In a collaboration with visual artist Olga Suchanova, in “Object Self“, Kelise and Olga use digital technology to create 3D augmented reality [AR] portraits as a personal expression of self.
Much like old-fashioned painted miniatures, these digital portraits, too, can be carried in the pocket, yet with the avant-garde medium of AR and viewed through the frame of the smartphone screen, a digital portrait becomes 3D sculpture that can be placed anywhere and viewed from all sides.
Darling, you are a work of art.
To see our growing collection of “Object Self” portraits, scan or tap this QR code (sketchfab.com)
More info
Kelise and Olga will demonstrate how these AR digital 3D sculptures are made during the Object Self workshop as part of Tate Staff Biennale 2019 on
Wednesday 28 August 2019 – 2:00P to 6:00P – Level 5, Tate Exchange
Sunday 1 September 2019 – 12:00P to 4:00P – Level 5, Tate Exchange
Responding to Tate Exchange’s theme for year 3, Movement, The Inside Job Collective have been invited to take over Tate Exchange and pull together the work of staff across all Tate sites into one exhibition. The exhibition showcases the often-hidden skills of staff members at Tate and allows you to see the impact of working with Tate’s collection has had on their practice.
Approaching the different strands of Movement through varying mediums, there will be a dynamic series of live performances, workshops, installations, film and 2D works, as well as an evening of specially curated music and performances from staff for the August edition of Uniqlo Tate Lates.
About the Inside Job Collective
The Inside Job Collective are a group of Tate Staff who organise and curate an exhibition dedicated to the many creative talents of their colleagues.
Helen Dixon, ‘Big Blue no 4’. Image courtesy the artist and Inside Job Collective.
In a collaboration with visual artist Olga Suchanova, in “Object Self“, Kelise and Olga use digital technology to create 3D augmented reality [AR] portraits as a personal expression of self.
Much like old-fashioned painted miniatures, these digital portraits, too, can be carried in the pocket, yet with the avant-garde medium of AR and viewed through the frame of the smartphone screen, a digital portrait becomes 3D sculpture that can be placed anywhere and viewed from all sides.
To see our growing collection of “Object Self” portraits, scan or click this QR code:
More info
Kelise and Olga will demonstrate how these AR digital 3D sculptures are made at Thames-Side Studios Open Studios weekend on Saturday 15 July 2019, 12-4pm (Unit 5, Studio 5-225).
Thames-Side Studios is home to an impressive array of more than 500 creatives and the Open Studios event is a unique opportunity to meet the makers, talk about what they do, and to buy directly from their studios.
The array of creative practice at TSS includes painting, drawing, fashion design, carpentry, jewellery, millinery, photography, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture and installation, tailoring, leather work, picture framing, stained glass making, writing, upholstery, illustration, textiles, conservation and restoration, lutherie, graphic design, furniture design, film and video, skin care, architecture, wood working, laser cutting, clock making, product design, book binding, and much more…
as seen in 10th anniversary Passion for Freedom Festival 2018, Royal Opera Arcade Gallery, London. From 1-12 October 2018.
Kelise Franclemont and Mosab Abu Toha, ‘I was a thing (the poet objects)’, 2018, poet object and plinth, in Passion for Freedom Festival 2018, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
A mysterious black cube-shaped poet-object slowly extrudes a long strip of paper that gathers in a growing pile. The text contains poems, one-line reports, and other thoughts by Mosab Abu Toha, a poet in Gaza. Every now and then, another few lines of text come out as Abu Toha shares his poetry and prose with UK viewers real-time via the Internet, even while remaining entrapped in Gaza City, presuming of course, electricity supply is available to his neighbourhood.
It is clear to the audience that it was Abu Toha’s poetic voice coming from the box he is in, only to realise it is British artist Kelise Franclemont who made the box. Poetic on all sorts of levels, and problematic, and could be seen as a manifestation of AND a critique of (among other things) the colonial past between Britain and Palestine, still in place today, and still affecting both artists…but in vastly different ways. For instance, complete freedom of speech is only afforded one of the artists, while the words themselves can only come from the artist who is not completely free.
Mosab Abu Toha is an author, English teacher, and founder/director of the Library and Bookshop for Gaza, a project which gained international support through a humble crowd-funding appeal, resulting in a growing library of English, Arabic, and other volumes made available to the Gazan public. Along with the hundreds of books and periodicals, Abu Toha and his small staff offer a range of English classes, creative writing and literature clubs, and other activities.
Kelise Franclemont is a visual storyteller offering objects or experiences about remembering and identity, often considering the immutable line between Other and Self. In the making, she will often appropriate materials, objects, or other more ephemeral cultural artefacts such as ritual, using documentary tactics to remake these artefacts into a new narrative, or into a newly-contrived situation based on some truth, allowing the viewer to discover truths of his or her own.
Links
About Passion for Freedom Festival 2018 – 10th anniversary festival, exhibition, and awards event “…dedicated to shared values of free expression, and the power of art to inspire, awaken and shake the world”. From 1st – 12th October 2018.Click to view/download more info:
About Library for Gaza – Since 2017, offering “…a safe space for people to meet and exchange ideas and experiences [with] books lending, reading section, study halls, meeting room, children’s activities, along with seminars and organised lectures delivered by international guests…”
Many workplaces in the UK like mine offer a “special leave allowance” of up to three working days a year in which staff can undertake volunteer activities. From charity fun-runs to outreach or local community programmes, there are so many ways to support a cause or an organisation that is only asking for a little bit of time, expertise, or just a willing pair of hands. Knowing this, I couldn’t sign up fast enough when a UAL coworker was asking around for people to help with art workshops at The Passage House, a charity whose aim is “help homeless people transform their lives” through a variety of means including homelessness prevention projects, outreach, employment training, advocacy, and more.
a place of hope, aspiration, change, and innovation
The Passage charity based in Westminster offers help to people who are struggling to break the cycle of persistent homelessness on their own. Based on the teachings and ethos of St Vincent De Paul, who, in 1633, co-founded the Daughters of Charity, The Passage’s focus is on
“…action rather than words and in hands-on service to vulnerable people.”
Included in the Passage’s multi-faceted approach is a rich hospitality programme in which clients can participate in a variety of activity groups, including such things as book clubs, concerts/theatre, and art/craft sessions. London-based artist David Tovey supports participants weekly in their creative expression, and last week [1 March 2018] graciously hosted my co-worker Emily and myself for some drop-in art-making with a few of the residents of Passage House in Pimlico.
‘Love Notes To Self’ art workshop at The Passage House, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Committed to “action” and “hands-on service”, I proposed to share one of the drawing exercises from my recently completed #365LoveNotesToSelf project and demonstrate how, through a simple act of looking and recording one’s own face in the mirror, anyone at anytime can give themselves the gift of a “Love Note To Self”. At the end of the morning, my hope was that not only would each person have a sketch or two to be proud of, and to have enjoyed making it, my firm wish was also that those around the table with me might have a glimpse of the positive impact I myself experienced over the past year by giving myself the care and attention that I so markedly deserved.
C—– exploring colour in her self-portrait at Passage House, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Self-portrait by M—– at Passage House, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Blind-contour self-portraits by E—- at Passage House, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Self-portraits by S—— at Passage House, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
With basic school materials such as graphite pencils, pan watercolour, ink pens and crayons, we had a hand at blind-contour drawing, which really boils down to nothing other than “notice what you notice” and “follow the line”. Before even letting the drawings settle, we attempted to “wreck” them by adding expressive colour and in some cases, brushing water over the whole surface, forcing ink and watercolour to move (but without much control over the matter), which contrary to expectations, really brought out something winsome in each character on the page.
And what a lovely result.
Everyone’s ‘Love Notes To Self’ at The Passage House, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
This was never really just about drawing, though; from my side, I am so grateful to have had the chance to share a few hours with great people who were so patient and willing to try something new, maybe outside their comfort zone, sharing laughter and stories with me along the way.
A final thought: if your company offers a volunteering allowance, don’t hesitate to find some way to contribute to or serve your community. You may even find that you gain much more than what you give when you give of yourself.
David Tovey – London-based, formerly homeless artist, educator and activist who works in a range of media. He is a photographer, painter as well as an installation artist and performance-maker.
For our second collaboration at Rondo Sztuki Gallery, borne out of shared interests in found objects, the archive, narrative, and collective or personal memories, we have decided to develop something that would focus on the past through an array of found objects that belonged to a man named ‘Henry’, supposed to be a common ancestor of both artists. The work is titled Motherland and through the seemingly disparate objects, when perceived together, they tell a story about finding your place in the world and following your dreams about a better life.
The Connect Project and its experimental form presented many challenges for us as artists. The combination of twostrangers was a risky operation, but in our case it brought about a most positive effect. During the cooperation, we found many common interests and ways of working, out of which many possible new artworks could be generated. Obviously, there were differences of opinion along the way, but through committed dialogue we worked out our differences, so that we could reach a successful compromise and a richly rewarding experience overall.
PL:
W ramach współpracy nad projektem do Ronda Sztuki postanowiliśmy rozwinąć coś, co wynikałoby z naszych wspólnych zainteresowań wokół przeszłych, narracyjnych, osobistych lub też zbiorowych wspomnień. Skupiliśmy się na grupie znalezionych przedmiotów, należących do człowieka imieniem „Henry”, który rzekomo miałby być wspólnym przodkiem obojga artystów. Pracę zatytułowaliśmy Motherland i jest to historia o poszukiwaniu swojego miejsca na świecie oraz podążaniu za marzeniami oraz lepszym życiem.
Projekt Connect i jego eksperymentalna forma stwarzały wiele wyzwań dla nas jako artystów. Połączenie w pary dwojga nieznajomych było ryzykownym zabiegiem, ale w naszym przypadku przyniosło to jak najbardziej pozytywny efekt. Podczas współpracy znaleźliśmy wiele wspólnych zainteresowań i sposobów pracy, z których można było wytworzyć wiele nowych dzieł sztuki. Oczywiście – pojawiały się różnice zdań, ale proces dialogu weryfikował rozbieżności, dzięki czemu mogliśmy osiągnąć kompromis.
Marcin Czarnopyś, Kelise Franclemont. ‘Motherland (a diary)’, 2017, archival installation of found objects, in ‘Connect: Katowice and London’ at Rondo Sztuki Gallery, Katowice, Poland. Image courtesy Rondo Gallery and Connect: Art Projects. Photo credit Michał Jędrzejowski.
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.
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:
Intrigued 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.
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
It’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.
Click thumbnail to view/download exhibition guide/map.
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
Kelise Franclemont, documentation of performance, ‘Right to Movement Rat Race – Office Party Marathon’, 2014, performance, duration varies. Pictured (l-r): Adam Zoltowski, Kelise Franclemont, Jonathan Slaughter. Image courtesy the artist. Photo credit Thomas Butler.
A group of runners will pace around and around and around this uncommonly short course (of approximately 330m) in order to make up the marathon distance of 42K. Some people sign up for runs like this for the challenge, or to achieve a particular fitness goal; others have nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon.
“Making the mundane tolerable”
What else happens besides work in the workplace? Outside the norm when the conventions of behaviour are relaxed for a while. A ritual that acts as a pressure valve. Making the mundane tolerable.
— Adam Zoltowski, artist and curator of “Office Party” (12 Nov – 5 Dec 2014)
This particular race is a response to the site itself…a circular office would be a perfect (and perfectly ridiculous) race track demonstrating and documenting (thru video and still image), the silliness that is running for 4-6 hours at a time (marathon runners have to be a bit mad no?) as well as the silliness that is containing this 42km in a 350 metre track (130 laps, give or take)…
Kelise Franclemont, documentation of performance, ‘Right to Movement Rat Race – Office Party Marathon’, 2014, performance, duration varies. Pictured (l-r): Kelise Franclemont, Jonathan Slaughter. Image courtesy the artist. Photo credit Thomas Butler.
A number of people from the Right to Movement running club have been invited to participate, as a sort of preparation for the upcoming Palestine Marathon in Bethlehem, which sees runners going around a necessarily abbreviated course multiple times because an enormous concrete wall prevents a single circuitous route of 42K.
Kelise Franclemont, documentation of performance, ‘Right to Movement Rat Race – Office Party Marathon’, 2014, performance, duration varies. Image courtesy the artist. Photo credit Thomas Butler.
At the same time, this race would be reminiscent of “the rat race” that this office space once embodied; the endless cycle of getting up, going to work, “making a living”, coming home, sleep, get up again next day, and start again. Over and over. Another kind of madness…
Kelise Franclemont, documentation of performance, ‘Right to Movement Rat Race – Office Party Marathon’, 2014, performance, duration varies. Pictured (l-r): Adam Zoltowski, Kelise Franclemont. Image courtesy the artist. Photo credit Thomas Butler.
Suddenly this race becomes an experiment in the subjectivity of time and place…there will be no markers along the course to indicate distance, nor will there be a race clock, leaving the runner to decide: when is enough, enough.
What was the point of this “good cause” marathon, we all wondered… a race in which we clamour for attention, look at me doing good things, yet at the end, almost no one would bear witness but the runners themselves? An expression of the artist trying once again to be noticed, to be seen as working hard, striving determinedly to be recognised for her passionate sincere goodwill… soon easily forgotten as a near-nothingness. All that hard work for nothing changed at all. Isn’t that what much of activism feels like, a rush of runner’s high followed by numbness and forgetting as soon as a shiny new start-line banner is unfurled, and the next race is called.
Kelise Franclemont, documentation of performance, ‘Right to Movement Rat Race – Office Party Marathon’, 2014, performance, duration varies. Pictured (l-r): Adam Zoltowski, Nalini Thapen. Image courtesy the artist. Photo credit Thomas Butler.
Exhibition details: “Office Sessions III” is at Anchorage House, 2 Clove Crescent, E14 2BE (East India on the DLR).
“Office Sessions III” is open to the public on all three floors (4-6) on the following dates:
27 November 2014: 6:30 PM – 10:00 PM
29 November 2014: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
30 November 2014: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Please note there is also a performance piece by Kelise Franclemont scheduled on this date from 11AM, “Right to Movement Rat Race (an exercise in subjectivity and space)”, so look out for the marathon runners (and maybe stick around to cheer them on)!
5 December 2014: 6:30 PM til late
Kelise Franclemont, documentation of performance, ‘Right to Movement Rat Race – Office Party Marathon’, 2014, performance, duration varies. Pictured (l-r): Jonathan Slaughter, Kelise Franclemont, Robin, Nalini Thapen. Image courtesy the artist. Photo credit Thomas Butler.
Intrigued and 40 złoty poorer, the book was ours.
