Nail Box in Art and Auction Magazine

My Nail Box sculpture is due to be featured in the December issue of Art and Auction magazine as part of an ad campaign for the New York-based art storage and transportation company, Crozier Fine Arts, who are the global art logistics partner for Ai Weiwei's 'Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads'.

Photo by Rosie Mayell.

Congratulations Nail Box

I’ve just received an email from the nice folks at Saatchi Online to let me know that my Nail Box sculpture has made it into the next round of their Showdown competition. Out of the 2900 entries my piece made it into the final 300 (out of which only 5 are sculptures) which will now go to a juried selection. If Nail Box makes it into the final 30 selected for the last round, which will be a public voting round, then I may have to send out a few emails asking if anyone is feeling generous enough to give the little fella a helping hand (and yes, I do tend to anthropomorphise a lot of my work).

Saatchi Gallery Showdown 5

I’ve just checked my page on the Saatchi Online site to see how my Nail Box sculpture is doing in the new Showdown competition and was surprised to find that it’s current standing is listed as 32 out of 2900 entries. This seems pretty good as it’s normally the paintings that get all the votes. But it’s early days yet and I won’t be shocked if it doesn’t make it into the top 300 entries and therefore advance to the jury voting stage.
Also, I suspect that Nail Box is a bit vain and only wanted to enter the competition so that lots of people would get to see it.

Two Became One

I’ve just realised that I didn’t get round to posting a photo of the stilted spiky cube piece once I installed inside my Frankenstein’s Orifice Box sculpture. So here it is, peeking out through the carved orifice of the external box structure.

I had to add an extra light source just so you could see some of the details in the photo but when I come to exhibit the piece I will probably leave the interior without any artificial illumination. Although this will mean that the viewer won’t be able to fully see what is inside I do like the intrigue that comes with knowing that there is something half hidden going on. As a kid I was a big fan of horror movies and the ones that I loved the best were always the ones where you never fully saw the monster – where it was always lurking in the shadows (letting your imagination fill in the gaps).

So as if to totally shatter the illusion, here’s the internal piece just before I sealed it in. As you can see from the photo, I had to disassemble the outer structure in order to join the stilts of the inner cube to the base section (Ikea this ain’t). Originally I had planned to just remove the lid of the outer box and slot the stilts into the base that way but whilst I was hammering the nails into the inner cube the stilts must have realigned themselves so I had to do a bit of wrestling to get everything to fit back together (no, I’m wrong – it is just like Ikea).

The Return of Spiky

Tomorrow I should finally be able to finish my Frankenstein’s Orifice Box sculpture when I install the internal Stilted Nail Cube piece. Even though I completed the main, outer shell some time ago, it has been sat in the workshop at the Victoria and Albert Museum (where I’ve been working and where I also collected the scraps of old wood to construct the sculpture) waiting for me to complete the internal structure. So now that both sections are complete I’ll have the outer shell delivered to my studio and hopefully they should fit together – fingers crossed.

The inner section is inspired by my earlier Nail Box sculpture which in-turn is heavily influenced by the Minkisi totems of the Congo (and possibly by an image I once saw of one of Eduardo Paolozzi’s early sculptures in an old catalogue – but I might have just dreamed that bit because I haven’t since been able to find any reference to it).
Although you can’t clearly see it from this image, the front and the back of the cube have windows of splintered wood ‘exploding’ outwards (so that you can look straight through the box). When I was constructing the piece I wanted the splintering to look quite spontaneous and not too contrived but in order to get the exact random quality that I was looking for I had to do quite a few controlled experiments first. This involved me sandwiching pieces of old wood between two thick pieces of plywood with holes cut out of the middles of them and clamping the lot firmly to a sturdy vice. I would then run at the vice, swinging a claw hammer like a maniac, and try and hit the sandwich dead in the centre of the cut-out holes (needless to say, there were a few near misses). At first I just tried hitting the centre of the holes from a non-maniacal, standing position but for some reason the screaming nutter approach achieved the best results.

As is the way with most of my projects – as soon as I start making one thing I get loads of ideas for similar or spin-off pieces. And when I was making the inner cube section of the Frankenstein Orifice Box I began to wonder what a whole cluster of stilted cube sculptures would look like if I lengthened the stilts so that the cubes were viewable at head height. Needless to say – I now want to make a cluster of long stilted cube sculptures (oh, where will I find the time?).
Incidentally, this sketch was made during a practice shoot for a filmed, 24 hour drawing project that I’m thinking of doing along with film makers, Oliver Goodrich and Mike Taylor at Big Face Art. The project will involve me sitting at desk and trying to draw solidly for 24 hours. I know that 24 hours doesn’t sound like a mammoth amount of time to do anything as an endurance task but it’s amazing how mentally tiring it can be if you just sit for six or seven hours and try to fill sketchbooks with drawings from the top of your head. Anyway – we’ll see how it goes.

While I was going through some of my old sketchbooks I came across this one from 2008 which also plays with the idea of raising up small box structures to head height via the use of spindly stick structures. So I must have these little themes running through my head and they just resurface every now and again when they spot a project that suits them. A lot of these drawings tend to be nothing more than thumbnail sketches accompanied by lots of scrawled instructions (normally about construction methods or suggested materials) to my future self - although this one doesn't seem too scribbly.

New Member of the Family

Here’s my latest Orifice Box sculpture. The pictures are courtesy of fellow RCA Secret contributor and photographer, Phil Sofer.

This one took quite a long time to construct as I wanted to cobble it together from multiple bits and pieces – to give it a bit of a Frankenstein’s Monster look. As with most of my box structures, I’m interested in the play between the organic and the geometric. Hopefully this can be seen in the interaction between the carved orifice and the angular interlocking wooden sections.

I’ve only just got round to putting the wheels on it – which is the part that I really look forward to as it gives a piece a sense of completion. However, this one isn’t totally finished yet. I’m working on a smaller cubic box (with an exploded front and back so that you can see straight through it) on stilts, that will sit inside this the sculpture. I’ve already completed the main structure of the inner box (which has now inspired me to make a series of them as sculptural pieces in their own right. This is one of the problems with sculpture – each piece can inspire multiple spin-offs) but before it is ready to install I intend to cover it in a thick coat of rusty nails, similar to my Nail Box sculpture.

This is me conducting rigorous structural integrity tests (don’t try this at home kids).

Last Night's Melt Private View

Thanks to everyone who managed to make it to last night’s opening party of the first ever Melt Art Fair at the Art Pavilion. The turn out was fantastic and it was great to catch up with a few old friends and chat to some of the other artists.

Unfortunately I’m not going to be in London this weekend so I can’t be here to mingle during the fair’s busiest two days. But the show carries on till 5pm Sunday, so if you are in London over the next few days and looking to check out the various art fairs then feel free to come along to Melt. It’s a great show, with some fantastic work, in an unusual and beautiful space, right in the middle of Mile End Park (a short walk from Mile End tube station).

I like this image. It looks like two characters that have found a common bond in hairiness.

Melt Art Fair, Mile End Art Pavilion, Clinton Road (off Grove Road), Mile End Park, London E3 4QY

Melt Art Fair - Opening Party (Wed 6pm - 8:30 pm)

Here are some photos from Monday’s installation of the Melt Art Fair at the Art Pavilion in Mile End Park. The venue has to be one of the most amazing exhibition spaces in London. As well as being an architecturally stunning building (half buried under a man-made hill), it is almost magical how the light reflects from the adjacent pool and plays across the ceiling and walls of the gallery interior.
Along with 40 artists from the UK and abroad, I will be exhibiting a couple of my sculptures, Fetish and Nail Box. Melt is an independent venture, organised by Arthemisia.eu, as an alternative to the established London art fairs, Frieze and Zoo.

Although Melt officially opened today, we will be having opening party/private view tomorrow (Wednesday) from 6pm – 8:30pm (although the gallery will be open from 11am to view the artwork) so please feel free to come along and join us for a drink and a chance to meet the artist involved.

The opening times are from 11am – 6pm, Tuesday 12th to Sunday 17th October (closing at 5pm on Sunday) and the private view/drinks reception will be Wednesday 13th October (6pm – 8:30pm)
Melt Art Fair, Mile End Pavilion, Clinton Road (off Grove Road), Mile End Park, London E3 4QY

Melt Art Fair

It’s art fair season again in London and from the 12th till the 17th I will be exhibiting two of my sculptural pieces, Fetish and Nail Box, in the Melt Art Fair at Mile End Pavilion. Even though the show opens on the 12th, the private view/opening party will be on Wednesday 13th from 6 pm – 8:30 pm. So if you are in the area do come along and join us for a drink and a chat.

Melt Art Fair, Mile End Art Pavilion, Clinton Road (off Grove Road), Mile End Park, London E3 4QY. 12-17 October 2010. Private view: Wednesday 13 October (6 pm - 8:30 pm). info@arthemisia.eu

Orifice Boxes - New Work

I’ve just started working on a new series of sculptures that I’m hoping will be ready in time for a group show that I and fellow RBS sculptor, Alice Cunningham, are looking to organise later this year in Shoreditch, London. The exhibition is to be an all sculpture event; however, I think it might be nice to have some examples of working drawings on display too. Although it’s early days yet and we haven’t decided on how many artists to include in the show, I have already invited a very talented artist, Gary Martin, who has accepted.
Anyway - back to my new series of sculptures. Basically, I was itching to make something so I started trawling through my pile of old sketchbooks looking for any unrealised projects that I could bring to life, when I came across the above sketch. It is a drawing that I made a few years ago that was inspired by my earlier wall-mounted Orifice sculpture but which was describing an idea for a box sculpture on wheels (no surprise there then). The initial idea was for the box to be cobbled together from a mixture of different bits of wood and odds and ends in a Frankenstein’s monster kinda way. From the photos above, you can see the early stages of the new piece (from the orifice carved from a block of wood, to the completed front panel). As is often the case, it was the production of the work that triggered ideas for spin-off pieces or pieces that would work as a series. In this family group each of the sculptures, while being of varying sizes and dimensions, will have a carved orifice or portal and have something at its centre. This first one is to have a nail-encrusted inner box, not too dissimilar to my previous piece, Nail Box.

Invite to 'Found' at RBS (no, not the bank)

Here's the details for the upcoming show at the Royal British Society of Sculptors, where I will be exhibiting my Fetish sculpture (the one made out of human hair). The opening night is on Wednesday the 10th March but I will also be giving a talk about my work at 7 pm on Wednesday the 24th March. The opening night and the talks are free to enter so if you are in the area please feel free to come along.

The Royal British Society of Sculptors, 108 Old Brompton Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 3RA. +44 (0)20 7373 8615. info@rbs.org.uk

Arty Business

LBS_Crossroads Art Exhibition set-up, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

I'd like to thank Julie Dagonet and the rest of the fantastic Crossroads Art Exhibition team at the London Business School for inviting me to be guest artist in their upcoming show. Above is a photo showing the setting up of the exhibition. It was refreshing to be involved in an installation where everything went smoothly – no tears and tantrums with this group. As far as I can remember this is the first time that I’ve had my work exhibited in a big office environment, and it works surprisingly well. There is a strangely surreal play between the everyday nature of the room and the work (looking like it has found itself somewhere that it shouldn’t be) – I love it.
The rest of the works on display are by members of the school community. Namely - Rikkya Oker, Dennis Valdez, Carl Clough, Kevin Talbot, Marie-Helene Dagonet, Shalini Chanda, Ninad Shinde, Denise Donoghue, Kyueun Han, Remi Savoya, Nina Kelemen, Caroline Bray, Juan Diego Sorbet Esnoz, Lok Ming Fung, Ming Gao, Yvonne, Svetlana Aslezova, Thibaud Simphal, and Erik Wilterding.
And considering that many of these people might not claim art to be their primary passion, there is some very accomplished work on show.
So Tuesday evening’s opening night looks to be quite exciting. Not only do we have Dean Andrew Likierman’s inauguration at 5:30 pm and the opening of the show in the Fairbairn Room at 5:45, there’ll be a concert in the Upper Quad at 6:16 pm, performed by students from the Royal Academy of Music. The performers are Midori Komachi on Violin, Helene Koerver on Viola and Alena Lugovkina on Flute. And the following day, May 27, we have LauYee Yeung on the Harp.

'Scratch' film set

'Scratch' film set, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

I spent most of this weekend on the set of a new film ‘Scratch’. Why, I hear you ask? Well I’ll tell you. On my birthday I met an interesting young film director by the name of Jakob Rorvik. After checking out, and being very impressed with his work (check out his website – www.jakobrorvik.com) I was pleased to receive an email from him asking if I would like to have one of my sculptures, ‘And When I’m a Man’ (the big green model kit piece) feature in his new film, set in the art world of East London. Strangely enough the original location was going to be Candid Arts in Islington, where the piece is currently stored. I thought ‘bonus’ – I won’t have to move it very far. However, the eventual location was to be the Jago Gallery in Redchurch Street, Shoreditch – a gallery where I had previously exhibited. In the end we used four of my sculptures in the shoot – with the other three being ‘Dreams of Being Batman’, ‘Baby Kit’ and ‘Nail Box’. Someone joked that it looked like I was having a solo show.

Here is some info about the film, that I lifted from Jakob’s site -

Lena is a young art student new to London. Calling it her art project, she obsessively follows and takes pictures of an unwitting Sol; a scruffy, charismatic 20 year old, by all appearances homeless, who drifts around in numerous detached relations to people affiliated with the art scene.
Her project takes a wrong turn when Sol discovers her. Fascinated by her odd behaviour, Sol is now the one to follow her.
Against a backdrop of contemporary East-London, Sol and Lena gradually expose each other’s dreams, fears and lies.

The cast includes Viktoria Winge (Reprise), Luke Treadaway (Brothers of the head, War Horse), Patrick Kennedy (Atonement) and Montserrat Lombard (Ashes to Ashes, Vanilla Song).
The film is produced by Tamsin Lyons at the Oscar-Winning production company Breakthru Films and Yngve Sæther at Motlys.

'Nail Box', Wayne Chisnall

'Nail Box', Wayne Chisnall, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

‘Nail Box’ is a sculpture greatly indebted to and influenced by the minkisi artefacts of central Africa. Many of these ritualistic objects are carved wooden totems that have had nails and other metal items hammered into them. However, where as the minkisi derive their power from their contents, with ‘Nail Box’ I was trying to create something that’s presence was derived from its adornment of carefully selected nails and rusty metal. By bringing together so many items that had interacted with the elements and their specific environments I hoped to create a piece that would generate a cumulative resonance.
As is the case with many of my sculpture, the found materials used in this pieces’ construction were selected for their ‘resonance’ and collected over several years.
Whilst most of the metal items used in this piece were found in London, anywhere from the streets of Hackney to the inside of the Dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral, much of it was collected from the my travels around Britain and abroad, including Europe, Mexico, Cambodia, Thailand, Tunisia and India.
Considering the obsessive nature behind the way I collect and hoard the materials that I use in my work (you should see my studio – it is full of boxes of rubbish (a.k.a. treasure) – I fear that I am a lost cause), I see these sculptures as totems or magnifications of the ritualistic side of everyday life. Physical embodiments of the personal belief systems we all create around us.