Sweeping up

The Foundation for Sport and the Arts has now wound up it's operation for good.

Along the way some of the projects I photographed for the annual reports were unfinished and in an effort to keep the Foundations photographic archive complete I have, when able, been 'sweeping up' these unfinished projects.
The most notable of these being Firstsite in Colchester, only at the superstructure stage when I originally visited for the FSA's 2007 annual report.

Firstsite’s new building was designed by the Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly. His design was selected by a worldwide architectural competition that attracted more than 100 entries. Rafael Viñoly Architects PC are also creators of the Curve centre for the performing arts in Leicester, and the recently completed masterplan for London’s Battersea Power Station redevelopment.

Firstsite is built on a steel frame, and clad entirely in TECU Gold a malleable copper-aluminium alloy that had to be applied by hand. The building lies on Scheduled Ancient Monument land, with archaeological artefacts buried beneath. This meant a ‘no-dig’ policy, conventional foundations could not be dug. Instead, the vast 3,200 square metre building is supported by a giant concrete ‘raft’, which floats above the ground.

Organising a visit to photograph Firstsite was, as I thought it would be, easy, I would already be in the area and would combine the visit with another job. Everything slotted into place as I thought it would, two days before I was due to be in Colchester, yes you guessed it, the phone rings, 'hello Lindsay here can you cancel as someone has smashed the entrance porch glass which will have to be ordered from Austria and will probably only be replaced in a couple of months'!

So here I am trying to 'sweep up' unfinished jobs nearly ending up with a brush in my hand! only photographed the interior this time, I'll have to revisit once the exterior has been repaired!

The 'Object Project'

Sounded simple enough, photograph artwork and produce Giclee prints for an exhibition! By way of an introduction, read on.

Exhibition by Lin Holland & Jane Poulton with the participation of 18 residents from West Everton

The Object Project began almost one year ago with collaborating artists Lin Holland & Jane Poulton working with seventeen households from the West Everton Community Council on a participatory research project.
The aim of the project was to build a dialogue between the artists and residents wherein they could collectively explore how objects become meaningful in the lives of their owners and what role three-dimensional contemporary art might have in domestic spaces.

The artists visited each household where the project participants revealed their significant object and explained how it had accrued its meaning. The portraits, objects and stories were recorded, creating an archive of intimate heritage. Seventeen new artworks have been made by Lin & Jane in response to this exchange and these will be exhibited, along with photographic images documenting the project.

Now Lin & Jane have put me through the wringer before always interesting, sometimes very challenging projects.
No surprises this time! Three location's for the photography the first being a studio at Hope University followed by a shoot in the Everton community centre involving a model who has never been photographed before, is agoraphobic and needs to take up ten different classical poses after famous works of art representing 'Venus'.

Then followed wax, glass, plaster, linen, coloured boxes, cutlery, granite, bronze, a mirror, feather filled pillow and last but not least several Lego towers with a house on top of each, a great project and very rewarding to see all my prints on display at Hope University at the private viewing.