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‘Salat ul-Istisqa’a [Prayer for Rain]’, 2017, installation of hologram and sound

Kelise Franclemont, ‘Salat ul-Istisqa’a [Prayer for Rain]’, 2017, copper, acrylic, and sound, in ‘Water Stations’ at Emmanuel Church, West Hampstead, London. Image courtesy the artist.
When water is scarce, an ancient Bedouin tradition calls the faithful to beseech God for healing rains. This Islamic ritual is known as “Salat ul-Istisqa’a”, rising to heaven one drop at a time.

“Salat ul-Istisqa’a [Prayer for Rain]” is a response to the number of documentaries from 2013-2016 about the irreversible water crisis in Gaza. 2020 is rapidly approaching, the year when experts fear that the fresh water supply in the region’s underground aquifers will be damaged beyond repair. Even now, experts fear the worst has already happened as ordinary people who live, work, and raise families within view of the Mediterranean, are dying of thirst.

Gazan resident Awatef Al Afifi complains with evident frustration, “This water is unsuitable for [washing] hair, or for showering children or adults. Or washing your face.”
“This [water] is diseased,” she gestures, “we can’t drink it or use it for cooking.”
Throwing her hands up again, “It’s not safe,” she exclaims, “we can’t use it for anything, wa laa ishi [not anything].”
In another part of Gaza lives another family, 100 meters from the sea shore. Equally frustrated, Um Adham Bakr states matter-of-factly, “Saline water is harmful for the children; they become sick. The last time I stayed about 6 days in hospital with my eldest son. The doctors tell me that he had something more dangerous than meningitis; he was taken to the intensive care unit. Blisters had appeared on his body, blisters that were mainly caused by salt water. As you can see, the water is salty and their hair has been damaged. The boys have undergone several surgeries and rashes appear all over their bodies.” And resignedly,
“There’s nothing to do. We are tired of this.”

“Salat ul-Istisqa’a [Prayer for Rain]” is part of “Water Stations” an exhibition in which seven artists convene to honour World Water Day with sculpture, installation, film, and painting, at Emmanuel Church in West Hampstead from 19th through 31st March 2017.

Click the thumbnail to view/download more info:
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365 days of Love Notes from myself to me

<< Back to Archives << [] >> Part 1: Love Notes from myself to me >>


It’s that time of year again and maybe it’s the weather… but I’m sure I’m not alone when I say, I am in a deep blue funk. So for Valentine’s Day, I’ve decided to give myself a little gift: an envelope of time that contains a kind of “love note to me”, by which I will remind myself daily of what love looks like – by gazing in a mirror and drawing what I see.

For in order to really see, one must spend time really looking.

I’ve chosen to create self-portraits (instead of, say, making selfies on my iPhone) because in these creative sessions, I must take the time to really look in order to draw what’s looking back at me…and maybe, after 365 of these love notes in a row, it will become easier day-by-day to see through any of the dark days, with positivity, confidence, and joy.

In today’s image, I see quirky, bright, and fun-loving; now, I don’t know what other forms my selfie-portraits will take over the rest of the year, but in words of one of my heroes, RuPaul, here’s what I do know for sure:

“If you can’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love somebody else?”

from 365 Love Notes to Self, Day 365, 14 Feb 2018, collage, paper, and glue.

<< Back to Archives << [] >> Part 1: Love Notes from myself to me >>

 

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‘The Life and Death of Bierzigster Iarhgang’ – collaboration with Marcin Czarnopyś for Connect:Katowice project

Reposted from ConnectKatowice.com, the following describes a recent and ongoing arts collaboration with Polish artist Marcin Czarnopyś…

The artists

Project description/intent

Wrocław (Poland), November 2016/1856

One late afternoon in November, Marcin and Kelise wandered into an old bookstore in Wrocław’s main town square. A book, dated 1856 on the ragged spine and gently reeking of cigar smoke, fell into Marcin’s hands: “Neueste Nachrichten aus Dem Reiche Gottes”, or as Google Translate suggests: “Latest News from the Kingdom of God” by Bierzigster Iargang. As we thumbed through the contents, a postage-stamp sized portrait of a woman fluttered from between the pages:

kelisemarcin_proj_stmt_image01Intrigued and 40 złoty poorer, the book was ours.

Who was Bierzigster Iargang? (We called him “BJ” for short). The final pages of the book revealed some of his story:

BJ was born in Przemyśl (Marcin’s home town!), to a German/Polish family that owned several coal mines in the Silesian area. A religious and righteous man, yet troubled by the corruptions that accompany great wealth, BJ received a series of heavenly visions over the course of a year – which he called, “Neueste Nachrichten aus Dem Reiche Gottes (Latest news from the kingdom of God)”, wrote them all down and published in a book of the same title. This was directly followed by a spiritual calling to go to New York (where Kelise’s family originates) as a missionary, and he traveled to America around 1856-7, leaving his wife and six daughters behind until he could get settled and send for them to join him.

But in New York, he seems to have disappeared, presumed dead, shortly after he arrived and his family never heard from him again.

Our project aim is to unravel the mystery about the life and death Bierzigster (BJ) Iargang, and to discover the truth about what connects his story to Marcin and Kelise.

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Proposed outcome

Currently we are working with an installation of found objects, text/prints, photos, and video which will present our research into BJ’s life as well as present the found connections between him, Marcin, and Kelise, (and particular, the artists want to unpick already discovered common ancestry between Marcin and Kelise).

Timeline

  • June to Nov 2016: Kelise and Marcin communicate via email and regular post to become acquainted and discuss project ideas.
  • Nov 2016: Kelise visited Marcin in Wrocław, to work together and progress one or more project ideas
  • Dec 2016: Kelise and Marcin present work in Connect:Katowice in London at Hornsey Town Hall with Kelise to deliver talk/workshop around their project which both worked on together to develop (working ideas include: a book-making workshop, souvenir exchange, story-telling, etc.)
  • Dec 2016 to June 2017: Marcin and Kelise continue to work over email and regular post to develop the project
  • June 2017: final work(s) and/or documentation presented in Katowice, Poland

Click the link for more about the collaboration between Marcin and Kelise – “stories between the UK and Poland

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Quick figure studies, 2016, ink on paper

In order to give myself a brief respite from technology, I recently spent some time in my studio exploring movement and light with some quick figure drawings in ink on paper.

(My scanner turned everything bright turquoise, which I tried to colour-correct but in reality, these are really be more of an ultramarine blue…)

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‘Automatic Running (drawings between my feet and my smartphone)’, 2016, digital drawings (slideshow)

At first glance, this is simply a different way of drawing, in which I am performing the act of drawing, but not making the marks with my hands, but rather with my feet. I.e, By carrying a smartphone whilst exercising, through use of an app called Nike+Running, I create a recording of the activity – the route, the distance run, and the time elapsed from start to finish. Thus, the running activity is recorded as a line drawing superimposed over the satellite imagery of the location.

I made the gesture, the movement with my body, and Nike+Running software made the mark.

At another level, these drawings question the agency and intention: who really is the author here?

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These abstract images are also about recording and memory in that, much like marks on paper, these digital drawings are the only record of my having been there at that moment, in that place. But wait… current technology and insta-culture allows another means to state “I was Here”… through a smart phone and social media.

Symbols begin to emerge from abstract shapes, asserting themselves with hashtags…suggesting a deeper meaning, they try to become something more than just the length of a line… a starting point, an ending point, a shape, an object, an animal…


More links and information

 

Have a look at the digital slideshow of the Instagram drawings on Vimeo [6:19 minutes, looped] – as displayed on an iPhone 6/6s

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Duo show ‘Fragments and Traces’ about time, memory, and travel – Platform 1 Gallery, Wandsworth Arts Fringe

Fragments and Traces: l’invitation au voyage

Kelise Franclemont and Antonia Jackson  explore memory, travel, and passage of time through paintings, installation, and new media. Throughout each day, along with the exhibition of artworks, Antonia and Kelise will engage visitors in trading memories and creating new ones in an ongoing make-one/take-one souvenir postcard exchange.

Fragments and Traces: l’invitation au voyage” is in conjunction with Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2016, a festival of creativity and performance throughout the borough from 6 to 22 May 2016.

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One subsequent weekends at Platform 1 Gallery are two more shows:  “Transcending” from artist Ema Mano Epps with Verica Kovacevska and Norman Mine, and finally, “Fragment” by sculptor Anna Flemming.

Click the flyer below to see more details:


More links about “Fragments and Traces”

Event details: Fragments and Traces” presents during Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2016 from 5 to 8 May 2016  at Platform 1 Gallery on Wandsworth Common Station, Platform 1, Wandsworth Common, London SW12 8SG (entrance to the station and Platform 1 Gallery from Jaggard Way). Free admission, step-free access.

Private View: Thursday 5 May, 5:30 to 8:30 pm

Opening hours:

Friday 6 May, 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Saturday 7 May, 11:oo am to 5:00 pm
Sunday 8 May, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Platform1Gallery_logo2   WandsworthFringe_logo

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‘The Promised Land (in amazing stereoscopic vision)’, 2016, digital video and stereoscopic goggles

Kelise Franclemont, 'The Promised Land', 2016, HD digital video on iPad with stereoscopic goggles and sound, duration 1:40 (looped). Image courtesy the artist.
Kelise Franclemont, ‘The Promised Land’, 2016, HD digital video on iPad with stereoscopic goggles and sound, duration 1:40 (looped). Image courtesy the artist.

The “Promised Land”, the land of milk and honey, the place where all good things will come to the chosen people and the true believers. In London, the “Promised Land” is not just for immigrants and dreamers, those who aspire to wealth and privilege that can be had in the capital, London is already here for the posh and the prosperous. This great golden city belongs to the movers and the shakers, the 1% who can afford to live in high-rise flats and work in their downtown shiny offices.

Not everyone is so lucky in the lottery of birth and not everybody finds the better life they seek when they get to “The Promised Land” they keep hearing about from their parents, friends, and politicians, tales that have been told since the Industrial Age…the sounds of building a high-rise contrasts starkly with the images in a different story of broken promises, dead-ends, and forgotten dreams.

Kelise Franclemont, ‘The Promised Land’, 2016, HD digital video on iPad with stereoscopic goggles and sound, duration 1:40 (looped) – EXCERPT

If the video does not auto-play, please click here.


‘The Promised Land’ was recently exhibited in ‘Fast Forward/Rewind’ – Chelsea Alumni Summer Show 2016 at Punctum Gallery, Chelsea College of Arts, from 18-22 July 2016.

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‘Postcards’ selected for ‘Identity’ group exhibition with AWAH, Manchester

 “Postcards from the Land of No People (wish you were here)”, 2015, printed postcards in a wooden rack  

A contemporary Orientalist sees herself in Palestine through a series of souvenir postcards… whether or not she belongs or is welcome there…

This piece is about how memory and identity intermingle and become truth for the author of that history. A series of found images dated from late 1890s are appropriated from the US Library of Congress “Holy Land” archives and the artist inserts herself into the image attempting to become an integral part of the narrative by almost any means possible. This can be a metaphor for personal history, the artist having once been immersed in all things Palestinian by marriage or the images could point to some vague but potent longing to belong to the exotic “Other” culture, even for just a moment as a tourist to some foreign land. There is an element of humour here, with the artist fully aware of the “square peg, round hole” issues at play here and the absurdity of a certain tone of Colonialism that tries to overwrite history, yet there is no lacking in sincerity for the love of this corner of the Earth once known as the “Land of No People”.

On the reverse of each card is written a message from the artist to “My darling” (a lover? a family member? a friend?), with the sentiment, “wish you were here!” along with a short message to share the experience with the postcard recipient.

To see this and the many other works in “Identity” (21 January to 13 March 2016), head to Manchester to Art with a Heart [AWAH], a charity arts organisation in nearby Altrincham.

Founded in 2012, AWAH is a charity that comprises of 4-5 small exhibition galleries, hosting workshops, exhibitions, charitable events, and volunteering opportunities aimed at supporting the arts and creative communities, as well as promoting Altrincham heritage and history.

If you’re in the area, have a look in!

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‘A walk through Palestine’ installation included in ‘Ruins of Time’ exhibition – The Crypt Gallery, St Pancras, London

This small stone was once part of pleasing mathematics in tessellated patterns… a fan, a leaf, a flower. It remained in that belonging for nearly 2000 years until one day, it was dislocated from its home. In this instant, this fragment was transformed from artefact into another kind of ruin. A relic, this souvenir now belongs to no more than a memory, a resurrected existence in minutes and megabytes, and thus has become something much easier to destroy and to forget.

If you missed seeing “Ruins of Time” at The Crypt Gallery in St Pancras, click the link to walk through the virtual tour herehttps://vimeo.com/154992121 [Vimeo, duration 13:02 minutes]. My work appears at 4:45.

Kelise Franclemont, detail ‘A Walk through Palestine’, 2015, iPhone and video, duration 10:00mins (looped)

More links and information

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  • You can see “A Walk through Palestine” in the upcoming “Ruins of Time” exhibition at The Crypt Gallery, St Pancras, London – 25 through 30 November 2015 – In the first project by London Munich Exchange [LME], 13 British and German artists descend into The Crypt beneath St Pancras to stage “Ruins of Time”, an exhibition of contemporary art that explores “time and its specific expression in the architecture of the site”.
  • A Walk through Palestine” was first exhibited in the MA Fine Art Summer Show 2015 at Chelsea College of Arts, London – 4 through 12 September 2015 – Helena Anderson from Candid Arts Magazine writes, “Some artists whose work stood out among the crowd were Kelise Franclemont, whose video, sound, and found object installation ‘a walk through Palestine (collectable, artefact, relic, souvenir)’ raised important questions of historical accuracy, the ethics of tourism, and cultural heritage”
  • Find out more about “Ruins of Time” exhibition at The Crypt Gallery on their official website
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‘Caught in the Act’, 2015, series of digital photographic prints

This exhibition of digital photographic prints by Kelise Franclemont, candidly documents preparation for the final MA Fine Art Summer show in August 2015. Stealing a glimpse of artists in the act of making, the images invite an intimacy with the subject. Taken on an iPhone without the artist’s knowledge or permission, these documents are being shared publicly for the first time as Display #17 for Chelsea Cafe Project.

These images capture fragmentary moments of production, becoming part of the history and biography of artist and artwork. By sharing these perceived intimacies, the photographer is embedding themselves within a narrative to an externalised audience; invited here to observe the relationship between the maker and the made. – from Chelsea Cafe Project blog. Display #17 curated by Cherie Silver.

More links and information:

Chelsea_Space_project_logo

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‘A Walk through Palestine (collectable, artefact, relic, souvenir)’, 2015, installation

This small stone was once part of pleasing mathematics in tessellated patterns… a fan, a leaf, a flower. It remained in that belonging for nearly 2000 years until one day, it was dislocated from its home. In this instant, this fragment was transformed from artefact into another kind of ruin. A relic, this souvenir now belongs to no more than a memory, a resurrected existence in minutes and megabytes, and thus has become something much easier to destroy and to forget.

Even the photos we take on our smartphones, stolen memories are remade to suit our own histories.

As seen in:  

MA Fine Art Postgraduate Summer Show 2015

at Chelsea College of Arts, London

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More links and info about the MA Fine Art Summer Show

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‘lockers’ – pop-up residency and exhibition, Chelsea College of Arts, London

Lockers_flyer_02It’s a pop-up show in the CG05 corridor (near the part-timer’s base room) in which each of us takes one locker and curates an exhibition in the 30 x 30 x 43 cm cubby. It is a response to the locker as a space, a container, a set of limitations, boundaries, a wish granted, or some other response.

Of course, there are only 20 lockers and almost 30 people in part-time 1 & 2 group so this might also turn into an exercise in negotiation, compromise, and teamwork!

What I propose is 1-2 (or more) people choose a locker, and put an object in or installation… and then place a padlock on the door (for safety). During the exhibition, the lock is enigmatically left on or perhaps the door is left wide open for uninhibited viewing.

 

 

More links and information about ‘lockers’

Exhibition details: a pop-up residency and exhibition (18 – 25 June 2015) in 20 lockable spaces, located in CG05 corridor, at Chelsea College of Arts, 16 John Islip Street, London, SW1P 4JU

 

Chelsea_UAL_logo

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‘alchemy of the perfect fragrance (growing up in Illinois)’, 2015, found scents and installation

The_alchemy_of_Growing_up_in_Illinois
Kelise Franclemont, detail of ‘growing up in Illinois’, 2015, installation in ‘lockers’ at Chelsea College of Arts, London. Photo courtesy the artist.

This one’s about memories, and how they are made… in this case, through my sense of smell. Each of 12 scents is carefully crafted and a little story is attached to the bottle. The viewer could ignore my story in favour of their own…

Part of the ‘lockers’ – a pop-up exhibition and residency in 20 small lockable spaces, at Chelsea College of Arts, London.

18 – 25 June 2015.

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‘Memoirs of a stone (part 1 – the flight from Hyrcania)’, 2015, installation and found items, in ‘Housed’ at Chelsea College of Arts, London

17 Chelsea MA students (12 MA Fine Art, 5 MA Curating & Collections) enter into a week-long cooperative exhibition in which the curators, who see the show for the first time mid-week, will reconsider curation and transform the space. The project is an experiment which aims to “…challenge the ‘occupancy’ inside the regimented frameworks” such as may be found in the academic or gallery setting. From 7-10 April 2015 at Chelsea College of Arts.

Read more about ‘Housed’ on kelise72.com

Re-examining the relation between artist and curator

The basis of Housed: was about the relation (some might say “hierarchy”?) between artist and curator, firstly in a gallery/exhibition setting, secondly in academia. In the first half of the week, the dozen artists installed the show, collaboratively of course, installing their work with consideration for the siting as well as “conversations” between the nearby pieces.

Learn more about the project and how it evolved on the ‘Housed’ blog

My proposed work, ‘memoirs of a stone (Part I – The flight from Hyrcania)’ was an installation of drawings on paper, a short looping film with sound, and several found objects, most importantly, a small piece of red shale about 1 cm big.

In the first part of week, a writing desk was situated in the doorway, a small intimate space which may inspire quiet reflection as the viewer may pause and read or handle the drawings. Further along in the exhibition in the next room, one might come across the small red stone on a black velvet jewel block, positioned on the floor.

Mid-way through the week, the curators came into the project with a fresh perspective to re-hang the work, possibly creating new conversations and altering the “flow” of the exhibition overall.

‘Memoirs of a stone’ was relocated to another room entirely, which somehow “opened up” the work in a positive way. The little stone, placed next to Paul Abbott’s work (the video/busts on plinths – left image) somehow crystallised for both works the reference to Greco-Roman era, with busts on plinths and the Roman-era mosaic tile. Then the writing desk, even though in a more open space, still allowed for intimacy placed in the corner, adjacent to a large airy window.

For many of the artists, the re-curation improved the flow and openness for the exhibition overall, and opened up each work to have more “breathing space”, a marked positive change. If nothing else, the project allowed for a different way to see and experience the works in this very successful week.

Read more about Housed:

Chelsea_UAL_logo

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‘Postcards from The Land of No People’, 2015, printed postcards in a wooden rack

A contemporary Orientalist sees herself in Palestine in a series of souvenir postcards… whether or not she belongs or is welcome there…
Because isn’t this what we all do, when we travel to an exotic place, proudly saying “please” and “thank you” in exactly the correct pronunciation of an Other tongue, imagining ourselves for a moment, in asking for the bill, to be mistaken for a native…

while the server, laughing behind his or her eyes, sees right through your identity to a colonial past that is, along with your fantasy, part author to this current moment. Nodding and smiling and complimenting your excellent Arabic, which you both know is harnessed to expectations of generosity, which you gladly bestow for recognition of being seen as you wish to be seen. All of us pretending in this business transaction, an exchange until all accounts are empty.

MA Fine Art Interim Show
Chelsea College of Arts, London
 
22 January 2015