In February artist Mary Hurrell visited the studio. With a significant overlap in her sculptural, performance based practice and the related interests of a number of the Associates it was an opportunity to explore similarities and differences in approach. The relationship between the ‘event’ and the ‘exhibition’ and the practical issues raised by the need to document the work without compromising the importance of the physical encounter or translating the work into a photographic practice, were also discussed. These broader themes were then focussed into a discussion of a number of works by the Associates, including; Joe Moss, Anna Pickles-Harvey and Charles Verni.
In February 2017 artist Hannah Lees was invited to visit the Highline Studios. Hannah showed us her work using her website, starting in reverse chronological order, giving brief, sometimes playful but informed explanations about her works. Notable was her use of organic matter such as natural dyes on fabric, collected materials from beach combing set into plaster tablets, saved olive stones cast into gold and painted murals on gallery walls in discarded wine “lees”. Her works appearing primitive, metaphorical and poetic, we discussed the use in titling and how that can open up a work by presenting multiple meanings for the viewer. After Hannah’s lively presentation and subsequent discussion, we moved on to view work in progress from three of the Associate artists: Daniel Kan, Helena De Pulford and Abbi Jones. Abbi Jones
Hannah Perry visited the Highline studios in December. Hannah started the visit by showing work from two recent shows, including her latest film and a performance, exhibited in Berlin. Hannah’s presentation illuminated the material processes and ideas behind her work. She discussed how her screen prints develop from her films; the transition between analogue and digital film editing, as well as practical considerations when planning work for larger shows. The discussion then developed around themes in Hannah’s work that resonated with the groups own practices and research. The conversation covered a range of topics, including the use of mirroring, hypnosis, and sound in Hannah’s work; psychological states and hysteria; diaristic forms; intimacy, solidarity, and friendship. Helena de Pulford
Joseph Constable, previously Programme Curator at l’étrangère Gallery, London and Projects Assistant to producer and curator Jacqui Davies, recently took the post of Assistant Curator at the Serpentine Galleries. Joseph visited the Associate Studio in September and began by reading an extract from Chris Kraus’s ‘I Love Dick’. From this prompt the discussion was wide ranging and moved through presentations of work from each of the Associates.
In May Anna Barham visited the Highline studios. Anna began by showing a number of works each involved in the complications, vagaries and slippages of language manifest through the technologies of speech recognition – the translation of spoken words into text. Taking the form of video works and live readings/performances the processing and re-processing of one ‘medium’ to another creates elaborate mergings of units of sound and language – “insight is quick” / “inside the squid”. The use of text as a subject, form and media led into the discussion of the work of Associates, in particular Anna Pickles Harvey and Abbi Jones.