20 slides, 20 seconds to talk, 20 second exposure of a some great speakers including but not all of
http://www.fionamcdonnell.co.uk/
http://enteryes.com/
http://photosby.si/
http://www.cocouture.co.uk
In February this year at the Ginger Pride festival in Belfast, I began a new series of work that I have wanted to do for a while, but had not planned on doing for some time, but an opportunity presented itself.
This new series of portraits will look at the MC1R’s of Northern Ireland and further afield, those with personalities as bright as their hair. I want to take portraits of as many gingers as possible, young to old, big to small and as many tones of MC1R as possible
So for the set up, a simple backdrop of blue and then 2 lights and a reflector, bit of an issue with the lights as the area I set up was up stairs in a nightclub venue and the colour lights where whizzing around, nothing to major but sure! This is the beginning of a series I hope that will let me get creative with the simple portrait and a head full of red! Any feedback is always appreciated!
I have added a self portrait of myself to get an Idea of how they will be looking and should have the first batch edited and ready soon and plan to run a series of prints of these images for the family and friends!
This year in Northern Ireland I decided to grab my camera and walk with pride. Northern Ireland has a Government system that is stuck in the past and will not get with the times, it will not support equality for everyone and has had members who purposely go out of there way to block the rights of the LGBT community.
These photos show the diversity of people who come to the parade, I find that media sometimes like to only show certain bits of the parade, instead I like that you can see the wide range of people at the event, watching, taking part and supporting.
This parade I feel really does show the support their is across Belfast and Northern Ireland to support all friends and family so that no one has to hide or be judged, that they can walk with pride, be proud of who they are because no one should be ashamed of who they actually are, how they live and who they love.
This new series of work has been a project I have wanted to do for some time and I have several interviews/shoots to move on to and a lot more people to talk to about their work and the state of art within Northern Ireland. I have always been interested in what goes on behind the scenes of big events and this has lead to me interested in what goes on to make a piece of art, to make a new collection, to design, to craft.
I look to old masters of painting and also several photographers in development of this work, the style of lighting, the highlights and the setting. I do not want to change their studio, I want to document it, document their working environment but to style and shape it with light. I have thought about this work as set up documentary, creating a narrative and a story within the image of the artist and what they do, this work is only beginning to get its legs and has a lot of room to change. I want to not only create these stunning images, but also to highlight the work of artists and creators, the work that goes on behind the scenes which goes largely unnoticed. To hear their thoughts, opinions on art and also their view on the world at the moment, this community has a fantastic veiw on the world and I wish to hear it.
I start in Belfast NI work outwards. I start with a friend and a fantastic artist, Leo Boyd, who work has been popping up across Belfast for the last number of years gaining the attention of collectors and galleries across Northern Ireland.
Describe your practice.
Being alive and being aware of the vast universe and total madness
that spins around our heads is pretty inspiring. I think for humans on this
weird planet it is important to get involved in the story telling and myth
making that is part of our lives. Taking control of the story is one of the
most important things we, as humans, can do.
The work that I make I see as single panels of a comic strip that
exists as an isolated piece, an isolated piece that invokes the rest of the
story. I love the immediacy of our last century’s propaganda: in the way that,
by design alone, it told complex stories to a barely illiterate audience, an
audience who went on to change the world. Now, in the internet age, I think it
is important to learn the lessons of the early propagandists, in order to
challenge the prevailing narratives. Red black and white, the colours of the
tabloid, the colours of the prevailing narrative can easily be twisted to fit
the stories that we want to tell. The style should tell the story. The story
should fit the style.
How did your work start
and where you are now with your practice.
Being alive and being aware of the vast universe and total madness
that spins around our heads is pretty inspiring. I think for humans on this
weird planet it is important to get involved in the storytelling and myth
making that is part of our lives. Taking control of the story is one of the
most important things we, as humans, can do.
Who or what inspires you.
The most inspiring thing about artists, scientists, writers, thinkers
is that they channel their energy to create new narratives and boundaries in
which we ourselves can exist.
What is a usual day for you in the studio, anything in
particular you do to get you set.
My normal day is a series of panic attacks punctuated by moments of
confused calm. Within this I try to make art.
What is the best piece of advice you have been given.
My first art tutor used to leap up and down on tables and scream and
sometimes head but walls. He would have gone by the ethos make art and make art
well. Use anything and everything in your sphere… learn to use power tools.
Don’t use glitter. Get your own studio. Learn the rules and then break them.
What is the best bit of
advice you have for others
Learn to write grant proposals and if you don’t know how to do that
ask someone who does.
What do you do to take your head away from your work. What chills you out.
I am mad into reading books! Last night I had a dream in which I was
explaining to Laura and some unknown male how the printed words on a newspaper
had a physical sound that reacted to the paper being turned. At first they were
sceptical of my theory but when I turned the page their little faces lit up as
they heard the vibrations of the ink. I think that I maybe slightly obsessed by
print as a medium. I like to surf too. But one of my favourite things is to
drag my girlfriend Laura about churches and ancient European ruins.
Your style, can you tell
me a bit more about it.
I am not sure about style… I think all things come down to what
materials you have and how you use them. I have always been into comics so
telling stories has always been something that I have tried to do in my work…
the great thing about comics, and I don’t mean marvel or dc, is the way that
they mash words and motion, sound and vision… comics are a great grounding in
how still images expand to become part of a wider story.
Thanks for reading, to see more of his work check him out here or on Facebook
This work is from the Ulster University Belfast school of arts end of year degree show 2016, a small selection of the show I got to see as it was the last day and I was being rushed around by security so apologies to those who aren’t featured! These are simply some of my personal favourites, work that I thought was cool and would be good to show those who did not get to go to the show! The rest of this blog is simply a bit of talking about since university, maybe those who also graduated with me may agree with some of it, maybe some of those graduating will look at it and take from it, I am not trying to tell people or seem all knowing, simply putting my thoughts down.
When I graduated, I wasn’t exactly happy with how it went, how my work turned out, it just didn’t do it for me, even though it meant a great deal to me, it is work I will look to revisit at some stage certainly. What I didn’t realise then and what I know now is, university it is only the beginning, like the actual beginning, sooo much stuff comes after that, mistakes, retakes, questions, crazy amount of questions about how things actually work in the working world, how do I submit for funding? how do I go self employed? what the hell is a tax return are these things not already done for me? I just want to create and be an artist! Unfortunately not, in the world of work when coming from University, you are the baby, you are only starting. you need raised.
So further or higher education, Tec or Uni is only the stepping stone, 4 years to get in the basics and knowledge and try to get an idea of what it is you are wanting to do or create after that. after graduating you got to get out and get experience, network, get involved in projects, ask questions, ask more questions, but trying not to ask too many questions to piss people off. I hate cliques and there’s a lot of them about, the cool kids, more creative than others etc, thats cool but not my cup of tea. I am more for collaboration rather than competition, I think it’s a nicer way to work and in Northern Ireland and I feel a bit more of that would solve a lot of issues regarding the arts.
I look back at University and think what I would give now to have them 4 years now, to just do work, create, enjoy creating, making some more mistakes but having that safety net of university to do so. It would be amazing to do with this maturity and understanding and makes me think that maybe university would have been a good thing to hold off on for a few years rather than 18. Maybe I would have gotten more out of it, but that is only a thought and best not to think too long on such things, thinking too much I feel is my enemy sometimes, over thinking and over analysing sometimes puts me off the idea completely.
What I thought originally getting out to the world and building a career I didn’t realise just how much I still had to learn. The stabilizers where off and it’s suddenly about how you talk to people and how you are received, how they like you, your attitude you behaviours, everything. What are you willing to do? who are you willing to help? if you are willing to get up early and do a 12 hour day ,stay in late, dig deep and just work flat out, those are good attitude to work to have. I think some people won’t agree they don’t want that amount of work, think they are too good for that kind of grafting. I want to be great at what I do, I want to learn more, always trying new things and develop myself and my work. To do that I try to get talking to the best in the business and work with them, assist them, learn from them. Getting to know trade secrets, things you would never learn in a classroom and doing them again and again until you get it right.
I don’t really know if there is a theme in this blog, or more so just talking to those graduating from University now, maybe things I wish I was told or maybe I am just rambling on about things! Regardless, the work above is stunning, great work by great creative minds that will hopefully help boost the creative industries in Northern Ireland and get the help and support they need. I did not get around the entire exhibition so apologies to those that are missed and I could not put everything up, name wise also I don’t have them all, apologies about that!
The new Belfast school of art is just a day away from opening its gates allowing the public a look at the new work of Northern Ireland’s up and coming artists, animators, architects, designers, photographers and illustrators.
It will be the first year of the new building and I look forward to seeing how the fresh space has effected the next cohort of creators. For me, I feel it would have been a mix of getting used to a new space and going through all the ‘new build bumps.’ Just as you expect a brand new phone to have hiccups, the same could be expected of a new building which houses people with the desire to create, it will be interesting to hear first hand how the experiences of this change affected the artists themselves . Everyone loves to get new stuff and peel off the plastic that comes with it, I think this year of graduates had that unique opportunity, the first year of the new building experiencing the excitement, the pressure, the awe of this new space and how the public will receive it.
Like Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory, the excitement of getting in to see everything that has been going on for the last year has been building. It will be a great evening and memorable for those graduating as I believe the crowds attending will be larger than already successful years, the degree show itself is set to be reinvigorated. It would do well to remember the ‘art college’ will transition through another turbulent phase once again when the amalgamation of the Jordanstown and Belfast campuses are complete in 2018. Thousands more students will swamp the campus and creative students will indeed become the minority. The dynamic will shift and there will be no art college to speak of, not as it is now anyway. That is however another blog entirely, and of course years from now.
Although, I look at how the year has gone by and how the old Orpheus building was treated. This building is where I graduated from, this amazing place I spent several years of my life growing up, working all hours of the night, partying all hours of the morning, making mistakes as an artist and as a person, making great memories, having fun and making a load of friends. This building holds these memories for a lot of people and when the Orpheus was going to be knocked down, it disappointed a lot of people.
I had mixed feelings, It was all of those things for me but also I could see how a new building could be needed also. But how they have torn it down. Horrible, instead of taking it down in one swoop it got dragged out, which I followed as I thought it needed to be documented, a major change in Belfast city centre was about to happen and I thought it deserved preserving in some way. The building was stripped of all its former glory as it hung on while having its insides ripped out and shown to the world, instead of just taking it away and leaving people with how they remember it I feel it changed the viewpoint of some people.
I look forward to the new building and what creative minds emerge from it into Northern Ireland, this talent is needed to help develop and shape the creative industries here in the North, and we badly need it.
More images of the Orpheus building here.
Written by David Lyons and photography by myself.
When the 2016 Olympic Games come to Rio de Janeiro, images of gold medals, golden beaches and Cristo will project the impression of a successful and aspirational city to the world.
But mega sporting events often intensify the challenges faced by socially excluded communities, as deprived and vulnerable people are ostracised in order to fit the impression a country wishes to present to visitors and the global media.
Rio’s Zona Sul, or south zone, will be the focus of the media’s glare during the Olympics. It is the wealthiest area of the city and is home to Copacabana and Ipanema, two of the world’s most famous beaches.
But at its heart are Babilonia and Chapéu Mangueira, two favela communities on the same hill behind Leme beach. The 2016 Street Child Games are based in Babilonia and Chapéu Mangueira: instead of being marginalised or stigmatised, Babilonia and Chapéu Mangueira are hosting an international sporting event to show the world their strength and potential.
Andre Luis Abreu de Souza is the President of Babilonia Community Association. He is looking forward to using the Street Child Games to help people look beyond stereotypes about favelas: “We are in the middle of the richest area of the city and some people don’t even have a proper toilet in their house. But we are a welcoming community with lots of intelligent and interesting people.
“What made me really excited about this opportunity is to see the connection between the Street Child Games children and our kids and to see what they learn from each other. We can use this opportunity to send a message to the world.”
Full article on http://www.streetchildgames.org/babilonia-chapeu-mangueira-welcomed-world/
So tomorrow, Monday the 14th of March sees the street child world games kicking off here in Rio de Janeiro.
We have been here for a few days preparing accommodation and planning on capturing the games and the stories behind the incredible young people who have lived on the streets of countries around the world.
Living and working in the Babilonia Favela is breath taking, watching the culture, the people and the way of life is just stunning and I have only been here for a few days and we are being more and more welcomed in the area and people are getting use to seeing us around. The views are beautiful and people are very welcoming.
Here are just some snaps of things so far!
www.streetchildgames.org
Nearly the end of Orpheus, I have been documenting this building and its slow and dragged out destruction, Its final performance.
