INTERFACE

Interface writer Theo Wood talks to two of the judges of this years Emergency open exhibition at aspex in Portsmouth.

How do judges select eight artists out of 600 submissions for an open submission exhibition - in this case the third biennial at aspex contemporary art gallery in Portsmouth? Emergency 3 aims to be a platform for new and emerging artists and positions itself as an exhibition to be considered in a similar vein to newcontemporaries.

The eight short-listed artists and collaborators selected for Emergency3 after what Joanne Bushnell, Director of aspex, describes as a 'gruelling process' are Paul Becker, Jennifer Douglas, Pil and Galia Kollectiv, Jock Mooney, Magali Reus, Benjamin Senior, Dolly Thompsett, and Cathy Ward & Eric Wright. The winner of the competition will be granted a two month solo show at the gallery in 2008. The exhibition histories of the short-listed artists vary from MFA student Magali Reus to Cathy Ward & Eric Wright, who met in 1989 and have collaborated on a number of projects since then.

"The whole process takes place over the two days and those submitting can be assured that all the judges see all the work. As a judge I did not look at any of the entries before the actual two days so was I coming to them as fresh as the others", says Bushnell.

"We were looking for interesting works and projects that reflected what is truly contemporary, exciting and happening now rather than two years ago. Only an open submission process would have meant we had access to such a wide range of artists and collaborators, including artists based outside the UK."

So why did aspex decide to start the Emergency open submission exhibitions? "In 2003 we had just established the Artists' Resource Centre (ARC)", says Bushnell, "and we were looking at ways to extend beyond the one to one surgeries and seminar events. An exhibition aimed at promoting new and emerging artists seemed the obvious choice, but we also had an emergency as we needed funding! Emergency1, the first aspex biennial open, was the result, and the exhibitions have now become an established part of our programme."

"Surprisingly enough, we feel that the result of this year's selection process is an exhibition that hangs together with a certain coherence. For the selected few it means they have the opportunity to show in an established gallery with all the attendant publicity, as well as the chance to interact with other artists that could lead to future collaborations."

"The artist who is the winner can then go on to make new work for the solo exhibition. Both Susan Collis and Tim Machin, previous winners, found that this meant they got noticed and were offered further opportunities."

For a judge who is also an artist the pressure of selecting other artists was immense. London based performance and video artist Harold Offeh was staggered at the sheer volume. "Knowing the time and effort that had gone into the works, it was agonising! I wanted to give each work more consideration. Curators are used to analysing works quickly and identifying what's hot and what's not but that wasn't so easy for me."

After going through the process of selection on the other side of things as an artist/judge, Offeh comments:"I can't emphasise this enough, do your research thoroughly. Read the submission carefully - it was clear that some entries hadn't considered the criteria properly. Research the galleries and the selectors so you have an idea of their interests."

"Imagine that the judges are in a dark room looking at your work on a projector. Size is a problem, a work that is very large is reduced to a small space on a wall. Conversely, a small work is blown up to a large size. You have about five minutes to make your 'pitch', so you need to present visuals that will represent the essence of your work."

"Documentation is important. During the selection process we didn't have time to watch every single minute of all the DVD/videos, so I really felt some of the work was let down by a lack of clarity and conciseness in editing and presentation. This was also true for the conceptual work where the ideas and images didn't always seem to fit together."

So, after all the effort and cost of submitting to an open is it worth it?
"Oh yes.. and yes! Artists are always looking for new audiences and places to show their work. I was chosen for both newcontemporaries and EAST and that experience was a real stepping stone for me, as I had to negotiate with curators to display my work in new spaces, to a vastly increased and influential audience."

By Theo Wood

Emergency3 runs from 1 December 2007 -27 January 2008.
Other judges this year were Hannah Firth, Curator Wales at Venice Biennale 2007 and Visual Arts Programmer at Chapter, Cardiff, and Paul Hedge, Director, Hales Gallery, London.

Aspex, Vulcan Building, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth PO1 3BF www.aspex.org.uk

Theo Wood

Theo Wood is a member of Spike Island Printmakers, Bristol.

theosemail@btinternet.com