On Monday 11 March we were kindly welcomed into the studios of Terry Smith and Chantelle Purcell in Bow.
We kicked off with Chantelle Purcell showing her latest work which she is currently exhibiting in their project space. Lyrical and ephemeral, these haunting works explore how folklore is passed on in oral tradition.
It was fascinating to explore the space and hear about how she produces her work and develops it through its repositioning.
We kicked off with Chantelle Purcell showing her latest work which she is currently exhibiting in their project space. Lyrical and ephemeral, these haunting works explore how folklore is passed on in oral tradition.
It was fascinating to explore the space and hear about how she produces her work and develops it through its repositioning.
Next, we went up to Terry Smith's studio and heard about some of his fascinating projects. He started by showing us a drawing of a complex performance staged last year in the massive V22 space. Alex Chalmers had been at the performance and was able to give an audience account of the spectacle. I think we all wished we'd been there! Terry has more versions of the performance including dance, video projection, and music including an epic event in Caracas.
We saw a selection of Terry's past works and some working drawings and plans for his large scale artwork springing up soon across New York City. He is playfully revisiting his large scale wall work Capital at the British Museum in 1995, encouraging exploration of the area and asking 'what is documentation'?
We were all particularly inspired by Terry's playful and experimental attitude to making art. Inspiring quote of the evening: "I don't have ideas, I have whims which I have to carry out" (apologies if that's slightly wrong).
Thanks so much to Terry and Chantelle for a brilliant evening.
Photos courtesy of Annamaria Kardos.