Mar 23, 2016
3rd March – 9th September 2012, ALLOTMENT, mac birmingham, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham
Openings :: Saturday 3rd March 2012/ Saturday 28th April 2012/ Saturday 23rd June 2012 and Saturday 8th September 2012
The MA Contemporary Curatorial Practice course, Birmingham City University is participating in ALLOTMENT, at mac birmingham. ALLOT-
MENT is an innovative programme hosting ten curated plots and tended by independent curators, artists and creative groups.
http://10plots.tumblr.com/
The Museum of [ ] Objects is a curatorial strategy aimed at generating a new art collection for a limited period of time.
Each of the artists participating in Museum, have been invited to submit an object, text, video, performance, or other outcome which
will be displayed on a particular week within ALLOTMENT’s time frame, starting in March and running until the beginning of Sep-
tember. The artists selected for Museum are based on subjective rationales and choices, related to the collective curatorial group.
The process will entail the display of a singular work each week with an accompanying descriptive text written by the artist. The
curator is removed from the process of interpreting the work, promoting the artists as definer, of their own contribution. At key points
throughout the coming months, the collection as it exists at that time will be displayed in its entirety; with the final culmination of
work being realised for the metaphorical harvest period of September.
The Museum of [ ] Objects, engages with museum display strategies that both emphasise the individual work over the collec-
tion and at particular times and in specific sites the collection takes precedence over the individual components. The artworks within
the collection may at times, be loaned to other plot-holders, in an attempt to infiltrate and establish the collection within another cura-
torial context.
The artists – weeks 1 -7 include, Chris Clinton, Matt Webb, Rosemary Terry, Michael Bold, Matt Westbrook, Jonathan Kelham and
Elena Cassidy-Smith.
The artists – week 8 – 27 will be announced shortly
The collection will also exist as an on-line catalogue. http://bcumacurating.tumblr.com
The Museum of [ ] Objects is curated by Mona Casey and Sonya-Russell-Saunders.
Mona Casey is Course Director of MA Contemporary Curatorial Practice and a lecturer on the BA and MA Fine Art courses at Birmingham City
University. Mona Casey exhibits nationally and internationally and works collaboratively and independently. She was co-founder and curator of
COLONY an artist run space based in Birmingham, UK, and now co-ordinates SLICE, (www.sliceprojects.org), a nomadic project which dis-
seminates its work through various means including exhibition, publication and on-line formats. Her research interests include investigating differ-
ent strategies of exhibition making within curatorial practice and the place of University art galleries within the academic environment and the
greater arts ecology. She is currently directing the programming of ARTicle gallery at The School of Art. (www.articlegallery.org)
Sonya Russell – Saunders is currently on her second year of the MA CCP course. Her curatorial practice to-date is diverse, ranging from an exhibi-
tion in an empty shop as a commentary on the recession to a Victorian Cabinet and a contemporary art and music festival. She is currently an intern
with Companis and is co-founder of The Wig, an experimental art group and exhibition space in Birmingham, which she is developing. Future
projects include an experimental i-ching research and development project with Strange Ways and embarking on the MA Final project that is con-
cerned around behaviours and a phenomenological experience of art events. (http://sonyarussellsaunders.tumblr.com)
The Museum of [ ] Objects is curated by Mona Casey and Sonya-Russell-
Saunders.
The MA Contemporary Curatorial Practice course is a one-year full time and two-
year part-time course at the School of Art, Birmingham City University. As part of
the Allotment initiative, the MA course including Mona Casey and Sonya Russell-
Saunders will present The Museum of [ ] Objects.
Mona Casey is Course Director of MA Contemporary Curatorial Practice and a
lecturer on the BA and MA Fine Art courses at Birmingham City University. Mona
Casey exhibits nationally and internationally and works collaboratively and inde-
pendently. She was co-founder and curator of COLONY an artist run space based in
Birmingham, UK, and now co-ordinates SLICE, (www.sliceprojects.org), a no-
madic project which disseminates its work through various means including exhibi-
tion, publication and on-line formats. Her research interests include investigating
different strategies of exhibition making within curatorial practice and the place of
art school galleries within the academic environment and the greater arts ecology.
She is currently directing the programming of ARTicle gallery at The School of Art.
(www.articlegallery.org)
Sonya Russell – Saunders is currently on her second year of the MA CCP course.
Her curatorial practice to-date is diverse, ranging from an exhibition in an empty
shop as a commentary on the recession to a Victorian Cabinet and a contemporary
art and music festival. She is currently an intern with Companis and is co-founder of
The Wig, an experimental art group and exhibition space in Birmingham, which she
is developing. Future projects include an experimental i-ching research and develop-
ment project with Strange Ways and embarking on the MA Final project that is con-
cerned around human behaviours and a psychological experience of art events.
(sonyarussellsaunders.tumblr.com)
http://bcumacurating.tumblr.com
From Left to Right
Pine Beading, Silly String
183x30cms
Manifest1 of ‘A smile that makes a curved line look straight’ 2012
1. Consistently examine and respond to situations and materials whilst maintaining a
loose order of creating.
2. To create work that is both cerebral and spontaneous, constantly transformed or rein-
vented, providing the opportunity to utilise various compositional strategies.
3. Work against the necessity of meaning when making art, preferring a more contingent
and in some cases temporal state of affairs.
4. Show reverence to the impoverished or quotidian, displaying the influence of Arte
Povera and Post Minimal art practice in the use of materials.
5. Use of simple materials that result in a striking physical presence yet maintaining a
sense of transience and temporality.
6. Embrace the incongruity of materials in choreographing elements both physically and
conceptually.
7. Question form and function when engaging with display of art object. How the work is
framed both physically and conceptually.
8. A strategy; not to conform but to pervert, parody or satirise classical relationships.
9. To create a paradoxical model; a deliberately amateurish production, countering the
idea of collectability.
10. Play on the relationship between the real world and the imagined. A winding thread of
allusions to art historical precedents and fictional inventions.
11. Attention to odd details and the ultimately trivial.
12. Ignore barriers and permit contradictions – Art to create a counter world.
http://chrisclintonartist.blogspot.co.uk/
Botanatomica
Wood, Bronze, Wax
These objects are part of a current body of work generically entitled Botanatomica,
consisting of small-scale sculptures in wood, bronze and
wax which explore resemblances between microscopic forms in human anatomy and
those in other nature, particularly plants. A ‘museum’ context is deliberately referenced
to suggest pieces from a ‘collection’, and titled according to an invented taxonomy to
question the status and even species of the objects presented.
The thinking behind Botanatomica is that if these formal correspondences between human
and plant anatomy exist, it’s evidence of our ancestry in nature and our dependence on it.
By enlarging the scale of these microscopic structures buried within our bodies I hope to
draw attention to these commonalities and increase our sense of connection with the rest
of nature.
Rosemary Terry, 2012
Botanatomica
Fimbriae fraxini
Glomerulus aeneus
Alveoli aenei
http://www.axisweb.org/seCVPG.aspx?ARTISTID=2472
Question
2012
digital prints, ink and pen on paper
The surreal world of Cartesia is not an entirely fictional environment. It is exists as a represen-
tation of a possible future dystopian society. Its landscape is a dangerous playground where
various philosophical, theoretical and other issues are dealt with both implicitly and explicitly.
The narratives within Cartesia are ambiguous and open to interpretation. Its protagonist is de-
picted as a traveller on an imaginary voyage whose journey is one of solitude. He is a curious
individual who seeks answers from the unfamiliar realm around him. Rarely, if ever does he
succeed in his quest
Cartesia exists as two worlds, the first is that which is presented to the reader in book form, it is
a self-aware entity which is visibly constructed and deconstructed upon the page. The second is
that world which has been created and governed by Cartesia’s inhabitants. Here the mutated
creatures are responsible for the narrative structure and the upkeep of the world they reside in.
Cartesia’s narratives are always fragmented. This discontinuity both in narrative sequence and
the physical whereabouts of the Protagonist induces a sense of having arrived somewhere dif-
ferent within the story. Time and space have shifted and the observer of these events must
make a connection between these segregated moments as they do in their daily lives. Our per-
ceptions of reality are constructed of mere fragments which we bring together to construct a
coherent whole. Because of this ambiguity Cartesia can have no set meaning. Its narrative
structure remains uncertain and any meanings found within the drawing are those of the viewer
and not of Cartesia’s creators.
http://www.webbart.co.uk/
3600
I do things without thinking and I think about things without doing
http://www.michaelbold.com/
My hand in yours, my dear friend (study for I K Bonset)
(Detail)
Matt Westbrook’s work often uses imagery specific to early 20th century tool and engineering
catalogues as a means to explore themes of craftsmanship and cultural history.
For the work in the Museum of [ ] Objects Westbrook has selected two illustrations from a
1912 tool catalogue and arranged them on a tiled background reminiscent of a De Stijl inspired
interior.
The title of the work and the manifesto Westbrook has rewritten on top of the tiles, refers to the
work of Dutch artist Theo Van Doesburg (1883-1931) who, whilst better known for starting De
Stijl (i), had also participated publicly and anonymously in the Dada movement by using the pseu-
donym I K Bonset (ii), to publish poetry and writing that explored a Dadaist sensibility.
The multiple identities of Van Doesburg intrigues Westbrook and set amidst this context his col-
lages allude to two defining aspects of Van Doesburg’s thinking at the time; that of the cutting out
and collage techniques reminiscent of the Dadaists and the more aesthetically refined, elementary
principles of art production associated with De Stijl.
Van Doesburg was interested in connecting Europe’s avant-garde movements and saw publica-
tions as being key to generating ideas and discourse between artists based in a variety of cities. As
well as editing De Stijl, Van Doesburg also published ‘Mecano’, a self-consciously Dadaist publi-
cation which promoted Dada art and thinking to a Netherland’s audience after World War One.
‘Manifesto I K B’ which Westbrook has re-written in permanent marker (the graffiti tagger’s tool
of choice) on top of the tiles here, first appeared in an edition of Mecano in 1921. Van Doesburg
was interested in how the printed page could be used to make a literary, visual transcription of
sound effects and be a written record of the performed poetry that characterised Dada perform-
ances and gatherings. It has been suggested that it was Van Doesburg’s angular typesetting and use
of diagonal arrangements (iii) within Mecano that preceded his commitment to the diagonal in his
other more abstract work related to De Stijl.
Keen to ingratiate himself in the European avant-garde (iv) Van Doesburg organised a conference
between Dada and Constructivist artists in Weimar in 1922. Attended by artists such as Hans Arp,
El Lissitsky and Lazlo Moholy-Nagy the conference however failed to find common ground be-
tween these two artistic movements and is now instead seen to herald what some historians believe
to be the beginning of the demise of Dada as the foremost ideology within European artists think-
ing. Fractures between individuals and the rise of Surrealism would emerge from this date on-
wards, and it was here also that Van Doesburg’s true identity as I K Bonset was revealed.
Van Doesburg’s use of an alter ego though had proved to be an effective way for him to develop
his own creative process, interact with other art movements and create a varied artistic identity.
With a contemporary hindsight Westbrook could be seen to be alluding to the prescience of Van
Doesburg’s approach by re-presenting his manifesto amidst an amalgamation of contemporary ma-
terials (tiles, permanent marker) that we now can perhaps subtly associate with the legacy of the
Dada and De Stijl ideologies.
Matt Westbrook, born 1977, Portsmouth. Lives and Works in Birmingham, is a director and
founding member of Grand Union artist studios and project space and will be an artist in residence
at the New Art Gallery Walsall, as part of the Group occupation residency programme organised
by Eastside Projects.
He is also co-editor of BAZ, a semi satirical ‘think tank’ sporadically documenting the Birming-
ham Art World.
www.mattwestbrook.co.uk
www.grand-union.org.uk
www.birminghamartzine.com
Notes;
i.De Stijl (translated from the Dutch: ‘The Style’) was a publication and art movement started by Van Doesburg and
Piet Mondrian in 1917 which sought a geometric, abstract art aligned to the principles of Neo Plasticism that Van
Doesburg would go on to establish.
ii.A possible derivation of the Dutch ‘Ik ben zot’ (I am foolish)
iii.Hinted upon in the hand written Manifesto IKB.
iv.An example of this desire could be Manifesto IKB’s translation in to French; perhaps an attempt to engage the at-
tention of Paris based Dada artists and writers such as Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia and Tristan Tsara.
Bookcase □1. [Stezaker]
2011
From Bookcase Series
Inkjet Print on Offenbach Bible Paper
A4
The production of a series of front facing bookcases began whilst considering the origin
and influence upon how individuals intentionally construct a portrayal of a romanticised
Englishness [see: www.jkelham.com - Leaders Of Men] and connotations associated
with such imagery: collection, knowledge, history, containment, status, organisation and
documentation. The production of this series of works highlights both the individuality
and uniformity of the bookcase as a symbol of the construction.
http://jkelham.com/
Pieces of Silver 2
Thaumatropes
Pieces of Silver 2 is new film work which is the realisation of static untitled objects that were
made for the alternative cinema experience ‘Kirkland’s New Empire Bioscope’ in 2011. These
21st century thaumatropes bring together persistence of vision trickery, silent film inter-titles
and seminal phrases from modern cinema. Horror, humour, thrills, spills and ambiguity all
seek to entertain, amuse and beguile from the early days of the moving image when audiences
experienced the wonder of seeing ‘other worlds’ open up to them on a brightly lit screen from
the darkness of the auditorium.
The curators of The Museum of [ ] Objects have chosen to display these intriguing thau-
matropes as fine art objects, theatrical props and archival evidence, leaving the visitor to ex-
perience the film at http://bcumacurating.tumblr.com or by scanning the QR code located
above.
Elena is a visual artist who occasionally uses live art and performance in her work, and often
works in site contextual or site responsive situations. Her work is concerned with the domestic
domain, sense of identity/place and aspects of consumerism. She sets up humorous or subtle
paradoxes in the everyday and mundane and seeks to create playful interventions in unex-
pected places.
Elena is founding member of West Midland collective, Strange Ways, along with fellow art-
ists Helen Grundy and Harmeet Chagger-Khan. They joined together with the aim to make
work that is an experimental blend of participatory art and contemporary fine art practice, to
make and show work in unusual spaces and to create projects that attract new audiences.
Elena co-manages Kirkland’s New Empire Bioscope, is chair of Wolverhampton Contempo-
rary Art Forum, festival co-ordinator for Junction Wolverhampton and steering group member
of Turning Point West Midlands. Elena has her first internationally residency in Iceland in
November 2012.
www.elenacassidy-smith.web.officelive.com
www.kirklandsnewempirebioscope.weebly.com
www.onedayresidency.wordpress.com
http://vimeo.com/39848342
http://bcumacurating.tumblr.com
Group Show – (Artists - weeks 1 – 7) – Sun 15th – Mon 30th April
Chris Clinton, Rosemary Terry, Matt Webb, Michael
Bold, Matt Westbrook, Jonathan Kelham and Elena
Cassidy-Smith
PV Opening: Saturday 28th April 2012/ Time – 5 – 7 PM/ mac Birmingham
mac Birmingham, Cannon-Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH – Opening Hours: Mon – Sun – 10AM – 10PM
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Museum of [ ] Object’s is a curatorial strategy aimed at generating a new art collection for a lim-
ited period of time.
Each of the artists participating in Museum, have been invited to submit an object, text, video, performance,
or other outcome which will be displayed on a particular week within the ALLOTMENT’s time frame,
starting in March and running until the beginning of September. The artists selected for Museum are based
on subjective rationales and choices, related to the collective curatorial group.
The process will entail the display of a singular work each week with an accompanying descriptive text
written by the artist. The curator is removed from the process of interpreting the work, promoting the artists
as definer, of their own contribution. At key points throughout the coming months, the collection as it exists
at that time will be displayed in its entirety; with the final culmination of work being realised for the meta-
phorical harvest period of September.
The Museum of [ ] Object’s, engages with museum display strategies that both emphasise the indi-
vidual work over the collection and at particular times and in specific sites the collection takes precedence
over the individual components. The artworks within the collection may at times, be loaned to other plot-
holders, in an attempt to infiltrate and establish the collection within another curatorial context.
The collection will also exist as an on-line catalogue. http://BCUMACurating.tumblr.com
3rd March – 9th September 2012, ALLOTMENT, mac Birmingham
The MA Contemporary Curatorial Practice course, Birmingham City University is participating in
ALLOTMENT, at mac, birmingham. ALLOTMENT is an innovative programme hosting ten curated plots
and tended by independent curators, artists and creative groups. http://10plots.tumblr.com/
The Museum of [ ] Objects is curated by Mona Casey and Sonya-Russell-Saunders.
The Artists – (weeks 10 – 16) are – Paul Newman, Phil Thomson, Mona Casey, Grace Williams,
Lisa Roffey, Adam Burton and Sara Dobson
______________________________________________________________________________________
Images – Left to Right : Matt Westbrook, Elena Cassidy Smith and Matt Webb