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Trigger Happy Discipline(2015) /
Trigger Happy Discipline
Looped video installation
Trigger Happy Discipline focuses on the revolving properties of a range of drill bits, from steel earth augers to zinc coated, helical plaster mixers, and their formational arrangement, somewhat mimicking methods of Ikebana in tolerance of construction, assemblage and setting.
Encompassing a purposeful, slow action approach, a controlled trigger dictates the speed of matter in material resulting in a series of singular methodical movements. More than simply following a revolving part, Trigger Happy Discipline empathises with other areas of the tool, such as it’s ‘stem’ and ‘leaves’ as the camera profiles the mundane to the elaborate, given in the unconventional application of the subject matter.
Subsequently the spiral play becomes an auxiliary, as scale, form, collection and aesthetics determine the curated set, with stature forming the natural order of existing artefacts on this platform.
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Light Behaviour Collection(2014) /
Light Behaviour Collection
Looped projection
Light Behaviour is an ongoing series of video works formed from an orchestrated repetitive process devised as a means to channel an outcome. The works are created through a reverse method of projection. The setup is of a projection beam positioned to screen a form of moving image. Face on; the beam of light draws in the camera lens and requests to be recorded. As a result of the beaming light, a reading is formulated. These rhythmic readings contain uncontrollable visual responses that help form a contrast to the rigorous technical process.
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Inscribed(2011) /
Inscribed
Looped projection on film platter
Utilising a 1960s American film platter as a backdrop to convey a fragment of the history of film in a physical sense, accentuating the purely orbicular and material aspects of its appearance. Addressing the shape and movement of water, its fluidity out of both the viewer and videographer’s control, one can only observe the glimmer moving over the graceful medium.
In Aguaespejo Granadino (1955), Jose Val del Omar exploited the elegant flow of water by very rarely moving the camera, leaving the subject matter to explore the possibilities of motion and velocity. Adopting a similar method here, Cutts, whilst remaining still is carried by the undulation.
Shot off the coast of Cadiz, Spain.
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WELCOME TO TOKYO(2011) /
WELCOME TO TOKYO
Continuous loop
Cutts’ video is constructed out of moments in cinema that feature images of neon lights in downtown Tokyo. Influenced by the stereotypical representation in film where the use of this iconic imagery depicts the adjournment to the “Bright Lights, Big City” ethos. Winking seductively, the gaudy facade is the embodiment of crass modern culture where the suggestion of excitement and expectation attempt to mask the grim realities within.
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Occupe(2011) /
Occupe
Continuous loop
Occupe is an adaptation of the final scene from Claude Chabrol’s 1970 film, Le Boucher. The camera draws towards an elevator button, a simplistic flickering red light, repetitive and constant with a predictable outcome, yet one is fixated by the hypnotic quality. Initially occupied until the light goes out, now vacant, and with a feeling of apprehension, we are left to contemplate nothingness, emptiness.
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Everything Flows(Current) /
Come and Go (still), Rose Butler, 2016
Everything Flows
Wed 7 June 2017 - Sun 3 September 2017
Everything Flows brings together work by emerging and established Sheffield-based artists working with painting, sculpture, video, photography and sound. The works are each united, in different ways, by a sense of ‘flow’, from choreographed movement and kinetic motion, through to the fluctuations of narrative, and the movement of international finance and migration.
Curated by Jeanine Griffin, the exhibition includes work by Paul Barlow, Rose Butler, Joseph Cutts, Natalie Finnemore, Ruth Levene, Victoria Lucas, Peter Martin, and Ryan Mosley, along with screening programmes/ events curated by Annexinema and Joseph Cutts & Ashley Holmes.
Everything Flows forms part of Making Ways, a new programme supported by Sheffield Culture Consortium through Arts Council England to showcase, celebrate and develop the exceptional contemporary visual art produced in the city.
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I Can Read With My Eyes Shut(Past) /
I Can Read With My Eyes Shut
S1 Artspace is pleased to present I Can Read With My Eyes Shut; an exhibition of new commissioned work by four artists based at S1 Artspace.
In 2009, S1 Artspace established its Bursary Programme to support new graduates in their first year of professional practice. The four artists presented in I Can Read With My Eyes Shut were among the first selected and have since continued to develop their practice within the fold of S1.
Working predominantly in sculpture and collage, Emily Musgrave researches methods of display and composition. She often utilises low-value or discarded materials in works that explore their own permanence, value and substance.
Joseph Cutts examines the physicality of video medium, creating moving image works that are abstract both in their aesthetic and narrative form.
Natalie Finnemore creates sculptures that draw influence from the structural conventions of a space – line, colour and composition. The scale and volume of her works is suggestive of furniture or play-objects enticing the viewer to interact.
Working across sound and video, Peter Martin interlaces video sequences, found photographs and old TV adverts to highlight the subtleties that are integral to an overlying narrative and the constructs of our digital culture.
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Three Act Structure(Past) /
Three Act Structure
Three Act Structure brings together the work of S1’s Studio artists across three evolving exhibitions in the gallery over the space of nine weeks. For this project the fifteen artists have come together to re-examine the S1 Members’ show and to test out conceptual relationships inherent within the context of a group exhibition and outside the established parameters of S1’s open-plan studios. S1 artists Natalie Finnemore and David McLeavy have been commissioned for their first major collaborative work to produce a large-scale and adjustable structure that acts as a device to pull together and present new work by all the artists, including work made specifically for Three Act Structure.
The three act structure is a model commonly used in writing and storytelling that divides its narrative into three parts: the beginning, or Setup; middle, the Confrontation and the ending or Resolution.
In Act One we are introduced to the main protagonist (the modular Structure); its relationship to the other characters (the artworks); and the world in which it lives (the gallery). This exposition establishes the exhibition framework, creating a context through which each of the iterations will be read.
In Act Two the relationship between the Structure and the co-protagonists is expanded, works are re-installed with new works added, and the Structure is transformed.
The culmination presents itself in Act Three with all characters appearing simultaneously on set in their final encounter. Once again, there is a change of cast with all the artists now represented; relationships are re-visited and evaluated with the Structure adopting its final form for the Act of Resolution.
The model of the Three Act Structure allows for a re-casting to take place throughout the duration of the exhibition with visitors invited to return for the presentation of each act.
S1’s Studio artists have a diverse and distinctive approach to contemporary art practice and this exhibition therefore embraces a wide range of media including film, video and photography to installation, sculpture and performance.
Established in 1995, S1 Artspace has consistently provided affordable studio space in central Sheffield for contemporary artists at varying stages in their careers, from recent graduates to established artists working at an international level. The open-plan and shared studios allow artists to continually develop their practice in an environment that encourages and supports dialogue about contemporary art and the free exchange of ideas.
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Testing Ground: Master Class(Past) /
Elemina (still), Doug Fishbone, 2010
Testing Ground: Master Class
Mon 30 January 2014 - Thu 6 February 2014
Building on the success of its debut, Testing Ground: Master Class returns in 2014, and offers a unique and free opportunity for a small group of emerging artists to work closely with leading international artists to discuss and develop their studio practice. Over the course of a week, eight young artists nominated by a nationwide group of artist-run spaces will participate in an intensive series of tutorials, workshops, reading groups, studio and gallery visits and seminars led by artist Doug Fishbone and guest artists including Marcus Coates, Ben Rivers, Lindsay Seers and Hannah Starkey as well as Zabludowicz Collection curators. In addition, each of the established artists will present an evening lecture giving participants and public a greater insight into their practice. This year’s Master Class will focus on a critical consideration around ideas of staging in relation to performative aspects of contemporary art practice alongside the physical presentation and viewing of artworks.
The emerging artists participating in the initiative have been nominated by Castlefield in Manchester, Eastside Projects in Birmingham, The NewBridge Project in Newcastle, Collective Gallery in Edinburgh, S1 Artspace in Sheffield, Spike Island in Bristol and Studio Voltaire in London. Each space was asked to identify artists for whom the opportunity to work with these tutors would be both an opportunity to consolidate their practice and give it a significant boost. In addition to having unparalleled access to internationally renowned artists, the Master Class participants are also able to build a national network of peers.
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Art Sheffield presents: 'The Spirit of '45'(Past) /
The Spirit of '45 (still), 2013
Art Sheffield presents: 'The Spirit of '45'
Art Sheffield’s film programme culminates with Ken Loach’s most recent work, The Spirit of ’45 exploring the radical changes in postwar Britain under the Labour government of Clement Atlee.
The Spirit of ‘45
Dir: Ken Loach / UK / 2013 / 90 MINS
The Void Screening Theatre, Howard Building, Sheffield Hallam University City Campus1945 was a pivotal year in British history. The unity that carried Britain through the war allied to the bitter memories of the inter-war years led to a vision of a better society. The spirit of the age was to be our brother’s and our sister’s keeper. Director Ken Loach has used film from Britain’s regional and national archives, alongside sound recordings and contemporary interviews, to create a rich political and social narrative. The Spirit of ’45 hopes to illuminate and celebrate a period of unprecedented community spirit in the UK, the impact of which endured for many years and which may yet be rediscovered today.
The Spirit of ‘45 is shown alongside a selection of socially radical and cinematically imaginative films from Chris Marker, The Medvekin Group and more. Presented by artist & programmer Joseph Cutts, the programme highlights controversial working conditions that have incited rebellious formations of our recent history. This is socialist cinema at its best.
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Art Sheffield presents: 'Be Seeing You' & 'Class of Struggle'(Past) /
Class of Struggle (still), 1969
Art Sheffield presents: 'Be Seeing You' & 'Class of Struggle'
Art Sheffield’s film programme continues through a proud partnership with Sheffield Doc/Fest and Showroom Cinema to present a double bill of films by Chris Marker and the notorious Medvedkin Group. The socially radical and cinematically imaginative Be Seeing You and Class of Struggle intimately bring you into the torn relationship between higher management and the agitated factory workers in 1960s France.
The screening will be introduced by Dr Julia Dobson, Reader in French Film and Performance, University of Sheffield.
Be Seeing You (À bientôt, j'espère)
Dir: Chris Marker, Mario Marret / France / 1968 / 43 MINS
Showroom CinemaClass of Struggle (Classe de lutte)
Dir: The Medvedkin Group / France / 1969 / 39 MINS
Showroom Cinema"One of the most radical films produced in an era defined by radicalism, 'Class of Struggle' reflects this will to liberation."