Both Ends Burning
"Now my course is plain as day
Running bold across to play
Both ends burning with a strange desire
That feeds the fire in my soul tonight
I will dance the night away
Living only for today"
Roxy Music In the run up to Christmas, WW will be burning the midnight oil to bring you new work by 11 selected artists responding to ideas of dualism and polarity.
Through drawing, painting, photography, sculpture and installation, the show explores the relationship between opposite tendencies and many of the works contain two mutually exclusive but equally essential aspects. Although the works can stand alone, each are made sense of and enhanced by their other half.
Both Ends Burning opened on Thurs 26 Nov with a specially devised performance by Holly Slingsby. The other participating artists were: Natasha Bailey, Zena Bielewicz, Evy Jokhova, Jarik Jongman, Cheryl Lane, Lucy May, Eleanor Moulsdale, Sardine & Tobleroni, Boa Swindler & Chiara Williams.
Running bold across to play
Both ends burning with a strange desire
That feeds the fire in my soul tonight
I will dance the night away
Living only for today"
Roxy Music In the run up to Christmas, WW will be burning the midnight oil to bring you new work by 11 selected artists responding to ideas of dualism and polarity.
Through drawing, painting, photography, sculpture and installation, the show explores the relationship between opposite tendencies and many of the works contain two mutually exclusive but equally essential aspects. Although the works can stand alone, each are made sense of and enhanced by their other half.
Both Ends Burning opened on Thurs 26 Nov with a specially devised performance by Holly Slingsby. The other participating artists were: Natasha Bailey, Zena Bielewicz, Evy Jokhova, Jarik Jongman, Cheryl Lane, Lucy May, Eleanor Moulsdale, Sardine & Tobleroni, Boa Swindler & Chiara Williams.
Cheryl Lane /
Issues of loss and trauma are central ideas in Cheryl Lane's practice, especially the loss of voice. The myth of Philomela and Tereus from Ovid's Metamorphoses embodies her opinion that art is borne out of the need to express a subjective view of the world. The story is about the loss of voice experienced by the girl Philomela who is raped by her brother-in-law Tereus; when she threatens him with exposure he violently cuts her tongue out and imprisons her in a tower. She must find a way to speak again; and she does this through weaving a tapestry that tells her tragedy. The story becomes an allegory for the creation of art, an activity that communicates something outside everyday language, that is, art and poetry exceed the limitations of everyday language. Within her own artistic practice she seeks to create a poetic image, one in which she can speak in a voice that is true to her own desires and sense of the world. For Both Ends Burning, Lane presents ‘The Reinvention of Mary Magdalene' is a series of 4 paintings, shown as two diptychs. Lane originated in southern USA, studied at Westminster and UEL and lived and worked in London.
Natasha Bailey /
Still on the Wall belongs to a series of works expressing the artist's desire to crawl in or out of objects and surfaces. Still on the Wall is a site-specific piece created specifically for 'Both Ends Burning' in which the artist's actions of entering and exiting wall surfaces link two gallery spaces. The trompe l'oiel also succinctly questions issues of pictorial space and parallel dimensions. Bailey works primarily in photography and performance with themes of escape, entrapment and anxiety. She is originally from Toronto, Canada, and is studying MFA media at UCL the Slade. She has exhibited internationally, including Travelling Light at the Venice Biennale 2009.
Zena Bielewicz /
In this representation of the Gherkin, Zena Bielewicz demasculinizes what many consider to be a monumental phallic symbol, by comparing it to a vibrator. Bielewicz achieves this by manipulating still images of the building and animating the Gherkin to shake within them, while the other elements in the images remain still. As part of Both Ends Burning, the Gherkin burns the candle at both ends, working hard day and night. Polish-born Canadian Bielewicz is currently based in London.
Evy Jokhova /
Evy Jokhova's mixed media installations occupy the walls and windows of the gallery at its Eastern and Western aspects, uniting both ends of the space and encouraging us to look out, at the gallery surroundings and location. On the window that faces the park, moments and movements are observed, traced, recorded and framed in the wonky Victorian sash. The view continues across the walls, gradually transforming into a desolate and derelict urban landscape of warehouses and terraced buildings, boarded up windows and abstract geometric shapes that resemble architectural features. At the other end of the gallery, the view of Victorian terraces and gardens is reflected in drawings scaled down as if seen in a snow globe. Layered marks, creeping cracks in the walls, dead paper flowers and moths all break up the drawings and wear down the corners of the crisp gallery space, recalling both its past and its present part in the regeneration of Hackney. Jokhova's imagery and narratives create lyrical worlds in which surfaces and boundaries are blurred or breached. Russian born Jokhova lives in London and is studying printmaking at the RCA.
Jarik Jongman /
Jarik Jongman presents two explosions depicting the shock waves of a nuclear explosion. Perhaps not to the extent which Robert Oppenheimer had in mind when he famously quoted these lines from the Bhagavad Gita: ''Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds'', one could argue, none the less, that mankind is living with both ends burning, thus wreaking havoc on our planet. The cynical duality of this fact however is, that by destroying everything, we will create the world anew. Dutch born Jongman studied in Arnhem and worked as an assistant to Anselm Kiefer. He has had numerous international exhibitions in London, Berlin, Amsterdam and was in Travelling Light at the Venice Biennale 2009
Lucy May /
The two parts of Lucy May's Untitled work have a sense of slumping weight, division and growth, in line with her interest in metamorphosis and sundering and referencing the mutability of certain distinctions, draws parallels between the perceived opposites of male and female, interior and exterior, consumption and excretion.Lucy May's current work is driven by desire, revulsion and anatomy. A sense of pleasure, flux and dynamism is created by sensuous forms, emulating drapery or skin in metamorphosis. A preoccupation with the ornamental is countered in the work by mutated and fantastical organic forms, which tend towards the hybrid, even cannibalistic. The work is a seething yet elegant mass of protrusions, orifices and growths and speaks clearly of the interior, whether it be visceral or psychological. May is studying Sculpture at the RCA and has exhibited extensively in London and internationally.
Eleanor Moulsdale /
‘Untitled Drawing 2 & 3' are part of a series of intricate process drawings created using pen and pencil on paper and layered with collage. The imagery is mainly abstract but refer to the intricacies of the body and the passing of time. Within the drawings there are references to the theme of opposites and contrasts in the use of colour, the shift from abstract to figurative and female to male. Each drawing takes 12 hours to produce. Moulsdale's work thrives on the energy and intensity that is experienced during the process of making, these drawings are a development on the meditative and obsessional drive behind her earlier ‘pin' pieces, but in allowing in elements of the figurative, they move away from their minimalism. Moulsdale holds a BA Hons in Fine Art from The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford University and has exhibited internationally, including at Travelling Light at the Venice Biennale 2009.
Issues of loss and trauma are central ideas in Cheryl Lane's practice, especially the loss of voice. The myth of Philomela and Tereus from Ovid's Metamorphoses embodies her opinion that art is borne out of the need to express a subjective view of the world. The story is about the loss of voice experienced by the girl Philomela who is raped by her brother-in-law Tereus; when she threatens him with exposure he violently cuts her tongue out and imprisons her in a tower. She must find a way to speak again; and she does this through weaving a tapestry that tells her tragedy. The story becomes an allegory for the creation of art, an activity that communicates something outside everyday language, that is, art and poetry exceed the limitations of everyday language. Within her own artistic practice she seeks to create a poetic image, one in which she can speak in a voice that is true to her own desires and sense of the world. For Both Ends Burning, Lane presents ‘The Reinvention of Mary Magdalene' is a series of 4 paintings, shown as two diptychs. Lane originated in southern USA, studied at Westminster and UEL and lived and worked in London.
Natasha Bailey /
Still on the Wall belongs to a series of works expressing the artist's desire to crawl in or out of objects and surfaces. Still on the Wall is a site-specific piece created specifically for 'Both Ends Burning' in which the artist's actions of entering and exiting wall surfaces link two gallery spaces. The trompe l'oiel also succinctly questions issues of pictorial space and parallel dimensions. Bailey works primarily in photography and performance with themes of escape, entrapment and anxiety. She is originally from Toronto, Canada, and is studying MFA media at UCL the Slade. She has exhibited internationally, including Travelling Light at the Venice Biennale 2009.
Zena Bielewicz /
In this representation of the Gherkin, Zena Bielewicz demasculinizes what many consider to be a monumental phallic symbol, by comparing it to a vibrator. Bielewicz achieves this by manipulating still images of the building and animating the Gherkin to shake within them, while the other elements in the images remain still. As part of Both Ends Burning, the Gherkin burns the candle at both ends, working hard day and night. Polish-born Canadian Bielewicz is currently based in London.
Evy Jokhova /
Evy Jokhova's mixed media installations occupy the walls and windows of the gallery at its Eastern and Western aspects, uniting both ends of the space and encouraging us to look out, at the gallery surroundings and location. On the window that faces the park, moments and movements are observed, traced, recorded and framed in the wonky Victorian sash. The view continues across the walls, gradually transforming into a desolate and derelict urban landscape of warehouses and terraced buildings, boarded up windows and abstract geometric shapes that resemble architectural features. At the other end of the gallery, the view of Victorian terraces and gardens is reflected in drawings scaled down as if seen in a snow globe. Layered marks, creeping cracks in the walls, dead paper flowers and moths all break up the drawings and wear down the corners of the crisp gallery space, recalling both its past and its present part in the regeneration of Hackney. Jokhova's imagery and narratives create lyrical worlds in which surfaces and boundaries are blurred or breached. Russian born Jokhova lives in London and is studying printmaking at the RCA.
Jarik Jongman /
Jarik Jongman presents two explosions depicting the shock waves of a nuclear explosion. Perhaps not to the extent which Robert Oppenheimer had in mind when he famously quoted these lines from the Bhagavad Gita: ''Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds'', one could argue, none the less, that mankind is living with both ends burning, thus wreaking havoc on our planet. The cynical duality of this fact however is, that by destroying everything, we will create the world anew. Dutch born Jongman studied in Arnhem and worked as an assistant to Anselm Kiefer. He has had numerous international exhibitions in London, Berlin, Amsterdam and was in Travelling Light at the Venice Biennale 2009
Lucy May /
The two parts of Lucy May's Untitled work have a sense of slumping weight, division and growth, in line with her interest in metamorphosis and sundering and referencing the mutability of certain distinctions, draws parallels between the perceived opposites of male and female, interior and exterior, consumption and excretion.Lucy May's current work is driven by desire, revulsion and anatomy. A sense of pleasure, flux and dynamism is created by sensuous forms, emulating drapery or skin in metamorphosis. A preoccupation with the ornamental is countered in the work by mutated and fantastical organic forms, which tend towards the hybrid, even cannibalistic. The work is a seething yet elegant mass of protrusions, orifices and growths and speaks clearly of the interior, whether it be visceral or psychological. May is studying Sculpture at the RCA and has exhibited extensively in London and internationally.
Eleanor Moulsdale /
‘Untitled Drawing 2 & 3' are part of a series of intricate process drawings created using pen and pencil on paper and layered with collage. The imagery is mainly abstract but refer to the intricacies of the body and the passing of time. Within the drawings there are references to the theme of opposites and contrasts in the use of colour, the shift from abstract to figurative and female to male. Each drawing takes 12 hours to produce. Moulsdale's work thrives on the energy and intensity that is experienced during the process of making, these drawings are a development on the meditative and obsessional drive behind her earlier ‘pin' pieces, but in allowing in elements of the figurative, they move away from their minimalism. Moulsdale holds a BA Hons in Fine Art from The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford University and has exhibited internationally, including at Travelling Light at the Venice Biennale 2009.
Sardine & Tobleroni /
This dynamic duo slot effortlessly into Both Ends Bunring. London-based Sardine and Tobleroni work together in mixed media on canvas, dividing the surface into two halves of which the right hand side is painted by Sardine and the left hand side by Tobleroni. They describe their practice as Conceptual Art Brut, the equivalent to what Punk is in music. 'DNA Dump' is a double self-portrait of the pair, with their heads grafted onto the same ageing man's body, with obvious embellishments, each located in their respective native landscapes of Portugal and Switzerland. Sardine & Tobleroni have exhibited widely both in London and abroad and were part of Travelling Light at the Venice Biennale 2009.
Holly Slingsby /
‘Up to go down, down to go up' is a mesmerising performance by Holly Slingsby made especially for Both Ends Burning. The work investigates an oppositional pull between actions of lifting and falling. The lifting actions happen in real time while the falling ones play on a video monitor held - in a classical Madonna and Child pose - in the artist's lap, its cumbersome weight hindering her movements. Holly Slingsby is studying an MFA at UCL the Slade and has exhibited and performed extensively.
Boa Swindler /
Boa Swindler explores the intriguing world of espionage and the impact agent 007 has had on popular culture. In reality, perhaps the role of the spy is that of a dull civil servant leading a lonely secret life? 007 it seems, belongs to people of all cultures and walks of life. So what is it about Bond that is so appealing? The post-cold war years have brought the Bond films continuous box-office success. The public's fascination with the character is due in part to the six actors who have helped shape and evolve him. Swindler holds up 007's first incarnation to the controversial ‘darker' blonde sixth. Oppositional pulling, spoofs and spooks brought to you in glorious Boavision. Boa Swindler is an internationally exhibited artist based in London.
Chiara Williams /
Continuing her exploration of the myth of the Goddess, Chiara Williams's two-part assemblage sculpture ‘Venus de Milo' uses matching ink wells, a dry paintbrush, broken record player, steel and copper elements from a television, to reflect on the disarming and disabling of the Goddess. The alchemical symbol for copper is also the symbol for the planet Venus and the international symbol for the female. Here the absence of creative output, sound or picture, mimics the missing limbs of the iconic Aphrodite of Milos and the subsequent fetishising of the image in a patriarchal society. In this work, Williams develops themes and formal elements from her previous work ‘Birth of Venus'.
This dynamic duo slot effortlessly into Both Ends Bunring. London-based Sardine and Tobleroni work together in mixed media on canvas, dividing the surface into two halves of which the right hand side is painted by Sardine and the left hand side by Tobleroni. They describe their practice as Conceptual Art Brut, the equivalent to what Punk is in music. 'DNA Dump' is a double self-portrait of the pair, with their heads grafted onto the same ageing man's body, with obvious embellishments, each located in their respective native landscapes of Portugal and Switzerland. Sardine & Tobleroni have exhibited widely both in London and abroad and were part of Travelling Light at the Venice Biennale 2009.
Holly Slingsby /
‘Up to go down, down to go up' is a mesmerising performance by Holly Slingsby made especially for Both Ends Burning. The work investigates an oppositional pull between actions of lifting and falling. The lifting actions happen in real time while the falling ones play on a video monitor held - in a classical Madonna and Child pose - in the artist's lap, its cumbersome weight hindering her movements. Holly Slingsby is studying an MFA at UCL the Slade and has exhibited and performed extensively.
Boa Swindler /
Boa Swindler explores the intriguing world of espionage and the impact agent 007 has had on popular culture. In reality, perhaps the role of the spy is that of a dull civil servant leading a lonely secret life? 007 it seems, belongs to people of all cultures and walks of life. So what is it about Bond that is so appealing? The post-cold war years have brought the Bond films continuous box-office success. The public's fascination with the character is due in part to the six actors who have helped shape and evolve him. Swindler holds up 007's first incarnation to the controversial ‘darker' blonde sixth. Oppositional pulling, spoofs and spooks brought to you in glorious Boavision. Boa Swindler is an internationally exhibited artist based in London.
Chiara Williams /
Continuing her exploration of the myth of the Goddess, Chiara Williams's two-part assemblage sculpture ‘Venus de Milo' uses matching ink wells, a dry paintbrush, broken record player, steel and copper elements from a television, to reflect on the disarming and disabling of the Goddess. The alchemical symbol for copper is also the symbol for the planet Venus and the international symbol for the female. Here the absence of creative output, sound or picture, mimics the missing limbs of the iconic Aphrodite of Milos and the subsequent fetishising of the image in a patriarchal society. In this work, Williams develops themes and formal elements from her previous work ‘Birth of Venus'.
Performance by Holly Slingsby
Private View