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Testimonial on Kaipo Che Residency

5th February 2019
The Residency: The residency far exceeded all my expectations. The Art Centre in the Township was a serene location and a contrast to the bustling Vadodara town. You could acquire your own space here to refine and develop your own ideas, but there were also plenty of opportunities to converse and bond with the other artists in the camp. The Indian hospitality was incredible and it was through these breaks in the programme that gave you the perspective on the opportunity and allowed conversations to organically develop. There were always lots of people to meet and talk about your work to, reinforcing the fullness of this opportunity. The chance to taste local foods, experience the carnival kite-festival with locals, see how the Indian artists live and work, visit local exhibitions and the historic vs new architecture, get a taster for the complex language of the country, learn local dance and experience the different music was truly magical. The experience was visually and emotionally rich. The chemistry of the group was fantastic, everyone wanted to make the most of this unique opportunity and the other UK artists were highly motivated to absorb and respond to their surroundings. As a result the engagement from the public and the press far exceeded all expectation, with articles in the newspapers and even TV exposure. I’ve included the 3 key points, outlined with photographs, which I will really take with me as an artist at the start of my career: Artist Community – building connections that
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Categories: Caroline Mackenzie
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Feedback and Report on Kaipo Che Residency

5th February 2019

TESTIMONIAL: KAIPO CHE! RESIDENCY

I have participated in many residencies, international and national but this has been the best. This was my first trip to India. I was interested in this project as I have always admired Indian art and culture, in particular Indian miniatures, the wonderful rich textiles, the carvings of Islamic art and the wonderful imagery found in Hindu temples. During the residency I have seen first hand traditional art and architecture as well as contemporary art. One of the aims of the residency was to make drawings for a group show at the Arts Centre. I was inspired by the landscape and able to work in the lovely studio with a mix of Indian music playing in the background. The kite flying festival was a joy and we were welcomed on to the terraces in many different places to join in the celebrations. All my senses were alive as the music, colours, the tug of the kites and the smell of spices filled the air. The imagery will fuel my imagination for years to come. Speaking to the artists from Baroda has been inspirational and there was a remarkable chemistry in the group. We became a “family” in a short space of time. I felt very privileged to participate in this residency where I gained a real insight to the culture and art in Baroda. This was not from a tourist’s viewpoint but from the perspective of artists living and working in the city. The residency was well organised and I would not hesitate in
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Categories: Jackie Berridge
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Which place must I visit…

28th January 2019
The first time I ended up in Derby was by mistake. It was September 2014 and I had just moved to Nottingham because I wanted to get onto a MSc course in Manufacturing Engineering at The University of Nottingham.  To apply I jumped on the first bus that was heading towards the Student Recruitment Enquiries Centre. I fell asleep on the bus – it was Monday morning – and at the last stop the bus conductor came to wake me up. The last stop was Derby Bus Station. It was a beautiful sunny morning but I did not have time to stay  longer than for a quick coffee as I still had a future to apply for. Five minutes later, I jumped back on the same bus and when we were about to approach the University campus, the driver did his bit to make sure I did not miss my stop again. This was my only connection with Derby until the start of this year. Probably there is an omen in this story because I never got to attend that course - but that is a different story. Last December, I applied for something different: an artistic residency in Derby at the Artcore Gallery with a quite ambitious project. I thought it was something I had to try but I never thought I was going to be selected – probably this is why I made it so ambitious. Luckily I was wrong and so had to make my second appearance in Derby on
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Categories: Mariano Doronzo
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Feedback and Report on Kaipo Che Residency

28th January 2019

TESTIMONIAL: KAIPO CHE! RESIDENCY

The Kaipo Che! Residency was one of the best residencies I have been involved in. It surpassed expectations in many, many ways: in the level of interaction with India-based artists; the residency spaces and location; opportunities to experience the wider culture of Baroda and other nearby Indian towns/villages. Most importantly, there was an incredibly hospitable and welcoming atmosphere throughout, and it was a pleasure to spend time with everyone involved.

REPORT:

  Residency space and resources Thoughout the residency, Artcore put in place all the resources needed to create work. All art materials were supplied and any technical assistance needed was given. They were proactive and responsive to artists’ changing needs. The studio spaces were large, full of light and very comfortable. They were peaceful spaces for quiet reflection in a busy schedule.     My Practice I was surprised by the work I made, it was definitely a new direction for me in that it was quite a personal and autobiographical response. The paper sculptures were directly informed by being in Baroda and my experience of India both past and present. I feel that there is potential to take some of the ideas forward back in the UK. I would also welcome a chance to continue dialogue with artists in India and will explore possible opportunities for them to visit UK. Residency Exhibition The exhibition at the end of the
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Categories: Daksha Patel
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Reflections and memories

24th January 2019
When I started my residency I began with an Over Head Projector, projecting from an old dried hydrangea head hung on its arm. The visual effects of the projector itself were as much what I was projecting as the image from the old flower head. Colour is coming only from the OHP. I was also thinking about reflection itself and how reflection can be a metaphor for memory. An OHP projection (as appose to a digital one) is a reflection because it’s the image bounced up to a mirror and then to the wall. I wanted to emphasize this again, so have ordered a paper print to mirror the projected image. The reflected image is less strong, more transparent and uncertain. Therefor I intend to flip this and have the OHP image on the wall and the artificial ‘reflected’ floor image on paper, a more tangible strong material image. This is purely to play with the idea of the phenomenology of reflection itself. The blurry image seems to swim up to the surface and is ambivalent. The fact that it came from a flower head is no longer really relevant.     The other image I have chosen to work on is a medium format photo I took, which is again ambivalent, you can see its something natural, leaves or grass or trees. But it sits on the line between abstract and representational. Where abouts on that line I do not know. How this image is seen is the
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Categories: Olivia Punnett
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Meet the artist: Mariano Doronzo

24th January 2019
Where are you based? I have been based in Nottingham since 2014. How did your artwork start out? My artwork became very intensive and more than a passion when a friend of mine gave me an old Praktica film camera as a present. Since then I have been documenting the street life in Nottingham and my travels across Europe.     How do you get ideas for each piece of photography? It depends on the project I am working on. Usually, it is the story behind a person or a specific place, but sometimes it can also be something strictly visual like a particular light condition. How do you go about transforming an idea like that into a photograph? Every time is different. I guess I try to find a link or a connection between what I am trying to say and the image itself. How has your photography evolved over the years? I would say I am studying and working to make my photography more essential and powerful at the same time. What does your photography aim to say to your audience? My photography aims to tell a story or to provoke an emotion. What is the most challenging about your work? Probably meeting people and creating an intimate relation within a few minutes. It is incredible how deep you can go into someone’s life if they
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Categories: Mariano Doronzo
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Meet the artist: Caroline Mackenzie

23rd January 2019
Where are you based? I’m a born and bred Londoner. I live in Bermondsey and have a studio in Woolwich, right next to the Thames Barrier… that I scoot to on my little Vespa! How did your artwork start out? My interest in art actually started in painting at school, but over the years I became more influenced by live theatre, performance and set design. This in turn gave way to an interest in ‘the object’ and especially the object within certain theatrical environments. How do you get ideas for each piece of art? If I’m preparing for an exhibition, the exhibition space itself is always a source of inspiration for me. The less conventional the better, as the more I can embrace my inner set designer and transport my audience away from the confinements of the gallery space! However, at the moment I’m exploring the concept of ‘flow’, both the psychological meaning as well as the physical meaning. Because my work is immersive in experience, I’ve become interested in the process of immersion and how it manifests. ‘Flow’, is known colloquially as being ‘in the zone’. It is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energised focus and enjoyment in the process of the activity. It can be characterised by complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting loss in one's sense of space and time. Space and
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Categories: Caroline Mackenzie
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Meet the artist: Jackie Berridge

22nd January 2019
Where are you based? I am currently based at Harrington Mill Studios in Long Eaton. As the studios will be closing at the end of 2018 I will be working from my home studio in Southwell, Notts. I eventually hope to move to Backlit in Nottingham in 2019. How did your artwork start out? After graduating from Nottingham Trent University in 1995 my work was abstract and inspired by different environments including landscapes, cityscapes and the home. Although the final pieces were non figurative I made lots of observational drawings and colour studies. My work has always been rooted in research and observation.. The big change to figurative work came as a result of moving to Chelmsford in Essex. There were no studios around and I felt isolated. I enrolled on an MA in children’s book illustration at the Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge as I have always loved children’s books and I saw it as a new challenge. It meant I could develop work at the kitchen table and learn new skills including storytelling and how to develop sequential images. As well as writing and illustrating children’s picture books I made large immersive sequential drawings. As much as I enjoyed illustrating I knew I wanted to continue painting. I therefore fused the story telling with the painterly qualities of the previous abstract paintings to make new work. The MA course required me to get under the skin of different characters and this led to my interest in body language and the
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Categories: Jackie Berridge
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Meet the artist: Daksha Patel

22nd January 2019
Where are you based? Manchester How did your artwork start out? The human body has been an important theme in my practice from the very beginning. My undergraduate work focused upon skin: I used macro-photography to take highly magnified images of its surface, which resembled landscapes. I was also making direct imprints of skin using soft-ground etchings. Overtime, particularly after my MA, I became interested in how technologies look at, represent and measure the human body. How do you get ideas for each piece of art? My work is often research-led and responds to specific aspects of scientific enquiry such as data about air pollution, geographic mapping systems or medical imaging. I regularly undertake residencies in scientific institutions, and my conversations with scientists, as well as images from their research are often the starting point for ideas. How do you go about transforming an idea like that into a physical piece? Drawing is a primary method for thinking through ideas and of realizing them. It is a very direct and immediate way to explore ideas. I use methods and processes that respond in some way to my subject matter. For instance, I have used clay - a material that is unstable and slowly drops off the paper surface as it dries - to draw landscapes that are undergoing desertification. Or animal fat to draw
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Categories: Daksha Patel
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Meet the artist: Olivia Punnett

22nd January 2019
Where are you based? I am based in Haarlem Artspace in Wirksworth How did your artwork start out? I started working site specifically around 2011. I had been in art education at various points before that, and had read ‘The Poetics of Space’ By Bechelard on my first degree, and this informed my responses to place. I don’t work in this way now as much now but it was definitely my way in.   How do you get ideas for each piece of work? I have a set of central concerns, drawing inspiration from natural ephemera, and exploring the photochemical mark are two. I am a print maker and use photographs in that process often, taking medium format film photos myself and then choosing from the images I have which to take forward into printmaking processes. I then have ideas about ways of presenting these images, and how I would like people to perceive the images. These often mimic reflection, or I try to achieve this, often with mirrors. I play with these set-ups until they form a good position. How do you go about transforming an idea like that into a piece of art? Play is my main tool, I give myself lots of photos, prints or equipment to play with and test out different combinations of them. The blurred or washed over effect of an image that has passed through an imperfect lens translates, to me, to the recalled or remembered image.
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Categories: Olivia Punnett
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