ARTISTS TALKING

In a moment of boredom at college, I wrapped cheap gift-ribbon around the head of a 1960s kitsch ceramic cat and decided it had potential. It was an act done almost without thinking, in a break from the proper business of making the big overblown objects that only the luxury of a college course allows. But there was something about that prettily aggressive act that seemed more interesting.

That first intervention started what has become an ever-expanding series of small objects, which have been shown both as large installations and smaller ‘arrangements’. The installations have developed with the objects and in the most recent version domestic tables, mirror and other reflective surfaces are combined to create an economically baroque spectacle. At first glance the work appears visually arresting, even decorative, and this entices the viewer to come in close to look at the detail. Once within the installation s/he realises the objects have been subjected to a relentless variety of lovingly crafted mutilations that begin to hint at an uncanny, psychologically unsettling scenario where all is not as innocuous as it first seemed.

The title of the work is from a poem by Frank Edmunds, an artist and poet based in Birmingham. I moved to the city in 1996 to work at UCE as a sculpture technician and then returned in 2002 after two years in London studying for my MA. It is a city full of potential but when I came back I was struck with how similar it seemed to when I left. However, since then things have begun to change and organisations like AAS and the Springhill Institute have been developing ambitious, practice-led projects. I have been working with Tom and Simon Bloor and Jo Capper to develop The Foundation – a proposal for a permanent nationally and internationally networked artist-led project space in Birmingham. In a slightly ironic reversal of the traditional model, we now have a comprehensive proposal document/business plan and potential funding from various sources – but no physical space – so we are currently developing a series of projects that respond to our current situation whilst simultaneously raising questions about the role, and value, of artist-led activity in the city.

UPDATE 2006
Ruth Claxton

Since writing this I have been lucky enough to be asked to show in spaces including LOT (Bristol), Angel Row (Nottingham), The Collective (Edinburgh), Vane (Newcastle), The Drawing Room (London) and Transition (London), spent time on a residency in Melbourne and have begun to show internationally. My work and sculptural language has become more sophisticated and the objects and installations more refined and pared down – most recently I have been fabricating metal and glass structures for the objects to inhabit. I have also begun to sell work and currently have a solo show called ‘A place of rainbows’ at Arquebuse, a new commercial space in Geneva. In 2008 I will have a solo show at Ikon Gallery.

Writing both these pieces has enabled me to realise how far I have come – sometimes life moves so fast you don’t have time to notice.