New Work In Progress

Following on from my recent sculpture, Planetoid 210, I've decided to continue with the spherical theme and have started a new piece that will hopefully end up looking (if all goes well) like the love child of two of my other sculptures, The City and Cardboard Brain. Like Cardboard Brain, the new piece is going to be constructed primarily of interwoven periscopes and as with The City, I plan to use windows of magnified glass that will allow the viewer to peer into miniature environments, slotted in between the voids amongst the periscopes.
I say all this now but until the work starts to properly take shape its hard to tell how much space there will be for the miniature environments or if the overall shape will even be remotely spherical. These sculptures sometimes have a will of their own and refuse to conform – or is that just me anthropomorphising again?

 As you can see from this work in progress, it's early days yet. I've still not constructed enough periscopes to make the framework for even half of the sphere. I have a feeling that it's going to get trickier and trickier trying trying to fit all the internal sections together as the piece starts to take form but luckily I love that sort of thing.

This was the sketch that I made when I came up with the initial idea for the work. Admittedly it's not the most considered drawing in the world but I do have a habit of quickly forgetting ideas for artworks unless I jot something down on paper as soon as I think of it. So a lot of my drawings are little more than a few quick squiggles, but enough to act as a mental prompt.

Find Me On Pictify

I was sent an invite to join Pictify a few days ago. At first I was a little sceptical as every other day there seems to be another new social network/online art image bank popping up but I must admit that after an initial browse of the site, I've become somewhat addicted. Every few seconds members of the site are uploading new images (both of well-known and not so well-known artworks) so there's always something to hold your attention.

This is my Pictify page. Most of the artwork on it can also be found on my Flickr page but I dare say that unless I loose interest, I'll be adding lots more images to the Pictify site in the next few days. If you would care to see what images I've posted then please feel free to visit the site and if you would be so kind as to 'like' any of my images then you would make me a very happy bunny. Cheers!

'21 Steps' exhibition ( Liverpool)

Tomorrow morning I'm getting up bright and early and heading off to Liverpool. It's probably been a good twenty years since I last visited this lively city so when David Crawley, the director of Up And Coming Arts, asked me if I'd like to exhibit in his new exhibition I jumped at the chance. The show is called '21 Steps' and one of it's main sponsors is Liverpool Football Club.
Unfortunately I have to head back to London the same day so I won't be able to enjoy the musicians, bands and DJs that have signed up for Friday's opening party but if you are in the area and want to see what's going on then feel free to check out the Up And Coming Arts blog for all the details.

My contribution to the exhibition (which takes place over two venues) will be these three works – a painting, a pencil drawing and a print.

The painting is called 'The Ambassadors' and takes its figurative element from a photograph that appeared in many of the British tabloids a few years back. It shows a fight between some English and Turkish 'football fans'.
Like many of the paintings that I made at the time that I painted this one, it is painted on a shallow box structure that I constructed and the lines sheer off over the edge. The white line of the drawing is actually the primed surface showing through, so when you view the piece in the flesh, so to speak, your eye fluctuates slightly between the painted surface and the line drawing below. This can give the impression (from a certain distance) that the line of the drawing vibrates slightly.

I'm quite pleased with the pencil drawing but unfortunately the picture here doesn't do it justice – something that can be put down to my limited technical skills in the photographic department. The sketch is of a selection of found objects that I had lying around in my old studio but which I decided to draw as if they had mutated slightly and then morphed into one another. I think that it must have been one of those slow days, sculpturally, when I didn't have any big projects on the go and just decided to mess about a bit.

And lastly but hopefully not least, there's my Spidey Pods screen prints which will be on sale at the exhibition for £167 each. However, if you can't make it to Liverpool for the show but would like to purchase a print direct for me then please feel to drop me a line at waynechisnall@yahoo.co.uk .

Synthetic Life

As anyone who knows me will testify, I could never be accused of being a science geek but I do admit to a fascination with the more awe inspiring and fantastical theories and developments in contemporary science – especially in physics and biology (none of which I would ever claim to understand in any great depth – just deep enough to generate as sense of wonder). So I was delighted when Alec Bartos, on behalf of the Purdue University in Indiana USA, asked if they could use an image of my And When I’m a Man sculpture to advertise today's talk 'Synthetic Life: A New Industrial Revolution?' The talk is being given by Dr Gregory Kaebnick, editor of the Hastings Center Report and Bioethics Forum.

Although unable to make it to the lecture myself (what with it being in the US and me being here in little old London) I'm led to believe that the theme is synthetic biology and the idea that there might be a new industrial revolution: combining non-living parts to make a living thing, or a combination of living and non-living things - with Dr Kaebnick talking about whether or not this is even possible and what the implications might be for the ways we view humanity and the non-living world.
As I said, I'm a sucker for that kinda thing so I hope that it all goes well and that someone thought to film it and stick it up on the web.

Poster design by Alec Bartos.

Orifice Tower

Admittedly my latest sculpture isn't completely finished (there is just one small finishing touch to add but I'm waiting on the arrival of some resin hardener before I can do that) and this isn't the greatest quality photo in the world but I thought that I'd let you see how it's coming along – especially since I first started work on it quite some time ago. To be perfectly honest I enjoyed constructing this piece so much that I was more than happy to squander days just working on the tinniest of details - most of which no-one but myself will probably even notice. I think sculpting, and probably art in general, is as much about the process as it is the end result.

Although it might look like it's just been thrown together all the individual box sections and framework have been carefully constructed in such a way that the pieces interlock, creating a deceptively sturdy structure – not that I'm encouraging anyone to try and climb it. After the recent destruction of my City sculpture on it's way back from last year's show, The Event 2011, I don't fancy having to undertake more repair work than I already have to.

Discounting the glue, all the materials used in the construction of this piece (mostly wood but some copper piping and small metal fixings) are recycled – even down to the screws. This isn't purely for environmental reasons. It's mainly because I love the patina and 'resonance' of old materials. A lot of the wood comes from the backs of old picture frames or early to mid-20th Century packing cases from the Victoria and Albert Museum, here in London.

With this quick sketch you can see, in the drawing on the left, my initial idea for the Orifice Tower. I drew it whilst waiting for a talk to commence at the Jerwood Space in Bankside. I can't remember now what the talk was about but I remember that at the time I was working on some small sculptures that were basically wooden boxes with carved apertures or orifices in them. By this stage I'd become aware of the fact that much of my work was getting smaller and smaller so I decided to remedy this by creating elevated versions of my new Orifice Box sculptures – which also tied in with my love of tower structures.

In the (almost) finished piece you can see that the top section is basically another of my orifice boxes, with the front panel having been carved from a solid block of wood. One of the problems of exhibiting awkward sized sculptures (this piece is 2 metres tall) is getting them to and from venues so I designed this one so that it bolts together in four sections – making it easier to transport/package and making the bolts a feature of the work.

RCA Secret Postcard Prize

I've already said congratulations to Cade Newman who correctly guessed which were my postcard entries in this year's RCA Secret Show (ahead of the sale opening) but I'd forgotten to mention what his prise was. So here it is, Doll Torso, from my series of small Doll Parts paintings. Maybe I'll do another competition for next year's show.

Review of 'Botanists of the Asphalt' by Julia Kollewe

The City Arts & Music Project makes its debut on the London art scene | Julia Kollewe

Botanists of the Asphalt - This Thursday

Here are a few detail shots of my sculpture, The City, that I will be showing in this Thursday's 'Botanists of the Asphalt' show. If you would like to come to the show please RSVP to the curator, Stephanie Pochet, at stephanie@thecamplondon.com or by ringing 07966 244138.

Botanists of the Asphalt (Part 1)

Private View - Thursday 3rd December (6.30 – 9.30pm)

Exhibition Runs - 4th December to 5th January

The City Arts & Music Project, 70-74 City Road, London EC1Y 2BJ - 0207 253 2443

info@thecamplondon.com

RCA Not So Secret?

Here are three details from the three postcards that I have in this year's RCA Secret. Hopefully I've made it hard to guess which ones in the show are mine but if you think that you have worked it out then why not email me their correct exhibition numbers - and the first correct answer received before the sale starts on Saturday 21st November will win a prize. I'll probably send the winner a small drawing or something.

So if you think you know the answers send me an email marked 'RCA Not So Secret' (including your name, address and the 3 correct numbers) to waynechisnall@yahoo.co.uk - before Saturday 21st November 2009.

Good Luck.

To view the entries on-line go to - www.rca.ac.uk/secret

or check out the show in person at -

Royal college of Art
Kensington Gore
London SW7 2EU
020 7590 4186

RCA Secret Artists Party

Well, it's that time of year again and the Royal College of Art has just thrown its annual 'thank you' party for all the artists who have contributed to this year's RCA Secret - the once yearly exhibition of "original postcard-sized artwork, donated by internationally acclaimed artists plus up-and-coming graduates from the Royal College of Art". Aside from it being a chance to get a preview of the thousands of works on show, the party is always a good opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new artists. And the free drinks and goodie bags don't go unappreciated either.

Every year I try to do my postcards in a different style from the previous year. This time I've gone for pencil drawings but have done them in slightly different styles to each other. Last year I posted images of my entries here on my blog, before the sale opened - a little bit naughty some would say. Although, for anyone who had already seen my blog and my prints, it was pretty obvious which ones were mine. So this year I'll make it a little harder. Just before the show opens I might post a small detail of one or all the cards and see if anyone can work out which ones are mine. Damn - I could even give a prize to the first person who gets them all right.

All the cards on show go on sale (priced £40 each) on Saturday 21th November 2009 - but get there early as some of the hard-core collects have been known to camp out days, if not weeks, in advance. You can purchase up to four cards but you have to register first - either at the exhibition, at their website or by emailing secret@rca.ac.uk.
However, if all goes to plan (fingers crossed, as I might have left things a little too late to have everything ready in time) I should a little surprise for those queueing outside on the opening day.

The show is open to the public from 13th - 20th November 2009, 11Am-6PM (19.11.09 until 8PM). For further info check out www.rca.ac.uk/secret.

Royal college of Art
Kensington Gore
London SW7 2EU
020 7590 4186

The Nest

Junk Metal Nest Sketch, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

Firstly I’d like to congratulate John McIlduff and Brian Irvine for winning one of the 12 Artists Take the Lead awards (commissions totalling £5.4 million) with their proposed Nest project - and secondly I’d like to thank them for using a blown-up image of my Junk Metal Nest sketch for the recent press conference here in London. After the conference John told me that he’d seen my sketch appear on Channel 4 News. It’s probably more like 15 seconds than 15 minutes of fame, but hey, I’m easily pleased.
John contacted me about using my drawing after he came across it on the internet. Although I’d already heard about the Arts Council England and London 2012 award (with money like that up for grabs, what artist hadn’t) it was the first that I’d heard of their Nest project. And once they told me about the similarities between their work and mine I immediately agreed to let them use my sketch.

Below are a few paragraphs about the project that I found on -
http://www.artiststakingthelead.org.uk/northern-ireland/brian-irvine-brian-irvinejohn-mcilduff-dumb-nest
But you can also find out more about the project at –
http://www.artscouncil-ni.org/news/2009/new221020092.html
and at -
http://press.artscouncil.org.uk/content/Detail.aspx?ReleaseID=880&NewsAreaID=2

THE NEST invites the people of Northern Ireland to create art on a massive scale through the simple act of donating an object. These will be collected and assembled into a gigantic creation to be built in Belfast by a team of artists and designers. THE NEST will become a focal point for a large-scale music and choral event, composed, written and directed by Brian Irvine and John McIlduff - inspired and performed by the people of Northern Ireland.

This huge multi-media project will have a presence throughout the towns and villages of the nation, as artists and volunteer teams travel to collection points to find out about and gather in the objects that people wish to donate. A multitude of items, small and large, will be collected from donors who will be asked to attach a baggage label illustrating how they are connected to their donated object. Donors will be filmed with their objects and the objects will be photographed, catalogued and under the direction of an artistic design team, take a single shape that will become THE NEST.

Words from these baggage labels together with film footage of people making their donations will be transformed into a large-scale musical work that will be performed by an orchestra and large community chorus made up of people from all over Northern Ireland: professional and unemployed people, young and not so young, farmers, doctors, bankers, shop-keepers, and people with disabilities amongst many others.

With thousands of objects and labels and hundreds of singing voices and musicians, THE NEST will be a far reaching, all embracing, sonic and sculptural landscape that examines and questions relationships between people and the things that we surround ourselves with - the things from which we make our own nests.