Hold
6plus 2 Art Collective Site-Responsive Project
The Investigation (2017), installation view, dimensions variable
The Investigation (2017), installation view, dimensions variable
The Investigation (2017), installation view, dimensions variable
The Case (2017), presentation box of 49 colour inkjet prints on matt photo paper, 32.3 x 23.3 x 2 cm
The Case (2017), presentation box of 49 colour inkjet prints on matt photo paper, 32.3 x 23.3 x 2 cm
The Sentence (2017), ink on A3 Sketch Book, 42.5 x 30.5 x 1.5 cm
The Minutes (2017), ink and tea stain on A6 Notebook,
The Proof (2017), presentation box of 49 black and white inkjet prints on matt photo paper, 32.3 x 23.3 x 2 cm
The Proof (2017), presentation box of 49 black and white inkjet prints on matt photo paper, 32.3 x 23.3 x 2 cm
the proof
presentation box of 49 black and white inkjet prints on matt photo paper
the case
presentation box of 49 colour inkjet prints on matt photo paper
Observation of the small and unnoticed and the temporary nature of presentation are the themes that support these works. Focus on images found within the boundaries of the police station mimic the behaviour of a forensic investigation, or highlights the reduced world of the incarcerated. Establishing a set of rules, manipulating similarities between images, patterns and mind games may start to emerge. Taking on the role of the investigator, the work seeks to provide the viewer with a matrix and a trigger for identification of detail that can be located within the museum,
the proof is additionally shown as an installation matrix of 48 prints.
the sentence
ink on sketch book
Playing on the double meaning of ‘the sentence’ the British police caution is used as a vehicle to create pattern and endurance. The sentence, repeated, travels along two continuous parallel lines. Although never crossing, it retraces, covering its tracks and becomes unintelligible. Never ending and remaining on the straight and narrow, the sentence becomes ‘the sentence’, however, wayward behaviour is hinted at by random dots through the pages.
the minutes
ink and tea stain on note book
Trace is recorded as proof of human presence. Time, place and activity are identified. The work seeks to mimic the role of the policeman as he/she observes and records the mundane detail of a tedious routine. The process focusses on a single repetitive event, in the hope to find pattern and knowledge. In the form of an investigation this work follows a set of rules, contained within the framework of a note book and guided by daily trace, left and documented.
The Frontline (2017), tea bags & thread, 150 x 120 cm
The Frontline, tea bags & thread, 150 x 120 cm
The Charge Room, installation view, dimensions variable
the front line
tea bags and thread
the front line looks at the role of the policeman as the comforter in tragic situations. The gesture of a cup of tea offered, to help alleviate suffering, or the blanket, as an offering of warmth and protection, are combined in this piece of work.
Sewing, a practical process, suggests domestic tendencies, but the work seeks to move it to a wider context and highlight its simple usefulness. A continuous motion of looping thread, attaches and upholds one tea bag to another. Becoming stronger in form as an assemblage, the work follows the grid-like pattern provided by the square, and becomes the blanket or the quilt. The notion of warmth and comfort are two-fold.
The Arrest (2017) graphite on pergamon paper, 79.3 x 58.8 cm
Utter (2018), graphite on pergamon paper 79.3 x 58.8 cm
the arrest
graphite on pergamon paper
This is an exercise in perseverance, of tracing and layering a multitude of text. Taken from ‘The Trial’ by Franz Kafka, chapter one is written onto pergamon paper through a graphite transfer paper. As text is placed, shrouded, one on top of the other, it becomes less and less about the words and sentences in the book and more about the narrative of the marks. Chapter one in Kafka’s book indicate that in fact the law is often murkier and more confusing than we’d like it to be. This is echoed by the marks made and therefore the story emerges in a new format.
utter
graphite on pergamon paper
Drawing on the profound, the heartfelt cry is followed. The unfathomable depths begin to shift from the words to the work as the mark making renders the text illegible. What is written is profound, but comprehension is not intended by the words read or spoken but from the writing as the event.
The measured activity of writing unseeingly through graphite paper, layer upon layer, soothes the lament. Held in by the edges and horizontal lines, marks fluctuate through many stages of density. There are occasional glimpses into the depths of the work but understanding is not granted by meaning of words and sentences. Relentless and laborious, the process explores the dimensions of sequence and structure. Through this action, the work seeks to gain new depths of meaning and insight
The Blue Line (2017), oil on canvas
The Blue Line (2017), oil on canvas
The Blue Line (2017), oil on canvas
The Blue Line (2017), oil on canvas (detail)
the blue lines
oil on canvas
It is thought that blue is a mysterious colour, it represents the colour of ambiguous depths, of desire and knowledge. It is also the colour used by the British Police and the thin blue line is conveyed as the line between chaos and order.
On viewing an original copy of the Magna Carta, the importance of this document is clear, marking a key point in British history regarding the laws of the land. Scratching words from the Magna Carta into an off-white layer with the end of a feather, the blue layer from underneath is revealed. As well, a gap between each law creates a thin blue line, giving the work its name. The outcome of this work becomes more about the lines alternating between colour and the physicality of marks made. Scratching into the surface echo’s historical forms of communication and reveals human trace.
‘Hold’
A Site Responsive Group Exhibition
by 6plus2 Art Collective
Hilary Boardley, Richard Brayshaw, Roger Buchanan, Robyn Jacobs, Suzanne Pollen and Louise Tett
26 September to 07 October 2017 at Petersfield Museum
St Peter’s Road, Petersfield GU32 3HU
6plus2 came together in 2013 as a contemporary fine art group with a collective interest in historical and architectural spaces. Their individual practices encompass photography, drawing, painting, print, 3D installation and moving image.
As the group's second project, 'Hold' is inspired by the atmosphere of the redundant Victorian police station, which has now been integrated within Petersfield Museum and forms part of a ‘new’ museum complex and Victorian Heritage site.
‘Hold’ explores concepts such as time, empathy, loss, identity, memory and the psychological. The work will be displayed both in the newly located Community Gallery and within part of the remaining unused space of the police station, including the holding cells, which have been retained in their original condition.