Artists Testiomonies at Fellowship of the Faithless.

Saturday 8th December

exhibition from 10-2

event 2-4

I arrived a little late and in a panic, I was up late baking for the Artists Testimonies event. I love to bake for events as I think it gives them a more relaxed atmosphere and a starting point for conversation for those who don’t already know each other. Spending time in the empty gallery space is quite peaceful so soon I am calmly making final plans for the event.

Artists testimonies is an event asking artists to share why they believe in art – not a presentation of their own work but the motivation behind why they make work and the potential they think art has. The idea came from attending several highly polished presentations of people’s work, they were great at showing a professional body of work but I felt that the art language and Powerpoint style is quite off-putting.I put out a call for 10 artists and 10 audience members for the event and a discussion afterwards. The event was not recorded in any way. It is very important to me that it was not disrupted with photos or video and that each person that attended holds the evidence of the event. This of course is problematic for funding applications and blog posts as there is little to share.

I hope to host this event again so if you live in Belfast and are interested leave a comment!

Fellowship of the Faithless – losing my religion?

Friday 7th 11-3 pm

When setting the show up I wanted the chairs to be in strict straight lines with slightly awkward closeness to each other. This helps to give the feeling I had when attending church. The idea that no one is a stranger when you share a faith – that these people are your family is tested when you are on uncomfortable chairs and a little too close to one another.

I arrived to set up for the day and it was evident that those attending the opening had felt the chairs were too close also, as they had spread from their original places. The floor was covered in crumbs and as I set about hoovering and rearranging things I was aware of being watched from outside. It raises the question that I often find with this gallery – what is part of the show and what is not. I have chosen to leave the windows uncovered so people can pass by and look in – you could see the carpet being laid the space wallpapered and things taking shape. Equally the taking down of the show will be visible.

No one visited the show today and again I found myself wondering how this would feel if I was urgently trying to spread my beliefs and was sure that without hearing my message people could be lost. What message do I want to share? Is my proposal to have faith in art an empty promise as I do not offer salvation? I prefer to invigilate my own work as I enjoy hearing feedback as people experience the show but when you sit alone for 4 hours you do begin to question your work and its importance beyond your own need to make it.

 

Fellowship of the Faithless – Day 2

Opening Hours 11-3 and 6-9

Tonight is the official opening which brings with it a nervous excitement. During the 11-3 hours 8 people visited, 4 of which were students from the foundation course at the Art college I attended. They didn’t ask any questions but seemed bewildered and assumed there must be more work somewhere else.

As I mentioned yesterday most people have some previous experience of church going or religion that they bring to the exhibition, A visitor today said for him the room had an appearance of standoffishness and that it smelled like a funeral home. His father had run a funeral home and the smell he remembered was fresh paint and new carpets – the upkeep of the space. The authenticity of the space was important to me – the chairs were borrowed from a church hall as was the kettle boiler. The choice of wallpaper and carpet are directly borrowed from my experience of attending a small evangelical church as a child and from memories of a youth group that as held in the house of a friend of my sister.

The show looks like a place of worship which was my intention and I think there are many parallels between the art audience and the congregation but there are some obvious differences. It is the similarities and differences I hope to discuss with people during the exhibition.

Fellowship of the Faithless – Day 1.

Opening hours 11-3

I had 5 visitors today which was a lovely number, the space is lovely to spend time in if a little cold but I wonder what I would feel like if I were a minister and had dedicated my life to religion to only have 5 people to share with. As this is art not religion I expected to have little interaction from outside but spending time in a church-like space does sort of force contemplation.

In Northern Ireland most people have previous experience of religion and it is this that  allows each person to bring a different context to the show. One visitor said if felt just like a wake, not that it was depressing but that it made him nervous.

Lastly, in understanding that many passersby would think the show was a religious space I am interested in my place within that. What expectations do we hold for people who are openly religious? What expectations do I hold for myself? I am interested in the crossover between what is “good” in secular society and religious society. As my thoughts are wondering I notice a woman selling the big issue outside the window, I am inside warm and dry and have been making tea or coffee for those who come in to see the show. I feel that I should offer her a hot drink – put these thoughts about what is good into practice. I offer her tea which she gladly accepts and when I take out the cup with the milk she requested she responds with “God bless you and your family”

Fellowship of the Faithless

Set up of my solo show December 2012.

I will be adding thoughts and some more images from the shows duration.

Please feel free to comment or ask for further details.

 

How to make invisible work visible.

I am a little over half way through the making and distributing of tracts (see earlier posts for details) As the project progresses I have been trying to work out how to make the work visible to those beyond the tiny portion of public I engage with whilst out on the streets. I have already discussed how the work is validated and the problems of electing to make work outside an informed public but still having the desire to have it recognised as art. In finding ways to spread the work and address these concerns I began hand writing personal letters to a select group of people inviting them to become collectors of the work. I picked 14 people who have influenced the work in some way. This influence ranges from being the first person to follow my blog, to writing a key text that I have used in my research. I will not list the names here suffice to say that I consider each one of true value in my work and dearly value any opinion they may be willing to share.

Each letter written addressed the reason I had chosen to invite that person to collect the work and included the first few tracts in the series. I sent out the letters and waited. This waiting became very uncomfortable as I began to conclude that the work was not strong when removed from its context here in Belfast. This is a definite fear I held. I spoke with a tutor about how to follow-up the letters as sending more out into the world without hope of reply did not appeal to me. It was suggested that I email those I had first written to and say I was getting ready to send the next set of tracts and an update on the project and asking did they wish to be included. On opening my laptop to begin I found my first reply waiting for me. One of the collectors had emailed to say how pleased they were to have received the work and they would love to continue to collect them. This really boosted me in sending out emails to the other potential collectors. Of the 14 originally sent 12 want to continue collecting the work and 2 gave no reply.

I am currently working on a way to present the tracts as a set and also this will double as a gift to the collectors. Each will receive a book which their collected tracts can be mounted into. This book will also be available in a limited edition to buy. These will be made of tracts that remained from the limited edition sets and I plan to have 40 in all including those that will be sent to the collectors. These two images show the prototype for the book.

I am really enjoying the process of the project, addressing problems as they arise with creative solutions.

 

Tract 5, Day 3

Day 3 found me shuffling in alongside the Festival of fools. I was surrounded by street performers and again set myself up beside the tourist information map at Cornmarket. As it was a saturday there were mostly teenagers in town and many shared their opinion of what I was doing and what I looked like as they went past, for the first time I really realised what I must look like. I look younger than I am and I am sure if I was an older man I would not be subjected to the “whispering” shouts of how stupid I am and how much my presence pisses them off.

As has happened a few times on other tract giving days, I saw a few people I know. One stopped to chat and said “that looks like a Jesus thing” and I explained it is meant to. That this tract was a reaction to always being asked if I am saved and how I hate that question. Instead I would ask are you lost and then offer some direction only to those who asked.  That as an atheist I wanted to be able to have a presence in Belfast that is helpful.

Some young boys asked directions for Kennedy square. It isn’t on my map and I googled it but couldn’t find it, they stayed and waited for a bit then said not to worry and on they went, another couple passed and asked the way to rosemary street. I was looking at my map when they spotted it and even though I had been no help at all they still thanked me. Two tourists from Spain arrived to look at the map and wanted to know where to go and get the titanic bus tour – again I wasn’t much help. I have to admit my morale was pretty low at this point. I put myself in the position where I am offering advice on something that is not a strong point of mine. I real this awkward tension is important for my work so I resolve to carry on.

A girl asked if I had seen a group of girls one of which is wearing a purple hat, I would have laughed if she hadn’t looked so worried. I asked if she was meant to meet them in Cornmarket and she explained they had all gone into a shop then left without her. I offered my phone to call them and she told me she didn’t have their numbers. She told me they aren’t very nice before wandering off in search of them anyway.

A large group of girls and boys stopped, basically to make fun of me. They asked for directions to all the shops, one by one, that are around the edge of Cornmarket and were in plain view of where I was standing. I patiently answered every question. One boy in the group said she is just making fun of you and I said “that’s ok I have plenty of time” When they realised I wasn’t getting annoyed they left. I was secretly singing inside at managing to find a way to remain totally patient, it felt like a performance break through.

I went for a cup of tea after the distribution and bumped into several people, some artists and friends in town for the festival of fools. Each asked about my project and gave great encouragement. Saying how interesting it was to deal with this topic in this way and how courageous. We talked about how rejection can be motivation. The inner feeling of believing you are right and the more people who disagree or reject this, the more important the work becomes.

It was really exciting to talk to people who knew about my work, a real change from my encounters with the public but it left me feeling sheepish. No matter how I choose to work in public without disclosing that I consider it performance or art it is still when I return into the art fold that I receive my validation and after an afternoon out on the streets I welcome this validation more than I feel I should.

 

Secular Fellowship – we shall sing.

In an exploration of how singing together is used to create a bond between people, I will facilitate a singing workshop in an attempt to create a momentary community.  The focus will be on the relationships created by singing together and the links this has with sharing beliefs. For many people in Northern Ireland singing began at Sunday school and church. I am interested in what happens to this desire to sing together if we move away from this faith. Perhaps concerts and gigs are now the times we sing together but these are performances of a talent by a group with which we associate ourselves as fans. Church singing is a singing of equals to show praise for something greater than ourselves.

Alain de botton has suggested that culture can and should replace religion but what are the practicalities of this. Singing in church brings a comfort, your voice is not important as you are not singing to those around you. Can this be recreated in a secular format? There are many choirs and community singing groups that meet but this group is not focussing on the strength of the voices but rather the connections the act of communal singing can have.

8th May, Belmont Tower, Belfast.

Tract 5 Day 1

So taking a break while you write a PhD proposal is not the best way to keep up momentum. I began today having had the little push of Saturdays distribution but as reluctant as ever. Several people suggested that seeing I have to push myself to go out every day that maybe this style of work just isn’t for me. But the buzz I feel having gone out and done the distribution and the interactions and expressions of people passing let me know not only is this project a test for me but it is a test of the expectations of others.

This distribution is interesting following the last tract ( A love of Baking) as I am far more visible holding the sign and there is no novelty of free buns to ease the interaction. This tract asks are you lost? I held the sign above throughout my distribution and offered directions to those that asked. I stood at Cornmarket for todays distribution though I would like to try moving around a bit more to keep with the crowds.

The sign needs a little adjusting tomorrow as it is more difficult to hold than I anticipated especially in the wind but as a visual it worked really well. Several people stopped that were looking for directions the first a group of school kids wanted directions to a piercing shop I hadn’t heard of but I was able to direct them to another piercing and tattoo place which I know well. They seemed a little shocked that I would know somewhere like that but took their hand drawn map and went off to find it. One of the boys had no ID and was looking for somewhere that would pierce his tongue anyway.

The next person was looking for the Merchant and had spent an hour wandering around Cathedral Quarter without finding it, she took a hand drawn map to use tomorrow as she hadn’t time today to look again. After this I helped a young couple find JJB sports by looking it up online on my phone and another group of tourists to find Waring Street as they were looking for somewhere there to get something nice to eat.

A couple of women stopped to take my photo and several people commented on their way past with one boy saying “no, im not lost you have found me” Those that needed directions had no problem in asking and many fewer people took a religious connotation from this action than usual however those that did where really angered by the saying on the sign. I found this strangely pleasing as that is the same anger I feel when asked if I am saved.

If you are lost in Belfast keep an eye out for me and my sign I’ll do my best to give you directions.

What art evangelism really looks like. . .

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When I am standing alone for a long time it allows me to think about the importance art has and the best way to share this. How do you measure the interest art holds outside of its practitioners, critics and curators etc? My work deals with universal questions of belief and belonging whilst tied to the specific context of Belfast it can reach far beyond, but how many are put off attending events or responding to blog posts because they arrive under the label of art? The church has many ways of disguising their tracts nowadays, they look like night club promos or gift vouchers and so again I am in a similar position, should I  change the appearance my project has to make it more appealing at first glance? With my love of baking tract people accepted them at first as they came with buns in Downpatrick several people asked where the buns were now? Novelty and gimmick do attract more interaction but this work is not just about interaction but the lack of it also.