Category: blog

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Exhumation of a virtual mass grave

I had the fantastic opportunity recently to view the exhumation of a virtual mass grave at Cranfield University.

The opportunity came about after a meeting with Nicholas Marguez Grant to discuss the work I created for ‘Latent’. Nicholas works at Cranfield University as Lecturer in Forensic Anthropology with Roland Wessling who is Lecturer in Forensic Archaeology & Anthropology. Nicholas mentioned that Roland runs an annual module, for Masters forensic anthropology students. This module aims to give these students the experience of exhuming a mass grave in advance of a real one.

At least 6 months in advance plastic skeletons are buried in a pit within woodland within the grounds of Cranfield University, Shrivenham. Roland sets a series of stories and scenarios that the students need to discover and interpret within the placement of each skeleton. Tied hands, blindfolds and position can help to tell the story of what happened.

When I arrived, very little had been uncovered but the graves had been plotted and excavation had been started. It was fascinating to see the process of the work and I had the opportunity to talk to a few of the students.

Roland was very generous with his time and I had a long and fascinating conversation with him about the work he did exhuming graves in Bosnia. A fantastic insight with anecdotes and knowledge that it simply wouldn’t be possible to discover in books.

I have been particularly interested in the use of fabric and clothing to identify individuals within mass graves in Bosnia, but whilst talking with Roland he started to explain that during the trials similarities between the fabrics used for blindfolds and ligatures became apparent. These similarities helped to show that the atrocities had been organized and therefore constituted genocide rather than mass murder.

This nugget of information is enormously exciting for me and something I am now keen to try and research. I want to try and source visual imagery and descriptions of these blindfolds and ligatures.

Roland has kindly agreed to send me a transcript of the trial of Radislav Krstic which is where these discoveries were initially mentioned.

This day has been an amazing opportunity and an experience that has allowed me huge insights.

 

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Entangled – Turner Contemporary

Entangled at Turner Contemporary is one of those must see exhibitions. Full of so many inspiring and important textile artists. Too many to list but I have highlighted my favorites in the images below.

It is exciting that textile art is becoming more of a recognized medium and that exhibitions such as this one are being given prominence in major art galleries like the previous exhibition ‘Art Textiles’ at The Whitworth

This is an exhibition of purely female artists which is fantastic, but I wish this information could be left to the viewer. I felt that the emphasis on women was repeated far too often.

Catch it before it goes

Closes Sun 7 May 2017

There is also a symposium ‘The Matter of Material’ – 27/04/17

 

 

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Srebrenica International Conference 2017

On March the 7th I attended the Remembering Srebrenica Conference at St Anthony’s College in Oxford. A fascinating mixture of academic and non academic speakers made this event especially engaging.

Particularly fascinating for me where Allan Little, who was the BBC special correspondent during the conflict in Bosnia and two secondary school teachers whose amazing determination to get genocide events talked about within schools was inspiring.

The conference has added fuel and further inspiration towards what I am hoping is the beginning of a new and exciting project. I have applied to participate in the  ‘Lessons From Srebrenica’ educational visits programme. If I am accepted I hope to develop a deeper understanding and knowledge of events there with a view to building a body of work to exhibit next year.

Srebrenica International Conference 2017

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Latent

I have been preparing for my end of degree show ‘Latent’ which will be held at The Crypt Gallery in London on January 13th and 14th.

Textile artist Katie Taylor’s exhibition Latent is a visual exploration of residual memory using impressions left as a metaphor for loss.

Possessions left hold a memory within them, marks left tell a story that can set each apart from another and we are all individually marked by absence.

The event page can be found here. 

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Dis locate

An empty car showroom just around the corner from the artist studios that I work for, inspired an opportunity to exhibit within a fantastic non gallery space.

I project managed the whole event with 32 artists including myself exhibiting. We have commissioned a curator, Luis Araujo who is a final year student on an MFA in curating at Goldsmiths.

The exhibition starts next week with the private view on 27th May.

Dislocate Exhibition Poster

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Uncovered

I have some of my life drawing work in the Uncovered exhibition at OVADA in Oxford at the end of April.

I will also be curating the exhibition from work produced over a term’s work at OVADA’s Experimental Life Drawing classes.

uncovered-flyer

Come along to the private view on 28th April from 6-9pm.

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International textile exhibition

I have been chosen as one of 27 artists to exhibit as part of the The 17th International mini textile exhibition in Bratislava and Prague. The theme was “Memory of Textile“.
“Textile is such a common part of life that its exceptional values are often overlooked. Its close contact to body gives it emotional power. And in addition to many other properties, it also has the ability to record stories from the past – personal, intimate, but also collective. The historical memory of textile, as well as the private one, tell of past values, skills, relationship to the world and shift the legacy of its content towards the future.”
The piece I submitted was ‘Lord Deliver Me’ as part of the submission process I explained how the piece fits within the theme “Memory of Textile”…
Rope was my starting point – it was integral to life within prisons, used to hang those sentenced to the death penalty, unpicking rope was a prison task and the unpicked rope would be used to caulk boats used for transportation to the colonies. Using this rope I have referenced the idea of spiralling out of control by making coiled rope bowls using basketry techniques. Clay pushed into the rope basket creates a bone like remnant, a memory, whilst also referencing the ideas of unravelling and deterioration.
Iron oxide was used to enhance the ropes texture on the outside of the item (Iron locks, prison keys) a tin glaze was used inside (tin bowls and cutlery were issued to each prisoner). The piece is also empty – empty lives. It doesn’t stand up and couldn’t hold anything – pointless and purposeless, lives that were not lived to the full.
The red thread inside the piece references the phrase ‘hanging by a thread’ as well as a significant reminder of the severing of an umbilical connection between a mother and her child.
Moments before Selina Wadge was hung she was heard to say ‘Lord deliver me from this miserable world’.”

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OVADA presents Spotlight 2013

For the forth year running, OVADA is proud to present a showcase of contemporary artwork at Oxford Town Hall for Christmas Light Night. Artists from across the South East Region were selected to respond to the physical space and history of this beautiful Grade II listed building, allowing you to explore intriguing spaces and see the Town Hall in a new light!

OVADAPoster