Joe Stevens: mentossystem_2 layout plan

2	2	3	2	2	1	1	2	3
3	1	2	3	2	3	2	3	1
3	1	3	3	3	3	1	1	2
2	3	3	2	3	3	3	1	1
2	1	1	3	1	3	1	1	3
3	1	3	1	3	3	2	3	1
3	1	1	3	2	2	2	1	2
1	1	1	3	3	1	2	2	3
3	2	2	1	2	1	2	1	1

Correspondents to Joe Steven piece justanotherdayingamespace

Lower Ground Yellow 1

1. 12:07 Can of coke

2. 12:13 Battery (big)

3. 12:13 Battery (big)

4. 12:14 1 pence piece

5. 12:15 Karen Millen tag

6. 12:16 Filthy pen

7. 12:18 Orange triangle

8. 12:19 Letter N

9. 12:19 Letter I

10. 12:19 Letter K

11. 12:19 Letter E

12. 12:19 Letter M

13. 12:19 Letter L

14. 12:19 Letter L

15. 12:19 Letter R

16. 12:19 Letter N

17. 12:19 Letter A

18. 12:22 Piece of pipe

19. 13.38 Buddha statue courtesy The Titchy Coffee Co.

20. 13:40 Piping bolt

21. 13:40 Piping bolt

22. 13:42 Letter E

23. 13:44 Bent screw

24. 13:49 Tape measure

25. 13:49 Y-3 flyer

26. 14:20 White sugar

27. 14:23 Blue plastic (ice lolly mould)

28. 14:33 Carnelian stone

Ground Floor Red 2

1. 11:58 Masking tape sculpture

2. 12:25 Piece of plastic

3. 12:25 Battery

4. 12:25 Sweets

5. 12:26 Silica gel

6. 12:27 Small box

7. 13:53 Chest of drawers

8. 14:02 Rock

9. 14:11 Babies dummy

10. 15:27 Glass pane

11. 15:34 Plastic cup (crushed)

12. 15:34 Glass pane

13. 15:37 Plank of wood

14. 15:40 A screw

15. 15:52 Some blue tack

16. 15:53 Wiring

17. 15:53 A pin

18. 15:53 A tic-tac

19. 16:00 Fuse

21. 16:03 Paper on nail

22. 16:03 Paperclip signature

23. 16:06 Knife

1^st Floor Blue 3

1. 13:06 Card stand

2. 14:49 Postcard

3. 14:49 Postcard

4. 14:49 Postcard

5. 14:49 Postcard

6. 14:49 Postcard

7. 14:49 Postcard

8. 14:49 Postcard

9. 14:49 Postcard

10. 14:49 Postcard

11. 14:49 Postcard

12. 14:49 Postcard

13. 14:49 Postcard

14. 14:49 Postcard

15. 14:49 Postcard

16. 14:49 Postcard

17. 14:49 Postcard

18. 14:49 Postcard

19. 14:49 Postcard

20. 14:49 Postcard

21. 14:51 Green wine gum

22. 16:16 Coffee cup

23. 16:16 Coffee cup

24. 16:16 Coffee cup

25. 88:88 -

26. 88:88 -

27. 88:88 -

28. 88:88 -

29. 88:88 -

30. 88:88 -

Max Prus

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Mix together the tomato ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and honey, then use to coat the art pieces. Lay the coated art in a single layer on a baking tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes until cooked and starting to blacken at the edges.

Claudia Nova

Love is the best, most insidious, most effective instrument of social repression.”

- Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Fassbinder’s idea of the exploitative potential of love contradicts the romantic idealism we are commonly sold in films and love songs. This disparity is what inspires my artistic practice. Imagery from pop culture serves as a language in which to discuss the semiotics of love, lust and the power dynamics at play therein.

In this exhibition the discussion centres upon the 1930 song ‘Falling in Love Again’ by Friedrich Hollaender, and 2 of its most famous interpretations by Marlene Dietrich and Klaus Nomi.

Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt,
Denn das ist meine Welt – und sonst gar nichts. (German original)

Falling in love again, never wanted to,

What am I to do, can’t help it. (English version)

Tom Marshallsay

I am interested in the interrogation of the notions of masculinity through the examination of certain Idol and Fetishes. I am concerned with the workings of the family and the role of icons such as Wrestlers and Religious figures

Recently I have been working with Video, by working in the media in which these figures are traditionally represented, the work can be seen to transcend these models and the role they play. I aim to explore these entities further and to represent them from a critical point of view but often with a sense of empathy.

Ross Little

My recent work has been focusing on delusion and how this manifests itself in society. I am interested in the explanations and meanings given to life, and how people have come to these often absurd conclusions. I do not offer any obvious or alternative meanings to the many questions that come with these issues. Through the reworking and juxtaposing of absurd and surreal imagery with the everyday banality of life, I hope that my views on existence begin to become apparent, but never fixed.

“This life cannot be the excuse for the next”- Martin Kippenberger.

Hannes Hellstrom

I am interested in the signs, spaces, messages and objects of consumer culture and its deep impact on our lives. I have also tried to deal with my own ambivalence towards what is on one hand a system that rewards us for our hard work by giving us material wealth, on the other an unstoppable force without meaning and conscience. Does personal freedom form its core or a never-ending loop of the same empty message?

The reoccurring signs and shapes in my work is an attempt to ad an element of commodity or brand image to my practice, defining the repetitiveness as something reassuring and something that gives you a feeling of “all is well” when the actual atmosphere is dark and in ways a vision of dystopia.

Josh Duncan

"The victim tears fitfully at his clothing. A woman begins aimlessly slashing at things with her knife. A person runs half naked into the bitter friezing night, screaming out at the village, eating the shit of dogs. Eventually the person is calmed by others in the family, with great compassion, helped to sleep. Perlerorneq. Winter."

Arctic Dreams-Ice and Light-Barry Lopez

Sam Derounian

Sam Derounian’s work is a formalist project for all its gestural qualities. As emotionally and psychologically loaded his work is, Derounian ultimately abstains from committing his works’ meaning to the trajectory which it initially seems to follow. This prolific abstinence from meaning is communicated largely through drawing, painting, and screen-printing processes. Derounian’s timeless narratives evoke feelings of unease and nostalgia, that are centered around the concept of mimesis or ‘re-remembering’, striving to be as whimsical as they are unsettling.

Floor plan of the space

Portal 29th October

Portal

n.

1. A doorway, entrance, or gate, especially one that is large and imposing.
2. An entrance or a means of entrance: the local library, a portal of knowledge.
3. The portal vein.
4. A website considered as an entry point to other websites, often by being or providing access to a search engine.

Joe Stephens intentions for 'Space Within'

For Space Within artist Joe Stevens intend to buy, find or take 23 discrete items from the ground floor, 30 items from the first floor and 28 items from the lower ground floor (of the triangle shopping centre) according to the sequence set out by a previous work in which he used a 3 colour system of confectionary to produce a minimal floor sculpture (Mento System, 2008). Following this logic Stevens will construct a new sculpture dependent upon the random variable of what is discovered within the triangle. The algorithm below shows the sequence of events:

floor > item > interpretation > intervention In total, 81 items bought, found or taken from the triangle will be used.

Addendum Video games are inherently utopian architectural constructs. This is because they are bound by the rules and systems of their creation. The utopianism derives from an inability to deviate from a predetermined structure. Whatever the rules say cannot occur, absolutely will not happen.

Robin Shepherd

http://www.hannahbarry.com

Paul Allcock

Artist Paul Allcock intends to explore his interests in use of found materials and utilizing everyday objects. For Space Within Allcock will exhibit an etching piece and a sculptural work exploring braille like binary forced into found bits of wood with oak and compressed charcoal.

http://www.paulallcock.org

.

Patrick O'sullivan

The ability of the human mind to interpret/misinterpret and understand is the central focus of my work. My frequent reference of proverb, fable and superstition, provides myself with a platform for insight into general connotations surrounding such rudimentary images, of often natural basis. These images such as mountain scenes, plant growth or mud, to mention a few, are familiar to a viewer both visually and physically, making the relationship previously formed and the attachment having already occurred. By supplying a non specific, basic sculptural situation the viewer is encouraged to invent, suppose, exaggerate and attach profound meaning to the shape, image or sound that stands before them. I aim to create a point of interest for viewers to dwell upon freely, creating connection between the work itself and the unique experience of the viewer. This depth or focus is made possible only due to the space the piece is occupying, and the occasion of which it has been encountered. This I hope removes any need of exacting knowledge or of definitive understanding and instead replaces this with a greater emphasis upon individual emotion or instinctive acceptance.

I aim not to invent new and unfelt instincts but instead try to re-invent or aid the realisation of a previous sensation and create immunity to suppression. Supplying representational scenery from natural origins removes any sense of epic proportions, overwhelming feats, or unique marvel which may distract from other sensations, and instead is replaced by simple, primary human interpretation/misinterpretation

Few Questions for the Free For Arts organizers. Lois and Helen

How has Manchester responded to your proposal of a free arts festival?

Resonably well, The companies/sponsors that have got involved are very enthusiastic and keen to support both us and Manchester, however there were some companies that didn't take to the idea at all. We found that people started to contact us once we had got the ball rolling, rather than the other way around which was very exciting. The artists were very responsive, and everyone is helping out as much as they can, and introducing new people all the time. Which is great.


Has it been inspiring working with unconventional exhibition spaces?

Yes, it's been great seeing how artists respond to the spaces, and seeing who can work where. We're really thankful to all the companies that have given their spaces for free, as they're all so varied and in some cases have inspired the work contained within them. We think its good to always question what a gallery is, and in the festival we are using the whole city as a gallery as our locations are sprawled across the city centre.

What events are you excited about?

All of them! We're excited about our own exhibition obviously, and there's the possibility of an unusual 'part b' to that (possible details to follow), also the performance events are something new to us and have been the most challenging. We were inspired to add the performance part to the 'Arts and Performance Festival' after seeing the Marina Abromovic Event at the Whitworth Art Gallery. Which was amazing. We're just excited to be working with so many people in so many different ways, and are looking forward to seeing all the varying artworks that will be taking place. It will be a busy week!


Prior to the beginning of the festival what elements would you consider reworking to improve the festival for next year?

Starting the planning earlier would be the first thing, as we didn't realise how many people wanted to be involved, and as a positive result of this next years festival will be much bigger!


In many ways do you feel that, as artists and curators, your general response to dealing with the organization of the festival and communicating with others is infact your own artwork rather than the polished aesthetics of the final festival events?

We feel that art is a lifestyle, something that you live and breathe. It's difficult to separate the different aspects of our art as we do all of them as one. I (Lois) feel that from working closely with Helen, the themes of my work have developed from spacial/movement ideas to environment, relationships and communication. Both of us feel that it would be difficult to work solely on projects, without having control of how they would be displayed and the process of making this happen. We're very involved with the ideas of space and feel its important to know the final exhibition space to develop the work.


What have you generally learnt from communicating and working with large amount of people?

That everyday is a new challenge, and it's fantastic. Everyone is so different and that's the magic of life.

http://www.wecurate.co.uk

The Art Guide

Developing and supporting the market for contemporary visual arts in the North West

The Art Guide is a detailed listings site that provides access to up-to-date information about visual arts activity in the North West region. It includes details of art fairs, artist book launches, exhibition previews, open studio days, talks, conferences, and live art performances.

The main aim for The Art Guide is to develop and support the market for contemporary visual arts in the North West region. This will be achieved through marketing resources and joint activities that bring together the promoter and the audience or buyer. We aim to broaden audience knowledge for the support of contemporary living artists, and their work, through the provision of better information dissemination regarding opportunities to engage with artists, collectors, promoters and curators.

Jeff Coombs Projects has a profile on The Art Guide which will list all the exhibitions featured in the current series.

http://www.theartguide.co.uk/Profiles/?Profile=288

Visit http://www.theartguide.co.uk for information on a variety of art events that will coincide with The Jeff Coombs Projects Triangle Space.

Jeff Coombs Projects home page on free for arts festival website

http://www.freeforartsfestival.co.uk/#/jeff-coombs-project/4535358527

Max Prus

Max Prus will be one of the artists from Glasgow School of Art who will be featuring in Surrogate.

http://maxprus.com/

Invite for 'Space Within'

Daniel Pickles

Manchester based artists involved with 'Space within'

I am interested in how we as human beings choose to exist in the pursuit for happiness. my interest leads me to investigate the unknown feeling of faith and how this can drive people to push themselves behond the limitations of there own body.

I find a romance within the object (being found or otherwise) in the reflections of events, the histories the object carries and how they effect our condition.

Escapism I belive to be the souls means of survival as I take influence from poetry, literature, the bible, film and music to formulate the suject matter within the work I produce. I also have an interest in the way we perceive language in comparison to the image.

Andrew Brown

Images by Manchester based artists Andrew Brown who will be exhibiting in 'Space Within'

By examining the sub-cultural mythologies surrounding things from science fiction to rock music I hope to expand upon it's knowledge hierarchy. I hope that by revealing the flow of information within such systems of self-governed snobbery it can become accessible to a general audience. Through linking these factions of information control and dissemination I feel all sub-cultures can be viewed as fictive, they are connected to form a culture as large as the 'mainstream', as is quite easily seen at any time. Pop music no longer exists and is labelled as being in an 'independent' style which is wholly senseless, these paradoxes of culture are what I am interested in exploring. The internet has created a worldwide sub-culture which can be accessed by anyone, making it larger than could be possible without such a ready supply of information and entry points. Some information can only be received with a prior knowledge of the subject, one signifier can trigger association until a valid view is presented of a work, when working with such material personal views cannot be validated, it is based firmly in given information.
Be it through a 'sculptural' object to a magazine there will be entry points, but they will function as only that, they cannot be viewed as whole without the cross-referencing of ideas and even the germination of knowledge on such subjects that could be alien to a viewer. Some works may never become wholly accessible, this may be because of the sprouting of given information into new webs of associated interest and these new links cannot be fully explored within the parameter of one idea, theoretically a work may be completed a year later in another work, this is the way in which I aim to present information, uncluttered yet undecipherable until more knowledge can be gained, no matter when this new flow of information may be.

Visit for more information on the events involved

http://www.freeforartsfestival.co.uk

History of the Triangle

STEP BACK IN TIME AT TRIANGLE
WITH THE LAUNCH OF A HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION

FROM 29 June 2009, take a trip back to 1837 and experience the historical Grade II listed building over different decades before it became one of Manchester’s biggest fashion hubs.

Triangle Shopping Centre, in Exchange Square, will be paying tribute to the building’s history and celebrating 172 years of trading by installing a permanent photography exhibition in unit 22a on the Ground Floor for Manchester’s history aficionados to enjoy.

Local architects, Manchester Library and various private collections have supplied the photography.

The present building is one of Manchester’s finest iconic structures and stands on the site of an earlier structure built in 1837 trading from Hanging Ditch. This was replaced in 1897 by the current building, which opened for business in 1903 as 'The Corn Exchange', which was eventually renamed ‘The Corn, Grocery and Produce Exchange’ as the use of the building changed.

In its heyday, ‘The Corn Exchange’, was the gathering spot for thousands of traders from all over the region and an epicentre for trade in Manchester and the North West, this continued until the economic depression of the 1920s and 1930s.

Following the Second World War, trade gradually declined and the trading floor fell into disuse. The building, was used briefly by The Royal Exchange Theatre Company from 1976 and it also served as a filming location for Granada Television's 'Brideshead Revisited'.

From this period until 1996 it became a gathering place for alternative communities and contained a large market with small stallholders selling clothes, jewellery and second hand record shops. Many of the shops were temporary structures on the trading floor of the exchange, with other shops operated from permanent units and offices around the perimeter.

After the devastation of the 1996 IRA bomb The Corn Exchange was renovated, rebuilt and reopened in the year 2000 as Triangle Shopping Centre (because of its shape). The stunning Edwardian ceiling is to this day one of Manchester’s finest examples of early 19th Century architecture and it is now home to a range of restaurants, boutique and high street stores.

The exhibition focuses on five significant periods in Triangle’s history; The Old Corn Exchange (1837-1897), The Corn, Grocery and Produce Exchange (1903-1996), The Manchester IRA Bombing (1996), The Rebuild (1996-2000) and The Emergence of Triangle (2000-Present).

The Francis House trust will benefit from contributions made at the exhibition, and all of the periods showcased in the retrospective will include informative text, quotations and historical images.

Theo Turpin

“Where Marble Stood and Fell Into an Eternal Landscape,I Stand Ephemeral”

Gregory Corso

Theo Turplin intends to exhibit an unrealised proposal of a monumental sculpture to be situated in the centre of the Triangle Shopping Centre, Manchester. The aim of the sculpture is to re-define both the architectural experience of navigating the space, and therefore affect the recreational experience of visiting the shopping centre. The sculpture itself will deal with ideas of time and adaptation, the ability of a place to change to purpose. It is this ability to renew, that I want to not only display, but add to and be a part of with this sculpture, a monument to the changing history and unknown future.

The installation of the sculpture would signal a new stage in the life of this former corn exchange. The addition of a large-scale public sculpture would offer a new possible direction for the center, developing a new and individual identity with which it could progress into a more autonomous existence as opposed to the homogenized retail environment that so epitomized the time of its inception.

The sculpture will play with the different viewing points of the space, emphasizing the elements of verticality with the abundant natural light that is present in the space due to its large domed glass ceiling. The sculpture proposed will deal with ideas of ascension and dissension, highlighting a point of balance between the two.

Craig Barnes

Craig Barnes methods of practice respond to the artifice & idiocy, glory and magnificence of modern living. Whilst it takes heed of tradition, art history and critical theory, it is occasionally belligerent and contrary, but it is never intended to be nostalgic. Digger employs an arsenal of seemingly redundant modern objects and disposable ephemera, using them to test notions of object fetishisation. His aim in doing so to open up a space for new consideration of formal sculptural qualities now sometimes themselves deemed redundant in an age when cultural experience becomes increasingly conceptual, momentary and two dimensional.

For Space Within Digger intends to exhibit a flat pack kit building, the specific purpose of which will be determined upon arrival, as well as creating a piece that will literally scratch the surface of the former Karen Millen store in which the exhibition will take place.