ECB Site Visit 20.7.11

Great day on site – the build is beginning to take shape now and what was just a myriad of concreted areas are now resembling rooms, walls and open spaces. As well as taking photos I also took a mini sewing kit with me and decided to set a rule and find bits on site to stitch…I was in a space and looked on the floor and saw all these painted flakes that had come off a temporary roofing panel…so I sat quietly for a few minutes and stitched through a flake – it was so delicate to stitch through as it disintegrated really easily. I also found a little blue baby bow in my sewing kit – it is a really tiny bow that I got from my Nannar’s sewing ephemera when she passed away and I’ve always kept it with me thinking I will use it on some work…well I decided that the site could do with a little ‘softening’ up so went bow-bombing! The colours and textures on site are amazing so it was great to offset the bow on some of the works. I toyed with the idea of leaving the bow onsite as a little treasure but I actually couldn’t part with it so it came back home with me in the tin – packed away ready for its next guerilla bow bombing mission.

Work Update

Been neglecting my blog so chance to catch up and post a lot of photos (evidence of busy-ness). My current commissions for Godiva Awakes and ECB are really hotting up now hence the absence from my blog. Been busy meeting other members of the huge team of makers and engineers for Godiva including Nick and Frank and the fabulous people at Artem who are charged with making the huge 6 metre Godiva marionette – it was a real privilege spending time with them in their studios and workrooms – traditional crafts and new technologies working side by side and lovely people to boot.

I have now screen printed all 36 mtrs of the top coat (silk dupion) with prints that feature images and text from the West Midlands industries both past and present – we had 17 screens in total and then I repeated the process in other colours for the lining fabric which I will be specifically working on – I actually just can’t wait to get sewing, BUT I have decided to be cautious and make a full size toile of the coat so will begin to cut the pattern and sew up the calico toile in next week or so. At the end of July we get chance to try the toile on Godiva – can’t wait (best take my bodger tool kit just in case of mishaps!)

Thanks to Coat Team for help and inspiration: Rachel Grant, Julie Johannides, Debbie Squires, Maggie Dunne and Adam Hussain.

ECB is my other commission – the new and fabulous Engineering and Computing Building for Coventry University – as well as attending the topping out ceremony in May, I have been sampling in my studio and now preparing to spend a few days back on site filming and collecting sounds – weather be good!

Other bits in between:
Couple of months back I did fab workshop on Handsworth High Street – ‘Curious about Craft’ with Craftspace and their mobile craft studio – it was a glorious sunny day and the people who came and stitched with me were truly wonderful.

Saw retrospectives of Susan Hiller (LOVE her work) at Tate Britain in April, Annie Albers at the Mead, Warwick Arts Centre and then the wonderful collection of Ben Nicholson and Alfred Wallis paintings in June at Compton Verney.

I also squeezed in a talk for the WI ladies from Harrow Barrow and Metherell in Cornwall – what a nice night that was – great chance to talk about my practice and they paid me in buttons and lace – the best currency in my eyes.

July sees another night of intrigue and infamy with the brilliant Pecha Kucha in Coventry. http://www.pkncoventry.posterous.com/
A chance for artists/designers/general peeps to talk about the curiosities of life in 20 slides no more. If you’re near Coventry, UK on the 26th July its at Taylor Johns and well worth a look. (For those in London – Cov is now accessible via Virgin Trains in under 56 mins)

ECB site update

Its a cold first morning of December on site, everything is frozen and flakes are beginning to fall. Still an amazing place to be when its a new experience. The structure is now to the upper ground floor and some areas are beginning to resemble the CAD drawings from ARUP. I learnt about the 'rubbing down man' today – he smoothes the exposed concrete with a hessian glove – true hand finishing! I couldn't help but look at his hands when I met him – I expected big Peter Shilton goalies hands out of proportion to the rest of his body…but they weren't…they were just normal size. I found a 'flupp' – its like a rubber thimble that is secreted upside down into bore holes to fill them and then they are subsequently filled with bitumen and this simple procedure keeps the rainwater out…the concrete can't be poured into the pillar shutters as it needs a temp of plus 4 (and its at least – 2 this morning) The pillars that have been poured are snug and warm in a 'frost blanket'…thanks to Andy for showing me around and Anton for letting us into his shed/store.

artist in residence work

Since May 2009 I have been working as artist in residence for Coventry University on their new Engineering and Computer building which is due for completion in 2012. The building is designed by ARUP and the construction company is VINCI. It’s been a fascinating few months, working closely with the archaeologists after the demolition of the Gulson Hospital and being able to witness their finds. The most poignant being a medieval button with a Pelican beating her breast with the latin words Crede Michi which is translated to ‘I believe’. The site was also a poor house and in the very early days a brick making site for Whitefriars nearby. It was amazing to touch a piece of pot or a clay pipe thinking that prior to myself and the archaeologist it was probably the original owner who had last touched or used the objects so many years ago.

I am collating stories on the site and the construction team are saving their doodles and drawings for use in my installation. Its a unique experience and I hope to post a few photographs as the site progresses.

Anyone with stories from the hospital or its previous uses do contact me mail@juliaoconnell.co.uk

godiva awakes

One of my current commissions is as the principal artist making the coat for Lady Godiva for the ‘Artist Taking The Lead’ project as part of the Cultural Olympiad for London 2012. I have completed my design and information about the surface and concept of the coat is detailed in this post. We have now also appointed 5 artists to assist in the realisation of the coat and will be working from November 2010 until January 2012.

Here is some information about the project by Imagineer Productions and my design.

The ‘Godiva Awakes’ project by Imagineer Productions will bring West Midlands icon Lady Godiva to life as a 10 metre high puppet that pushes the boundaries of carnival puppetry to new levels.

Built from aluminium and carbon fibre, she will be a moving, breathing monument – a potent symbol of equality, fair play and justice. Godiva will be dressed for her journey into the 21st century in a coat crafted by local artists and communities, chronicling the West Midlands’ industrial and engineering heritage.

A spectacular performance will mark the ‘awakening’ of Lady Godiva. Powered by 50 cyclists, she will join 2,000 dancers, actors, aerialists, musicians, pyrotechnicians and carnivalists in a processional performance. On the last day of Coventry’s Godiva Festival in July 2012, Godiva will leave the city and journey to London. She will seek sanctuary overnight at various towns along the route who will each welcome her in their own, distinct way. Finally she will arrive in London, her journey completed in time for the opening of London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Coat
Designed as a double-breasted, fitted, embellished long coat with a train. The coat is trimmed with a collar, buttons, sash belt, pocket and cuffs. Colours will be predominantly golds, yellows, and reds, reflecting that as ‘Godiva’ journeys to London; she is like a beacon though the urban towns and country roads. The skirt section at the back of the coat has a hidden pleat that reveals a shock of red fuchsia as Godiva takes a step. There is a panelled train at the rear, which covers the length of the cyclopaedia.

General detail
After a period of research, which will investigate memories and testimonies from people living and working in the West Midlands region, 5 commissioned artists will create various aspects of the coat sections, within their own particular practice or craft area.

The concept for the detail on the outer facing fabric of the coat and train is the notion of ‘palimpsest’, where text and images are consistently overwritten through time thus building up layers of narrative. Work on the coat and train will be screen-printed, some areas faded and barely legible, others vibrant and clear.

The Train
The panels that make up the train will be like pages from a book. The ‘pages’ will not form one particular narrative but will reference the stories from people who worked in the many industries, long lost trades and found crafts in the West Midlands region.

These ‘pages’ will be created using hand and machine stitches, appliqué, cutwork and print. They will feature vintage and emerging technical instructions and industry symbols. The pages will be joined together using couch stitch. The couch stitch yarn will contain messages and secret aspirations from the young people who participate in the ‘Godiva Awakes’ project.

Materials
The coat, train and trim will be in part re-purposed donated fabrics, found industrial and domestic ephemera – adhering to the ethos behind an energy efficient and sustainable Olympic Games.

Inner lining
The coat lining will document the ‘Godiva Awakes’ project. It will contain image and text details of the many technical languages used throughout the creation and realisation of the project by the principal artists and engineers.

Trim
The collar will feature intricate filigree work made from fine twisted wire; found buttons, beads, and nuts and bolts. The buttons will be made out of paper, wood and leather– each button will have an individual design in relief. There will be 4 individual cufflinks featuring a design that represents the glass works, which was a major industry in the West Midlands region throughout the years.

If you would like to donate any sewing threads, buttons, ribbons etc please contact me mail@juliaoconnell.co.uk Thank you

Imagineer Productions
Artists Taking the Lead

k6

This commission was the creation of a series of machine and hand embroidered  advert ‘calling cards’ for some of the last remaining red telephone boxes in Birmingham, England. The city centre’s K6 red phone boxes became the unusual gallery space for my work and six other artists, whose work ranged from a pin hole camera, graffiti knit bombing and forum phone calls.  The exhibition took place in March 2009 and was organised by independent curator Anne Forgan and was named after the urban myth for the amount of oxygen in a phone booth. The phone boxes were still in use for the general public during the interventions.

images from home maker no.28, no.34 and no.63

home maker

I got a First Class Honours degree! My final degree show was an installation called ‘Home Maker’ and was a collection of textile artefacts, found sound and projected emailed text.

The textile pieces are a series of hand made door stops which are wrapped house bricks.  The cloth that covers the bricks is linen, on which I’ve then digitally printed and hand and machined stitched personal email stories or memories I’ve received from various respondents who wrote and told me about an object that helped make their house a  ‘home’.  I’ve collated a fabulous range of stories which include a favourite tablespoon that measures out just the right amount of flour for cakes and has the perfect ‘slurp’ depth!… a box of home made Christmas decorations that are brought out every Christmas and then when the festivities are over for another year, the baubles and home made ornaments are packed away in the same box with a note written on top which says ‘not to be opened until Christmas (Eve) 1999, 2000, 2001′ and so on….the box and ritual are special because it was on the couple’s first Christmas Eve in their new house, that the husband proposed and they’re still going strong after 20 years… another story is about a frying pan that is very old and worn and held together with gaffer tape (duck tape) but comes out for special Sunday breakfasts when all the grown up children return from their various colleges and universities and Mum cooks a huge breakfast, safe in the knowledge that her kids are now at home, all at the table waiting for her and of course the breakfast…

I’ve uploaded a few images, please email me or spread the work about my request for ‘home maker’ objects however ordinary or seemingly irrelevant…I’d love to receive them.

lost glove

Here’s some work I’ve been playing with in between my projects. I’m always a bit wistful in winter as I gradually find lost gloves around the place – the height of the ‘lost glove season’ is usually February – being the coldest I suppose. I come across the odd stray glove on the pavement usually but better is when they’ve been picked up and left hanging (almost waving) on a fence, wall or gate post , waiting to be reunited with their other half, so they can be of use and comfort again. Both gloves are ‘lost’ and there’s only the faintest chance of them being used again. I love the way a leather glove has its own memory of its wearer creased in its skin – a textile DNA almost and the gloves will never really fit a new wearer as their hands (even if the same size) dont have the same lines, curves and wrinkles. Stories of recent lost gloves would be nice.

my mother’s bag

This latest project concerns memories of a handbag that belonged to someone’s mother or grandmother. I used to love peering into my Mum’s bag, investigating all the bits and bobs(with permission of course!) and looking longingly at the gold tube of Rimmel Coral lipstick – thinking how great it would be when I had my very own bag and lipstick. I also remember too, how helping yourself to things in my Mum’s bag was a real no no – and that you weren’t allowed to rifle through it – if there was something in there that we needed, we’d have to fetch the bag for my Mum to root through herself. I still do that a bit today, my bag is like my own private cupboard with zips and pockets hiding mysterious bits and pieces (of rubbish usually, important rubbish of course) …my bag is also a visual indicator of my mind…by that I mean when my bag is loaded and heavy with papers, receipts, lists, lipbalms, loose change etc, although I know everything in there is safe, I also know that things are getting jumbled and confused in my mind. Every now and then I tip out my bag and reorder things back into their proper places ie: change in my ‘Elvis’ clasp purse, receipts ordered ready to file, credit cards neatly arranged in order of overdraft size. So this project brought together various stories submitted from other people about their mother’s bag, I took my favourite stories and reconstructed a new bag from the leather and linings from my defunct summer bag. There are 3 main stories featured, one side of the bag recalls how mint imperials were always found loose at the bottom on one mother’s bag – a sweet, albeit smudged and dusty, pretty much guaranteed!

The other side panel story in red is a great story about how one woman carried a packet of cigarettes in her brand new first ever bag for 2 years – although the packet was empty and she didnt smoke – the reason she carried the packet round was just because she thought that was what a young woman kept in her bag as well as a luscious pink lipstick!

The inner lining I printed straight off an email onto linen and this tells the story of Annie and how, whatever the weather, wherever she travelled, whatever the ache or pain, the bag came out and contained everything, literally everything, needed to get from A – B, country to country, doctors to dentists.