 19 October, 14.30-16.00, Lee Milne and I will be at the gallery, talking about our work (anyone is free to come along - no booking required).

Exhibition Dates: 15-25 October
Four Corners 121 Roman Road, Bethnal Green, London E2 0QN
Gallery Opening Hours: 10.00-18.00 Monday to Sunday
Admission Free

Home Truths Portraits

Last week I photographed the Private View of Home Truths: Photography, Motherhood and Identity, curated by writer and curator Susan Bright, at The Photographers' Gallery in London, 

The exhibition aims to challenge long held stereotypes and sentimental views of motherhood. It continues until 5 Jan 2014, and is definitely worth checking out if/when you are in central London.

Below are three portraits of three of the exhibiting artists in front of their work.

Elina Brotherus

 

 Ana Casas Broda

 

Elinor Carucci

Click here for further information about the exhibition.

EXHIBITION - 10x10 at Four Corners

Exhibition Dates: 15 - 25 October

Private View: Wednesday 16 October 18.30-20.30

Artists in Conversation: Saturday 19 October 14.30-16.00 

Four Corners 121 Roman Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 OQN

Gallery Opening Hours: 10.00-18.00 Monday to Saturday

Admission Free

Peter and David forms part of the second exhibition in the Four Corners 10x10 Exhibition Programme, and will be showing alongside work by artists Richard Kolker and Lee Milne.

The Study of Peter Pan (Untitled 8) © Kate Elliott

Peter and David is a two-part contrasting photographic installation which explores notions surrounding representation, beauty and youth. The first part – The Study of Peter Pan – is a series of nine photographic portraits in which the camera follows the subject through a 360 degree turn. It aims to capture someone at a point in adolescent development between childhood and adulthood, and to freeze that moment, the title of the work referencing the well-known mythological character of Peter Pan. The second part – The Study of David – is a site-specific montage of photographic images, depicting a replicate of Michelango’s figure of the biblical hero, David. Through the process of editing and layering, David's body is gently and subtly remoulded and transformed from the original into something new.


10x10 is a fast moving, ten week programme of exhibitions and events that presents ten projects by ten artists/photographers on Four Corners New Creative Markets programme.

For further information about the Exhibition Programme please follow this link.



Exhibition: This 'Me' of Mine - Ipswich Art Gallery

On Saturday 21st September This 'Me' of Mine opened at Ipswich Art School Gallery. The exhibition continues until 5th January 2014.

I am showing two images from my latest project, The Study of Peter Pan. The full series will be unveiled next month in Peter and David at Four Corners Gallery, London. 

Below are a few photos I took at This 'Me' of Mine Private View.

This ‘Me’ of Mine is a touring contemporary art exhibition which looks at self in relation to context. It will present issues of socialization and the influence of social groups and our connection to objects as a means to express emotion and to hold memories. The passage of time, limitations imposed by circumstance, and the effects of living in a digital age will also be explored. 

Artists include: Aly Helyer, Edd Pearman, Darren Nixon, Hayley Harrison, Melanie Titmuss, Annabel Dover, Kate Murdoch, David Minton, Anthony Boswell, David Riley, Sandra Crisp, Sarah Hervey, Shireen Qureshi, Cathy Lomax, and Jane Boyer. Plus guest artists: Molly Behagg, Edward Chell, Kate Elliott, Suzanne de Emmony, Andrew Litten, Gary Mansfield, Helen Scalway, Lisa Snook, Jacqueline Utley and Kai-Oi Jay Yung. 

The exhibition is curated by Jane Boyer, and supported by the Arts Council, England.

On 2nd November 2-4pm there will be a symposium: Identity in the Digital Age. Click here for more information and to buy tickets. 

Ipswich Art School Gallery 1 Upper High Street, Ipswich, IP1 3QH
Private View: 21 Sep 2013 2pm - 5pm
Exhibition dates: 21 Sep 2013 - 05 Jan 2014
Opening times: Tuesday-Sunday - 10am to 5pm

Cornwall Portraits

Here are some portraits I took last week during a family holiday in Cornwall. I wanted to test out the new formula colour shade Impossible film. 

It was sunny and windy and wet and sandy. Despite the yellowy/cyan cast, I kind of like the results.

Recent commission

Artist Sophie Smallhorn recently commissioned me to document her latest public artwork - a glass canopy linking two buildings in Victoria. 

It is a beautiful piece, which plays with the light, changing throughout the course of the day and interacting with the people below. Here are a few photographs from the shoot. 

Place of Work: (Whitechapel) - installation shots

Installation shots of Place of Work: (Whitechapel) including two of my photographic prints (20"x24") -  

(In) The landscape darling (Untitled 1) and (Untitled 4)

Exhibition continues until 2 August at East Street Arts Show Space
4 Warren Street, London W1T 5LJ 
Opening times: 12 - 2pm, 5 - 7pm

Artists include: Asa Desouza-Jones, Carolyn Moon, Charlotte Hailey-Watts, Chris Potts, Claire McArdle, Eleanor Fawcett, Emma Frank, Pennicott + Fleming, Jo Melvin, Justine Pearsall, Kate Elliott, Linda Himbert, Louise Southgate, Luke Drozd, Maggie Nightingale, Michael Lawton, Michal Tkachenko, Michele Fletcher, Miles Lauterwasser, Patricia Pisanelli, Patrick Lears, Quay Hoang, Rosie Gibson, Elvira Oddy, Sarah Barrett, Sian Collins, Stuart Bannister, Syara Ahmed, Thom Walker.

Click here for more information about the series (In) The landscape darling