Following our visit to the Waterhall, we decided that we would go to The IKON.
The first exhibition we went to was:
- Joao Maria Gusmao and Pedro Paiva 'Movement of the Fried Egg and Other Astronomical Bodies'.
João Maria Gusmão + Pedro Paiva. 3 Suns, 2009,16mm film, colour, no sound, 0’50’’
Image reference:
This exhibition showed a selection of short films that dealt with issues that surrond scientific studies.
I have to say that when were walking around this exhibition and watching the videos, I felt really confused as I didn't really know what the videos were representing and what their intentions actually were. They seemed to be really 'random' (sorry Sarah - I know it's your favourite word!).
As we were about to go upstairs and leave this exhibition, Bob walked in with group of students. After speaking to Bob, we all stood in the large darkened room for absolutely ages and took more time to watch the videos.
By watching the videos again, and talking about them as they were being played, things started to make a little more sense. The moving fried eggs that I could see before me on the screen began to represent and assert that the world consisted of two oppositional states. These were atoms and the void and that they were indivisible from one another. It was a surreal experience to be a part of!
The second exhibition we went to was:
- Clare Rojas 'We They, We They'.
Clare Rojas's work uses a wide range of media including painting and print making. Rojas's work focuses on gender relations and the representations of these. In particular, it was interesting to note that often the males represented in her work were in fact portrayed with expressions of ridicule towards them from the females.
As I continued to explore Rojas's exhibition, I did come across particular pieces that were quite sinister and morbid. For example, characters with bleeding eyes. This really contrasted with the rest of the exhibition which was relatively 'normal'.
From looking at Rojas's work it was apparent that she is greatly influenced by subjects and themes from a range of fables and traditional tales. As we visited the resource room in the gallery, we came across a book that Clare Rojas had illustrated called 'Blue Deer and Red Fox'.
Image reference: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clare-Rojas-Blue-Deer-Red/dp/9075883447/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273088976&sr=8-5
We read the book and we quite moved by it. It told the story of two friends who spent a lot of their time together and guiding one another through everyday life. Then one of the Red Fox sadly passes away, and the other is greatly lost without their friend and companion. At this point we learn that the Blue Deer is in fact blind, and needed their friend to support them in more ways than one.
We all thought that this story could be used within the classroom environment to address and help children with issues surrounding bereavement, and acceptance. A great link between art and PSHE/SEAL.
To end our day of arty farty adventures, we also came across a video that Clare Rojas had been involved in making.
'Manipulators' portrays and represents a sense of irony within the celebrity world and associated lifestlye, and the juxtaposition of this against themes, scences and images from everyday life. A really enjoyable and fun piece of video to watch.
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