Clecy is a lovely village in the heart of the Suisse Normande. Down a
cobbled street, above a florist's shop is the gallery Ateliers 48 - how romantic is that!
My exhibition 'Interaction' has some paintings I have shown before, and many new, expressive works.
I am interested in how I - Annabel Mednick, the artist, a woman, a person - work with my
model, Blue King, who is also woman and a person; not a specific gender and certainly not a passive
'thing'.I look, and I respond to the person before me. An
inner energy embodies the person, which arches across the room to create a
dialogue between artist and model. (I will be playing the video Blue and I made about working together.)
Recently I have been working on the gaze
between model and artist; the person within the space; the interaction between
us; and how the invisible air around us is displaced as we move through it.
I am also showing three large paintings of the figure interacting in a space. I am interested in how the viewer makes the
interaction with the still image. Because the viewer has movement, it is their
movement that activates the action in the art. The art is dormant in the empty
room.
I wanted to make the whole space interactive; so in the center of the space, you find a chair, an easel and paper with
an almost finished drawing. The viewer is invited to imagine the
interaction between the absent artist and sitter.
I am showing some of the self portraits I made, instigated by touch... (I find them amusing...why shouldn't art be funny?)
I have also included some of the sketches and paintings I made when I was working with Leo Collins, and the little video of a demonstration... interacting with the audience ... (with french subtitles of course!)
So... I had the last class with my lovely students a couple of weeks
ago. Oh, it has been great watching them all develop their confidence
and expression, but now it's time to part - I need to have my studio to
myself to move my own work on.
I like to work thematically, often in paint, or other mixed media or charcol, but I like making little videos and also time based pieces.
For a few years now, I have been
developing my "Aquarium of Dreams" project. Gathering ideas and filming
pieces. It's going to be an immersive experience... and of course I will
try it out in the studio.
I also hold little pop up gigs there from time to time. So, I decided to paint the studio walls black.
It begins...
No going back...
TAH DAH!!! It feels like being in a charcol drawing or an Anselm Kiefer painting.
You can see how this end will be a fab performance space, the audience will be at little tables, like a speakeasy.