Thursday 26 October 2017

"PhotoRenga", portrait exhibition and other updates

Evening everyone,


We've got quite a few updates for you this week. "PhotoRenga", a group exhibition presenting work by Jason Burgess, Paddy Faulkner, Bill Hart, Zosia Krasnowolska, Rosie Swan and Kate Woodward, created during a workshop held in 76m2 a few weeks ago, is in its final days (closing on the 31st of October), so there are still a few days left to catch it (we're open on Monday this time round!).







Second, we've been preparing a portrait exhibition, which will include portraits of our gallery visitors, taken by Dafydd on his homemade large format camera and photographic paper. The show will be on in November and additional portraits will be taken throughout the exhibition. 







There are also two personal projects that we have been working on recently. 

Last weekend, as part of madeinroath festival in Cardiff, Zosia exhibited "slant of light", an installation of winter photographs by Russian artist Andrew Pershin, printed on artificial silk and suspended in a bay window. 

Currently, Dafydd is building a camera in the building of the former public toilets in Maindee, Newport as part of the New Paths programme run by the Maindee Library thanks to their Arts Council of Wales funding for an Ideas:People:Places project "Finding Maindee". During this weekend's Photomarathon, and over the next week, he'll be taking life-sized portraits of Maindee residents and visitors on colour photographic paper, so keep your eyes peeled for an unusual construction appearing in the Maindee Triangle. 

More updates on both projects coming soon!   


Tuesday 17 October 2017

participate in our portrait project! (update)

Evening everyone,


We just wanted to let you know that over the next couple of weeks Dafydd will be taking portraits of our gallery visitors on photographic paper using his homemade large format camera. The images taken will be exhibited as part of a portrait exhibition in November, so if anyone would like to sit for a portrait, participate in the show and then take it home, just pop in and speak to us in the gallery.




and here are some photos from yesterday's portrait-taking!









Saturday 14 October 2017

"PhotoRenga" more info & opening

Evening,


Yesterday we opened "PhotoRenga", an exhibition featuring photographs taken during a workshop held in our gallery by David Sinden and Kate Woodward, as well as including some renga created for madeinroath festival in 2016. Today we'd like to share some more information about PhotoRenga as a concept, as well as some opening photos. 

PhotoRenga are inspired by an ancient form of Japanese poetry, in which sequences of short haiku verses construct complex and profound poems. The aim of the PhotoRenga project is to produce series of short, collective visual rengas using photography.

The format is deceptively simple. A group starts from a space, splits up and takes photographs for around 20 minutes. After reviewing the images, one image from each person's camera is chosen and passed on to another in the group. This image is used as the source or inspiration to produce a new set of photographs from which one image is selected, and so on. Over a series of rounds, these chains of images form photographic poems where each image interprets or responds to its predecessors through form, colour or subject.

The PhotoRenga project originally began in 2010 when members of the Cardiff & Vale Brain Injury Group asked for a photography project they could all take part in: whatever their level of artistic experience, however sophisticated their camera was, or whatever disabilities they had. 

The 76m2 PhotoRenga were produced by artists and photographers Jason Burgess, Paddy Faulkner, Bill Hart, Cardamon Jones, Rosie Swan and Kate Woodward.
(David Sinden)

“PhotoRenga” is the seventh in a series of 9 exhibitions organised in 76m2 by the*kickplate*project, with the support from the Arts Council of Wales, Torfaen Council’s Arts Development and Pontypool Community Council.

You can find more information about PhotoRenga on www.xox.org.uk/renga

13th October – 31st October
Monday – Saturday, 11:00 – 18:00

2 Portland Buildings
Commercial Street
Pontypool
Torfaen
NP4 6JS 

***

Ysbrydolwyd PhotoRenga gan ffurf hynafol o farddoniaeth Siapaneaidd, lle mae dilyniant o benillion haiku byr yn creu cerddi cymhleth a dwys. Nod prosiect PhotoRenga yw cynhyrchu cyfres o gasgliadau rengas gweledol byr,  gan ddefnyddio ffotograffiaeth.

Mae'r fformat yn ymddangos yn syml. Mae grŵp yn dechrau o le, yn rhannu ac yn cymryd ffotograffau am tua 20 munud. Ar ôl adolygu'r delweddau, dewisir un ddelwedd o gamera pob person a'i throsglwyddo i un arall yn y grŵp. Defnyddir y ddelwedd hon fel ffynhonnell neu ysbrydoliaeth i gynhyrchu set newydd o ffotograffau y dewisir un delwedd ohonynt, ac yn y blaen. Dros gyfres o gylchoedd, mae'r cadwynau hyn o ddelweddau yn ffurfio cerddi ffotograffig lle mae pob delwedd yn dehongli neu'n ymateb i'w rhagflaenwyr trwy ffurf, lliw neu bwnc.

Dechreuodd y prosiect PhotoRenga yn 2010 pan ofynnodd aelodau Grŵp Anafiadau Ymennydd Caerdydd a'r Fro am brosiect ffotograffiaeth y gallent gymryd rhan ynddo: beth bynnag oedd eu lefel o brofiad artistig, dim ots pa soffistiedig oedd eu camera neu ba anableddau oedd ganddynt.

Cynhyrchwyd PhotoRenga 76m2 gan yr artistiaid a'r ffotograffwyr Jason Burgess, Paddy Faulkner, Bill Hart, Cardamon Jones, Rosie Swan a Kate Woodward.

(David Sinden)

“PhotoRenga” yw'r seithfed mewn cyfres o 9 arddangosfa a drefnwyd yn  76m2 gan brosiect *kickplate* gyda chefnogaeth Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru, Datblygu Celfyddydau Cyngor Torfaen a Chyngor Cymuned Pont-y-pŵl. Mae mwy o wybodaeth am PhotoRenga ar  www.xox.org.uk/renga

13fed Hydref – 31fed Hydref
Dydd Llun – Dydd Sadwrn, 11:00 – 18:00

2 Adeiladau Portland
Stryd Fasnachol
Pont-y-pŵl, Torfaen 
NP4 6JS










Friday 6 October 2017

gallery updates

Mornin' all,

Sorry it's been a little quiet here for the last few weeks.  It's been another hectic month at the gallery, and while you didn't hear from us here, we've been posting regular updates over on facebook about what's going on. 

Apart from running "other places" featuring Satomi Sugiyama, Corrado Costetti and Toralf Sümmchen, we've been preparing our programme for next year and also last week we hosted another PhotoRenga workshop (after the one in Bargoed last year) at the gallery run by David Sinden and Kate Woodward.

Later this month, the images and Rengas created by our group will be shown at the gallery, and we'll have more information about it soon!

But for now, this week closed "other places" and so we'd like to thank everyone who came along to see it and to Toralf, Satomi and Corrado for working with us at 76m2! If you couldn't make it to Pontypool this time, you can listen to a playlist that accompanied the exhibition – with three songs chosen by the artists that remind them of their towns – on YouTube.