Aidan Moesby :: Text Artist

Casting and Moulding

Prototypes

Sometimes you are fortunate enough to get to make a piece of work that pushes and develops your practice as an artist. I had never done any casting or moulding before  so I enlisted the help of Julia Barton - what she doesn’t know about it isn’t worth knowing. So I wanted to cast in wax and make multiples.

I needed to make a model, then make a mould of that model and then i could start casting. I went for silicone rubber. They guy at the chemical plant was really really helpful. Gave me a data sheet, went through volumes, masses, temperatures, hardeners, timings – I didn’t know I would need all that schoolboy chemistry and physics stuff again. Then it was the same thing with waxes about weight and hardness and how adding one affects the other.

First up is the modelling and prototyping – trying to make the thing you want to cast – with consideration for how you will get it out the mould once it’s cast.

This is not quite as easy as it sounds – particularly because the rough model prototype does not always bare a total resemblance to the object that comes out of the mould.

Then it was knowing that the sleeve had to be removable – that may seem obvious to you. I was on a steep learning curve. And then not forgetting to seal the base so all the silicone doesn’t run out the bottom and on to the studio floor.

Then there is the heating of the wax and the pouring, taking care not to burn anything or set anything accidentally on fire. No really, it’s not stressful at all – it’s great fun!

It’s been a great experience. Messing around trying to get the finish I want. Trying to cast and mould other objects. It’s such a versatile material – it’s like having a whole new world open up ready to explore.

I have more ideas i want to try. It forces me to be in the studio a lot – which is great too. It is where i am beginning to feel like i belong – up until now i had always had an uneasy relationship with my studio practice.  Having a piece to make and having had the experience of talking to loads of people in scandinavia leading to me reflecting on my practice has all helped this feeling at home in the studio. I also think having a warm dry well lit studio helps. I can open the door on the warm summer days and I really appreciate that.

Gairloch – Install

A few weeks ago I was up in Gairloch to do the technical install on Karen Ranns‘ exhibition [k]not net.  The exhibition was around the fishing heritage of the area and that modern methods of fishing have affected the local industry – the exhibition was in an old disused fish processing plant. The main installation was made of knots found on the local shore with a  fish shaped void – a powerful piece of work in situ.

I like the challenges of installing in different – non traditional showing spaces. The old fish processing plant was a fantastic building but with it’s own quirks – not least the whole refrigeration system made for a very cold space for the volunteer invigilators. There were projections and a sound piece. We bought the raw materials to create speakers out of scallop shells – a whole new skill set of fixing up cable, jacks, speakers, soldering and making them robust enough whilst maintaining the intimate nature of the stories.

On Being Local – Exhibitions

On the back of my trips to Scandinavia and having been working away so much I have decided I want to be more local – that doesn’t mean I am not looking beyond where I am or settling or limiting myself. I want to be local for a while, I need to be somewhere for a length of time to truely get to know people and place. And as much as i like travelling and seeing new places and meeting new people I have recognised I need a base – somewhere I can call home – for me part of that is being able to call people up and meet for coffee, bump into people you know – normal stuff really. So I applied for several exhibitions when i returned from Helsinki, my last research visit. I have been fortunate enough to be selected for Novel – an exhibition around book arts commences on June 1st.  Two weeks later the Arts Centre at Washington is hosting Word Cloud - another festival of the north east exhibition. Then finally for the beginning of June is the Baltic Artists Book Fair organised by Theresa Easton. It’s going to be a busy few weeks.

A Big Thank You to Arts Council England

It seems a long time ago now but back in September 2012 I received a Grant for the Arts. This allowed me travel to Scandinavia and meet people to talk about practice, sustainability, professional development and international networks. I have just sent off the final activity form. Sometimes it’s hard to say what exactly the outcomes are, and some aren’t clear cut. For example I met Jari Heinonen  at an opening at SIM in Reykjavik and 6 months later he invited me to collaborate for festival in Finland. But it may not be another 2 years until something happens in say Copenhagen and someone I met thinks my work would be right for that particular situation – and sometimes you have to be more proactive and chase or nudge things along a bit.

Which ever way I look at it the grant has really helped to develop and inform my practice. It has helped me change my approach to applying for things and for participating in things. Although the latter is also down to having a mentor who has been critical in that process of self development. Without my mentor I wouldn’t have been able to, or at the stage of, applying for this particular G4A.

Outside In North East

I have been selected for the Biennial of Outsider Art which is having its northern outing at Woodhorn – see below for details

www.experiencewoodhorn.com
Woodhorn
Museum and Northumberland
Archives
QE II Country Park
Ashington
Northumberland
NE63 9YF
Tel: 01670 624455
Preview Invitation
Admits Two
You are cordially invited to the official opening of
Outside In: North East
Saturday 23rd March 2013 12 noon – 1pm
Please RSVP by Monday 18th March 2013
Email: wow@woodhorn.org.uk
Phone: 01670 624455
The exhibition runs until 30th June 2013

Outside In preview invitation

West Yorkshire Playhouse

Currently engaged in a commission at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds – I have been visiting the theatre over the last 3 months. I will be writing more on this later. However, for the moment I am currently working around the themes of lighthouses. Of course I need to some text in there just for my own piece of mind. Here’s a couple of notions in progress.

Scotswood Community Natural Garden

Over the last 5 weeks I have been working with volunteers and staff on a project that combines working with words and gardening – Horticultural Text. Half way through it has been a fantastic project. I have really enjoyed myself – not least because everyone has been so enthusiastic – even last week in the snow people still turned out to take part. You will be able to see more in the participatory pages when the project is complete. For now though, here are a couple of photos.

Looking at different ways to make/present text – experimenting casting a pine cone.

Playing with natural materials to make Text based installations.

Giving a concrete example of how a word can present/be what it is/says.

20 x 20 Hot Bed Press Print Exchange

I’ve just received my box from the 20 x 20 print studio exchange. I was participating as part of the Art House print Studio. I am playing around with language again and exploring pronounciation. I think it is the beginning of a long road.

Printing

Sometimes I want to experiment, start somewhere simple. So I will print something up like this masted sail ship. I like sailing ships and i like the image. Bt then i get to wonder how much does it relate to the work i make that really matters to me. It reminds me of a line that i heard when i used to do more traditional writing – kill your babies. That the ones you really like are just a lead in. A diversion. And so it is. I like it – too much maybe – but where are the words? Where is the meaning? Where is the authenticity for me?

Dundee Contemporary Arts

In October not only was I in DCA to introduce the films for SHMAFF but I had my work from the Engage Everyone Project. This was the culmination of the residency. I had earlier made an artists film which was showing in the information area. There was my intervention of the flyer on the front of house desk – Everytime I’m in a queue I always imagine what I’m going to say at least a hundred times – 500 of these were made and taken.

In the foyer I had a specially constructed museum sign (or menu stand) with the words  ‘Please mind the barriers’. Now of course there were no barriers – or not visible anyway – which is the same with disability – not all disabilities and the impact of them – are obvious.

People entering DCA via the colossal front door would have seen the words ‘I’m OK’ on the wood panelling, following the words as the door opened they would have seen them slip into the sentence ‘I’m not broken’. This refers to the notion that disabled people are imperfect versions of a broken self. The glass made it difficult to photograph.

The laser cut ‘broken legs’ is now on permanent display in the DCA meeting room.