Subversive Figures

Subversives review written by Linda Cleary

2009-05-22T04:24:00.000-07:00

Subversives at STISA - 29^th April to 2nd June

Subversives certainly does look at the world with a skewed eye; this show is candid, playful, anarchic and in your face. It does not sit pretty or sit up to beg; it's trampled on your biscuit and gone for a walk up the wall; just as the dog in Penny Macbeth's 'The House of Subversives'; in which each room depicts random subversion such as the said dog walking up the wall or a painted lady knitting like a demented clown. Elsewhere Penny's work carves its colour into the corner with 'A Shadow of my Former Self' and its beautific, religious elements of kitsch and her ceramic head bringing poetic visions of Carmen Miranda or Salome.

Sara Jenkin's ironic subversive wit lights up any mind with statements such as in 'About Me' where a cappucino type girl says; 'Are you thinking about me? I am' and 'Hoops'; where we meet two no-hoper characters in a shabby, disfunctional relationship with the woman saying the contextually unbelievable line; 'You have me jumping through hoops'.

Sue Dove's textiles are presented in the most marvellously coloured and characterful rugs and her suspended work 'Souls Adrift' brings curious beings in paper boats hanging at body level and creating a mute ambience as they sway.

The prolific Morwenna Morrison punches hard with paintings such as 'Housewife' and its repeat pattern of 'mother whore wife' with a child type depiction of a woman and house laid over the words. A similar format is seen in 'Oh Baby No Baby' with the title words repeated across the canvas and a woman masturbating; her legs open wide. Two paintings deal with social fixations on weight; 'O' has the words 'Skinny Cow' scrawled upon it and the weighing scales sitting upon a skeleton's head; weight as fixation, obsession – time ticking whilst further along there is 'Fat Pig' and its tyres of voluptuous, naked women, pigs, chocolate and doughnuts. Morwenna goes straight into the heavyweight arena with 'Young Love' and its hard stare at paedophilia; an adult hand, a toy doll; a child about to be taken.

There are some perfectly wacked out and brilliant ceramics in this exhibition and the Queen of Dismorphia must be Lisa Stewart with a plethora of her fabulous exhibits on display. Among them 'A Damsel in Distress' ; a bovver booted camel dinosaur with padlocked ear and false teeth and the astute comment within 'Co-dependency – joined at the hip'; the rainbow joy of union and what one can create, coupled with the push pull tension; the monster between; the third thing that can both beautify and horrify. Lisa pulls us further into her twilight world with drawings such as 'Full Moon Ecstasy' and its wild bird woman cavorting on a ritual eve.

Daniel Barnard delights. Simply delights. His 'Children of the Prawn' is utterly brilliant with its small boys, each wearing the same jacket, held captive in a fisherman's capturing basket. His fantastic 'Medicine Box' throws the concept of nursing to a new and surreal level with 'Round Wire Nails'; place me on forehead and apply pressure until blood is drawn each morning whenever required, 'Belly Button Fluff'; one pinch to be snorted BEFORE DURING & AFTER first emptying of bowels each day and 'Urine (piss)'; 5ml of piss to be taken and gullibly swallowed whenever I want! May leave you feeling low and dejected. His 'He Man & Battlecat' is similarly 'out there' with the words 'I don't have money to buy toys' daniel aged 37 ½ - placed on a piece of paper within the small cupboard housing sci-fi type objects from the sea.

The multi-dimensional Linda Styles has a series of enhanced photographic images in her Earthly Affections work that move between quirky, haunting, thoughtful and social commentary; and some 'look twice' pictures such as 'The Faithful Friend', 'Love & Affection' and 'Family & Frivolity'. Her off beat ceramic installation of gross pink baby heads with an angel baby raised up on a pink plinth is both sickening and beautiful. Nearby, quasi religious iconic figures stand praying to some god as yet unknown and the table is dominated uncomfortably by a large head; its face contorted; lips fleshed out and red; mouth open in a silent scream or a song of dementedness. Linda, as ever, mixes intense with intent.

The King of the King, Mr Ian Dunlop is back at this exhibition with 'Gut Feeling' and its message of 'stop believing now' written in entrails. (Elvis has left the building on this occasion but rock n roll hasn't died)

Una D'Aragona is someone to watch; her 'Red Shoes' emits a captivating but uncomfortable and lonely chord with a strange figure standing alone on a chair in a large empty room; like some minature shrunken adult, a sad soul played by others. 'I Looked But No-one Was There' has what could be a young child bride alone in an abandoned landscape, the darkness of red everywhere and a sheet hanging from a wire line.

Robert Bradford's formidable and garishly coloured work contrasts to Una completely with paintings such as the largesse 'En Plein Air'; the signature toys all around the frame and 'It Takes Allsorts' (co-painted with Penny Macbeth) like an hallucinational homage to Bertie Bassett. The giant 'Toy Soldier' impresses upon the entrance way; made from toy parts, complete with gun.

There are worthy others not mentioned here and I urge you to go and see them yourself, to stand witness to one of the most alive exhibitions this year and let its subversion take you far, far to the other side.

Linda Cleary

www.lindacleary.co.uk

Subversives Preview

2009-05-14T03:49:00.000-07:00

A link to pictures of Subversives preview at STISA

2009-05-14T01:10:00.000-07:00

CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES !

Lally X

Private view at STISA

2009-05-12T01:56:00.000-07:00

Marie, Susie von H and Linda Cleary

Bethany, Oska and Angela

Linda at the Bar

Lally Macbeth

Those cakes!

Roger and I havin a jig

Robert doing interactive art

Roger performing!

'The Buskateers' playing eclectic gypsy punk

Pictures of the fantastic Private view

Just wanted to say that I thought the PV was exhilarating, many people commented on the originality and controversial content of some of the pieces. )Lets start a revolution! We had many compliments and 'The Buskateers' performance was definately a knees up. Roger (the joker) thought he was part of the performance and got a lot of folk jigging. Many thanks to all who made the eve so memorable and oh those cakes , thanks to Penny and Lally yummmm...........Lisa

Hanging the show at STISA

2009-05-04T02:45:00.001-07:00

Postcard Preview invite

2009-03-22T18:53:00.000-07:00

Front view

Back view

Subversives@StISA

2009-03-09T06:15:00.000-07:00

'Sam'
from the 'Burnt Out' series,
mixed media - doll, burnt matches
10cm x 10cm x 5cm Daniel Barnard 2009
Daniel says "can't think of anything to say"

'Children of the Prawn'
mixed media - lobster pot, dolls, star fish
18cm x 25cm x 25cm, Daniel Barnard, 2007

A cake Stall will be a 'feature' at the Preview party

'The Louvin Bros’
40x50 cm, oil-on-paper monotype
Ian Dunlop contact for Art, Music & Films, Ian Dunlop
www.iandunlopart.com

'Wot Kitty Got'
Acrylic and oil on canvas 46 x 50cm, Morwenna Morrison

'Le Camelia Rouge'
Oil on canvas 46 x 50cm, Morwenna Morrison

'Image 1 from a series called Sequence'
How do we get from A to B I wonder?

Using the head? The legs? The gut?
What does mapping the territory mean?
Choice?
Findings?
Being lost?
What happens to those who go and make their uncertain way against the forces?
What happens to those who stay?
Karen Lorenz

'Image 2 from a series called Sequence'
Oil, pencil on paper
21 x 29 cm Karen lorenz

'The crucifiction of Ganesh'

clay and mixed media, 62 x 62cm Lisa Stewart

'Sing'
pen & ink, 20 by 25 cm 2009 Sara Jenkins

'Full moon frenzy'
graphite ink on paper, A3 2009 Lisa Stewart

'Adrift alone'
mixed media sculpture, 2008 Sue Dove

'Face'
Ragrugged 13"x11", 2009 Sue Dove

'Frozen Flight'
acrylic and resin on canvas, 91cm x 153cm 2009 Penny MacBeth

'Earthly Affections'
Objet Trouve 3, 2009 Linda styles

'Angel'
Toys on Wood 2009, 185cm x 110 X 75cm approx Robert Bradford

'Earthly Affections'
Objet Trouve 2, 2009 Linda styles

‘Red Shoes’
oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm 2009 Una d'Aragona

'House of Subversives'
( detail ), mixed media and found objects
66cm x 30cm x 68cm
2009 Penny MacBeth

'Earthly Affections'
Objet Trouve 1, 2009 Linda styles

‘I looked but no-one was there’
oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm 2009 Una d'Aragona

'Mother's Little Helper'
acrylic on canvas, 46 x 50cm 2009
Morwenna Morrison

Does society know what it wants from us?

We are told we can have it all: a career, a relationship, children, a home, while all the time staying slim and in control. The guilt if we don’t. Not all women can be everything. Life, we find, is a constant struggle, full of compromise. Every minutia of our lives have been analysed by professed experts and then paraded across the media to further fuel our feelings of inadequacy. We have the ability to control almost everything from fertility to fat intake.

How do we cope?

Who, what, why are we?
There are no definitive answers.

In these series of paintings I pick over women’s lives, offering up my own observations of what it is to be a woman today.

'Toy Soldier'
toys on wood, 200cm x 1.3 cm x 100 cm approx
2008 Robert Bradford

‘SUBVERSIVE FIGURES’
29th April – 2nd June
Gallery opening hours 10.30am – 5.30pm, Mon – Sat
Preview party , Saturday 2nd May 6pm – 9pm

An exhibition of figurative painting and sculpture which explores the strange territory and occasional overlap between the beautiful and the ugly.

01736 795582
www.stisa.co.uk
subversivefigures.blogspot.com

Merbabe & Dogman c/o artbysara

2009-03-09T03:09:00.000-07:00

Merbabe is the Mermaid of Zennor babeified. She thought she'd come onland for a bit of fun, maybe even seduce a bloke whilst he's too drunk to see her tail hidden beneath her pink & orange sarong. By the way, you can always tell a mermaid by her wet hem. Be warned.

Dogman is a jack-the-lad, the Beast of Bodmin down from the moor & on holiday. He's in St Ives eyeing up the babes, enjoying the ale & pretending he can surf. He can't. He hates getting his fur wet. He's such a slacker...except when it comes to food. He can gobble up old grandmas & children whole.

For more stories do visit my blog http://www.artbysara.blogspot.com

press release for StISA show , 2009

2009-03-06T14:02:00.000-08:00

‘SUBVERSIVE FIGURES’
An exhibition of figurative painting and sculpture which explores the strange territory and
occasional overlap between the beautiful and the ugly.

WHERE ?
The Main Gallery, St Ives Society of Artists , Norway Square , St Ives ,
Cornwall TR26 1NA
Contact : Gallery Manager April Brooks , tel 01736 795582

WHEN ?
Preview party , Saturday 2nd May 6pm – 9pm
Exhibition 29th April –2nd June ,
Monday - Saturday

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

‘ Subversive Figures ‘ is the third exhibition on this theme from an recently formed group of artists all of whom have a current connection with Cornwall . Our group includes both established and emerging artists : Some of us show locally , some of us show internationally and some of us rarely emerge from our studios to show at all !

Our initial group – which has since expanded -was ignited by a spark from the
‘ Spontaneous Combustion 2’ Exhibition held in St Ives in Summer 2007 . Focussed on emotional responses this show asked artists to explore “ How do you feel ? how do you REALLY feel ?” and provided a welcome opportunity for all of us to work beyond the constraints of the ( largely ) tourist driven local commercial art environment : We were able to show work which would not sit easily in local commercial galleries and some of us were grateful for the chance to show work ‘ at home’ which is usually exported to different markets and hence misses the local audience .

As individual artists ,we all share an interest in representing the human form and in exploring the emotional impact on the viewer of the distortions , idiosyncrasies and hybridizations that we employ to do so . As Aristotle established in the Poetics , it is possible to make beautiful imitations of ugly or imperfect things and as Francis Bacon might have acknowledged , it is equally possible to do the reverse ! Sometimes the boundary between beautiful and ugly is not clearly drawn , so that both co-exist within the same representation : As the witches in Macbeth put it “ fair is foul and foul is fair …”.

As drawing the line between the beautiful and the ugly is itself a highly subjective matter we hope to gain reaction to this exhibition from a wide audience ! Like marmite , you might love it , hate it or find that your response is double edged or time dependent ( that strange , slightly disturbing aftertaste ! ). What we hope is that you will come and join us for a show where your personal response to the work IS part of the experiment . We look forward to seeing you for what promises to be an emotionally loaded experience.

Link to Linda

2009-02-22T04:05:00.000-08:00

http://lindastylesart.blogspot.com/

welcome to the world of artbysara...

2009-02-18T04:07:00.000-08:00

just thought i'd introduce myself a bit...well...i do cartoons & live near land's end, it's a sea thing. my favourite past time is eating chocolate. i've been cartooning for a few years and print stuff on postcards and all manner of things...i'm working on a webcomic and as of late have gotten into the whole internet thing as it's nice to put your work out there for random people all over the planet to stumble upon. so i'm a bit of a myspace addict- so many brilliant artists out there i'd never otherwise know about. do visit my page at http://www.myspace.com/saraljenkins.
also i've just started a blog at http://www.artbysara.blogspot.com/

and am building up some interesting links- lots of really good comics and street art sites. i like stencil art and murals that transform the endless grey walls of out towns and cities. we need more! and i like underground comics and magazines put together on low budgets that are labours of love.
anyway, bye for now! x

A Link to Lally's Blog

2009-02-10T05:28:00.000-08:00

CLICK ME

London calling. Morwenna's great escape

2009-02-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

I'm off to the big smoke on saturday. If anyone has any suggestions on galleries I should visit or places I should go, then please don't hesitate to post. I know the Saatchi has a Middle East exhibition on and then there's Rothco. I plan to go to Viners Street...

Morwenna - a start

2009-01-23T12:42:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, this is my third attempt at blogging. The first two went horribly wrong. All I can say is thank god I can touch type!

Have got underway with my series of small paintings dealing with issues relating to women. 'Contraception' is going quite well, I'm considering 'Periods, 'Domestic Abuse' is almost figured out, while ................ 'Devorse', what can I say - oh dear - some things were never meant to be.

'Women' as a subject has got to be more interesting than 'Men'. Being one myself, I can empathise, after all it's supposed to be what we're good at. We have the whole raging hormone thing going on from puberty and years of PMT then possibly PNT and finally there's menopause. Self image, another huge subject to beat yourself up about or, if you'd rather - domestic abuse, drugs, fertility, ageing - I will attempt to go there. Needless to say there will be a great deal of angst along the way while I wrestle with not wanting to appear too obvious or to offend in any way............

I really hope it works this time as my typing aint that good!

See you all tomorrow.

2009-01-22T16:31:00.000-08:00

If anyone has photos relating to the group which could go up on the blog but not sure how to get them there , bring them along on Saturday ... Lally has offered to show us how ( I understand so it must be easy peasy ! ) Pennyx p.s. Also wondered if any of us want to set up a link across to the blog from our websites / facebooks etc ...... Lally could also explain how to do this

Images that relate to our group - To get the ball rolling!

2009-01-19T08:04:00.000-08:00

StISA Gallery Spontaneous Combustion 2 PV
Sue Dove's exhibit
Robert Bradford's exhibit
Lisa Stewart's SP1 exhibit
I have embedded a slideshow (i think),(I failed) so have added a few photographs, could all group members start to upload images of their choice onto this post please? if you click on the photo image next to ABC above it is easy to browse and upload, a short heading to accompany image could also be added.

Subversives group members

2009-01-19T06:44:00.000-08:00

Jo Forsyth
Linda Styles
Lisa Stewart
Catherine Milne
Morwenna Morrison
Sue Dove
Penny Macbeth
Una D'aragona
Ian Dunlop
Robert Bradford
Sara (Does anyone know Sara's other name)?

Jo's photo album

2009-01-15T09:26:00.000-08:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jowhirlygiggle/

Jo Forsyth is up a mountain in Ireland but is returning to the USA on the 4th February for 3 months. Jo sent me this link to her photo journal which shows us what she has been doing with COB and the people that she has been working with.

The link is similar to Picassa web albums and looks like an effective tool, anyone can sign up!
I have emailed Jo with the details of the StISA show dates and deadline date for submission of artist information.

press release dates / next meeting for STISA show

2009-01-12T14:45:00.000-08:00

Dear Submersives + Subversives-
Didn't want to rely entirely on underground communication , subliminal messaging or Chinese whispers for group business so on Linda's suggestion am taking the unprecedented step of writing a direct group email ( feels too good to be true ! )

Just to remind you all that our next meeting is at ' Owls House ' (Penny and Roberts )on Saturday 24th January at 12.30 ( veggie and non-veggie lunches provided ! ) . Looking forward to seeing everyone then . If anyone needs directions , please email me !

Also a reminder that there is an END OF JAN deadline for submission of one high resolution image to accompany the press release ( which Robert and I are drafting , but which will be ready for us all to read and okay on the 24th ) . If you could send me your image by email that would be great ( pennymacbeth@macace.net). We agreed at the last meeting that these will not be used as the images for the exhibition catalogue as many of us will be planning to show new work which - speaking personally - we are probably still busy making ! However it does seem sensible to send an image cd with the press release so we maximize the chance of getting some press coverage for the show.

Catalogue images will not be needed until beginning of March .... We are hoping that we can afford to allow everyone either two images OR one image + a page of text but Lisa will hopefully know more about costs by the time we meet up .....

Finally , we agreed that we would all contribute £50 towards the budget for catalogues , publicity and the preview as this time we are self-funding ( except for the STISA contribution towards preview cards ). Lisa has agreed to be fund holder , so if you could give your contribution to her as soon as poss it would be really helpful . Ta!

Looking forward to seeing everyone on 24th , Pennyxx

Ian Dunlop's video/music/art link

2009-01-12T01:49:00.000-08:00

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=49997791

Ian is back from the USA, this video/art-film is some of what he did whilst there and also back here in Cornwall.

Submersive images - Original publicity images used by group in advance of New Street show

2009-01-11T06:11:00.000-08:00

the urn of the abysmal abyss surrounded by war of attrition

boat heads - Sue Dove

Doll Portrait - Penny Macbeth

36 wigglin chess set - Jo Forsyth

My Achey Breaky Heart, Linda Styles, Acrylic and mixed media

Venus baptised by fire.Penny Macbeth

Untitled Ian Dunlop

That abysmal abyss of the wild blue yonder Linda Styles

Soldier Head.Robert Bradford

No title Ian Dunlop

Kalshnikov Robert Bradford

Full Soldier at L.A .F. Robert Bradford

Damel travelling on road to Damascus 3 Lisa Stewart

Damel travelling on road to Damascus 2 Lisa Stewart

Cupie submerged and blue fishes Linda Styles

Allegory of love after Benzoni Morwenna Morrison

'Mother' mixed media on canvas Morwenna Morrison

'I'll never get out of this world alive'. Ian Dunlop

0' mixed media on canvas Morwenna Morrison

china cupboard-Penny Macbeth

New Street Exhibition 'Submersive Figures' Aug 2008, New St Gallery, Penzance

2009-01-06T08:29:00.001-08:00

Linda, Trader and friends, Morwenna (in white trousers) and Gilly

Penny's wall faces with resin bubbles and Lally

Clarissa and ?

? and Nigel

Robert's scrubber dog on washing up bowls

Morwenna and her painting

Linda's snorkel boy

Angela and Sue

Sara, Morwenna and Lisa

Sue and Penny

Fishcakes

Penny's wall assemblage

Lisa's damel's

Linda's Angel of mercy

Robert and Penny

Robert's bubble machine

Lally and eyelashes

Morvah Exhibition 'Subversive Figures' Feb 2008, School House Gallery, Morvah, Penzance

2009-01-06T06:48:00.000-08:00

Penny on the moorSnackettes

George Davina and Sarah

Penny and Angela

Robert, Penny and ?

LallyPennyLisa foreground and Caroline

Jo's tureen on wheels

Sue doves painting

Sue Dove, Jo and Clarissa

Linda's cats

Robert

Sue Doves exhibit

Sue Dove detail

Penny's painting

a welcome test

2009-01-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hello Karen,
Just testing how 'comment' works and to welcome you to our group, Penny is going to upload some information in the next few days which should start the ball rolling!

Hi All,

this blog is a test run, and an opportunity for me to say thanks to everyone involved in Subversive Figures for inviting me to take part, and to wish you all a happy new year.

How exciting!

Karen