Collect Connect: Twickenham

Showing posts with label Twickenham. Show all posts

Tuesday, 5 February 2019

Francesca Albini - Love Tokens and Bad Pennies

Francesca Albini - Love Token

Does love endure forever? Does a bad penny always turn up? During this Valentine month the artists and writers from CollectConnect explore this flip-sided theme with an exhibition of 32 miniature sculptures. These objects are placed in public places (#unsettledgallery), helping us to remember those who we hold dear - or cast off those who we would rather forget. Every day throughout February we will be featuring one of these tokens/pennies on this website. A writer will also use the art as inspiration to create something new and fresh.

Art - Francesca Albini / Words - Natalie Low

Love has broken my back

So I need new ways to

Reach my destination.

Love has laid me so low

But I can still enjoy

The view from the gutter.

I have more loves to find,

More selves to re-invent,

More ways to win and fail.

It helps to remember

That love is a monster

But also a comfort.

Francesca Albini

You can see Francesca's artwork on a bridge above the River Crane next to the Mill Road Allotments at #unsettledgallery No.11. If you can find it then you can take it home, or perhaps you will leave it for someone else to discover. The River Crane runs through the slim woodland and pasture area of Crane Park in Twickenham. It is managed to encourage wildlife, Marsh Frogs and the scarce water vole breed on the banks of the river. You can also find important industrial archaeology with relics from the Hounslow Gunpowder Works (1760s) at the western end of the park.

Francesca Albini divides her life between literary and artistic endeavours. She is a PhD in Classics, and has worked in publishing for her entire adult life, as a translator, author and editor. She is a self taught artist and photographer. Her work is inspired by folk art, but also by design. Albini is a collector of memories, and uses any medium that allows her to remember and share, express feelings and narrate stories. From line drawings to plastic cameras, from collage to upcycled jewellery and dolls. "My work is playful and dreamy, child-like but also philosophical. I fall in and out of love with many styles and tools, but I'm always me, whatever I do."
https://www.francescaalbini.com/

Natalie Low enjoys putting words on paper and believes that everyone has a book of some sort inside them. She has published two chapbooks, Dementia (2015) and School Run (2017). She also appears in this exhibition as an artist/maker.

Don't forget to submit to our next exhibition. The Art of Caring is accepting submission until the 7th April 2019. More at http://collectconnect.blogspot.com/p/submit.html

Monday, 4 February 2019

Alban Low - Love Tokens and Bad Pennies

Alban Low at #unsettledgallaery No.10

Artist - Alban Low / Words - Ginny Reddick

It seemed like a great way to cut down on workload so of course they bought a load, programmed them with the mission statement and released them at the Monday meeting. People seemed to quite enjoy it – it was something different and of course anything to save time.

They worked well at first, reminding pupils and staff of key points. The DON’T TIP ON YOUR CHAIR message was really helpful and saved valuable minutes. Average progress scores increased by 5%, staff engagement with data improved and messages were transmitted in a fun and effective way.

Then something went wrong. Some said it was IT support (as usual) and others suspected the geography department of programming them to control entire lessons and they’d never been meant for that. The problem was, it got to the stage where you could never quite tell where they’d turn up or what they would say when they got there.

The PROGRESS SCORE reminder turned itself into GROPE ROSES. Teachers just laughed and failed to engage with the development plan. BOOK CHECK alerts were presented as BOK-EH-COCK which failed to convey the gravity of that particular process.

The final straw came during a pop-up inspection when USE THE WINGS turned up to PE, which was expected, with the message WEEING TUSH, which was not. Pupils took advantage of the ensuing chaos and overall an unsatisfactory hour of physical learning was presented to the inspectors.

Their report recommended removal and destruction of the devices as they did not promote the appropriate values. However, they are difficult to catch and seem to be multiplying.

Alban Low

You can see Alban Low's artwork in the Hospital Bridge Road Tunnel beside the River Crane at #unsettledgallery No.10. If you can find it then you can take it home, or perhaps you will leave it for someone else to discover. The River Crane runs through the slim woodland and pasture area of Crane Park in Twickenham. It is managed to encourage wildlife, Marsh Frogs and the scarce water vole breed on the banks of the river. You can also find important industrial archaeology with relics from the Hounslow Gunpowder Works (1760s) at the western end of the park.

Alban Low is involved in many creative projects, these include album artwork, publishing chapbooks, making films, maps, conceptual exhibitions, live performance and good old drawing. He is artist-in-residence at the School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education at Kingston University and St George's University of London. Low spends his evenings in the jazz clubs of London where he captures the exhilaration of live performances in his sketchbook. On Wednesday evenings he sketches the performers on the radio show A World in London at Resonance FM. This year Alban is working on a walking project about London Musicians from the 1920s-1940s.

http://albanlow.com/

Ginny Reddick is a writer and educator. She was one of the artists who exhibited at the first ever CollectConnect exhibition, Open Fridge, in March 2010. Although there has been a 9 year hiatus between that exhibition and this one she has curated numerous CC projects including the Walthamstow street art favourite HideBird.

Don't forget to submit to our next exhibition. The Art of Caring is accepting submission until the 7th April 2019. More at http://collectconnect.blogspot.com/p/submit.html

Friday, 1 February 2019

Tracy Boness - Love Tokens and Bad Pennies

Tracy Boness at #unsettledgallery No.9

Artist - Tracy Boness / Words - Natalie Low

Golden feathers about her face

With imperfection none,

The day I met my one true love,

The day my soul passed on.

A doubly afflicted soul,

My body wracked with fever,

My heart's insides wracked with desire

For that sweet maid forever.

One feather fell from her soft hair,

My hand around it curled.

“Leave it with him”, my Dear one said,

“He's not long for this world.”

I died that night, my Love spake true,

But Heav’n I did trust

For now I knew that angels lived

And walked on earth with us.

The darkest part of me did hope

I passed my sickness on

Into my angel so that she

Would join me here anon.

But when the Lord bade me come near

And asked me what I wished,

It was that my sweet Love would have

A full life accomplished.

And then he asked me what it was

That I was clutching there?

The golden feather, pure and clean,

That late had touched her hair.

My Lord he knows the worth of love

And is a master kind.

He gives me leave to visit earth

And see her time to time.

I choose to sit in Autumn's trees

To shake them from above

And watch the golden feather'd leaves

Cascade around my love.

Tracy Boness

You can see Tracy Boness' artwork on an old tree beside the River Crane at #unsettledgallery No.9. If you can find it then you can take it home, or perhaps you will leave it for someone else to discover. The River Crane runs through the slim woodland and pasture area of Crane Park in Twickenham. It is managed to encourage wildlife, Marsh Frogs and the scarce water vole breed on the banks of the river. You can also find important industrial archaeology with relics from the Hounslow Gunpowder Works (1760s) at the western end of the park.

#unsettledgallery No.9

Tracy Boness (b. Canningtown, East London) studied for a BTEC National Diploma in Art & Design at East Ham Community College then a BA Hons Degree Fine Art at West Surrey Institute of Art & Design. She consistently exhibits her work, undertaking commissions and taking part in community based workshops. Painting and drawing are essential to her work practice. Recent black and white drawings take inspiration from 18th Century engravings and botanical drawings of the era. Boness also likes to experiment with new materials, sometimes sewing and layering surfaces to create tactile pieces of work.

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/craftylittlehouse100/

Natalie Low enjoys putting words on paper and believes that everyone has a book of some sort inside them. She has published two chapbooks, Dementia (2015) and School Run (2017). She also appears in this exhibition as an artist/maker.

Tracy Boness at #unsettledgallery No.9

Don't forget to submit to our next exhibition. The Art of Caring is accepting submission until the 7th April 2019. More HERE.

Wednesday, 21 May 2014

RIP Antony Roberts -Artist (1958 - 2014)

Antony Roberts -
Open Fridge Exhibition 2010

The magnet exhibitions have featured the work of over 1000 artists in a short 4 year period and a regular participant with us has been artist Antony Roberts. Amongst the hard work and logistical juggling I have the opportunity get to know many of these artists, not only their work but also if I'm lucky to meet them in person. I was doubly lucky to spend time with Antony Roberts away from the heat of exhibitions and even managed a few nights sketching on the London Jazz circuit.

Antony Roberts - Beware of Fishing
Freezchester 2010

It is therefore with great sadness that I have to tell you that Tony passed away peacefully on the 31st March this year at Princess Alice Hospice in Esher. This past year had been a tough one, with his on-going Cancer treatment sapping his strength. He didn't submit to our exhibitions at this time but below I would like to show you some of his excellent work from previous years.

Antony Roberts
LightBite Exhibition 2011

Antony Roberts exhibitions include -

Open Fridge 2010 (Gallery 89, Barnet)

FAB Fridge 2010 (Fringe Arts Bath)

Freezchester 2010 (Hazard MMX Festival/Arndale Centre Manchester)

Lightbite 2011 (LightNight Festival Nottingham)

Brighton Open 2011 (Brighton Fringe Festival)

Rarities 2011 (Hastings Pier)

Antony Roberts - The Duel
Freedbook 2012

He also published his artwork in the FreedBook in 2012. The 72 page publication was left in the book swapping libraries on London's transport network where they were picked up and have been passed around the world ever since. This was Tony's last project with us and we will be releasing a copy in Bath on 24th May. It seems fitting, as his contribution and the book itself represents the two qualities that I remember most about him, his generosity and humour.

He is missed. Never forgotten. Goodbye Tony.

I have already passed on many of your condolences to Tony's family, so thank you to all.

Alban Low (May 2014)