Mike Russell - Negated Obstacle

Mike Russell - Negated Obstacle

Welcome to the Dwell exhibition and book. For a whole month we will be taking each artist's page and transforming it into a 3 dimensional dwelling. Each one of these small sculptures will be exhibited in public on the London streets.



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Today we bring you Mike Russell's cube dwelling, Negated Obstacle, on the streets of Walthamstow. Mike has been exhibiting with us since the Brighton Open in 2011. He cuts a mysterious figure and like many of our artists we have grown close to him yet have never met. After each exhibition though we get another glimpse of the man behind the art.




The Entrance Door To Life
Mike Russell

In 2012 he piqued our interest with his page 'The Entrance Door To Life' in Sampson Low Ltd's publication Freedbook. It charts the journey from the spiritual side to our more concrete world or possibly vice versa. The final line of the story reads 'now you must learn to see without your eyes'. It's the kind of sentence you never forget and I have often wondered if Mike Russell the Artist is also the well known Medium of the same name.

Building the nets

Mike Russell's dwelling 'Negated Obstacle' starts life as the classic cube net, but once made it is a joy of confusing angles and perspectives. When we first built Negated Obstacle for the Dwell book it was a firm favourite amongst our net guinea pigs. It's just the sort of illusion that makes you think twice, as you walk around it the cube changes form and shape. When you see it on the London streets you feel as though you cannot trust your own eyes. Maybe it is time to take Mike Russell's Freedbook advice and see without these globular organs.

Don't forget to have a look at the next Collect Connect project, 'The Art of Caring' exhibition at The Rose Theatre in Kingston-upon-Thames. The theme is Caring/Care and it is FREE to enter.

To buy the Dwell Book for £6 then follow this LINK

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Dwell book published by Sampson Low Ltd

The latest publication from CollectConnect artists is being released in February 2015 by Sampson Low Ltd. London based artist and art therapist Dean Reddick has brought together artists from around the world to publish a book of 30 practical Nets. Each black and white page is easy to photocopy and ready for all ages to build themselves. The Nets are graded with completion times and building tips. A magical book about 2D plans with the potential to become 3D dwellings that can be adapted and coloured by the reader.

Dwell: A book of Nets
Published February 2015
ISBN 978-1-910578-00-1
64 pages A4 Softback
Author – Various Artists
SLB0008

Click on the BUY NOW button below to buy
Dwell: A book of Nets for £6 (UK addresses only +£1.60 Postage and Packing)

Authors
Alban Low Scrunchy Shed
Beth Davis Hofbauer Castle in the Sky
Bryan Benge City Scape
Catherine Wynne-Paton Raft at Sea
Dean Reddick Shelter One and TreeHouse
Eleanor Bedlow Container
Ella Klenner & Fausto House by the Wild Sea
Eve Allsop Home
Gavin Blackhurst 46 Malbet Park
Helen Hunt Thoreau’s Room
Holly Daniels Fairy Dwelling
Jane Hellings Shipping Container
Jay Snelling Pyramid
Jessamy Low Ocelot Villa
J Masson Abri
Keziah Reddick Dream dwelling
Kim Reddick Crates
Lisa Howes Flat Pack
Malc Dow Escape Dwelling
Melanie Ezra Caer Hecsagon
Mike Russell Negated Obstacle
Natalie Low Dwellow Submarine
Nick Gammons Castle
Rajaa Khalife Paixao Confessions of an artist
Sabatin Bascoban The Caravan
Sara Lerota Table as a place..
Steve DT The Sistene Chapel
Stuart Simler Trojan Horse
Tamara Jelaca Little house in Prairie

Building the Dwell nets

Dean Reddick builds the Dwellow Submarine

The big build has started in earnest for the Dwell exhibition and book. Last weekend we tested the nets by transforming them from their 2D state into glorious 3 dimensions. We're still waiting for 3 pages to be revised before we can send the book to the printers. We'll then start placing our Dwellings around London and photographing them in their new homes. We hope to start releasing these photos and writing about each artist in early February.
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Left to right
Bryan Benge, Mike Russell, Sabatin Bascoban and Natalie Low