Turning head

Turning Head

There is a sign at the entrance to a cul de sac in Corsham, not far from where we live. We thought that the place where you turn a car round at the end of a cul de sac was called a ‘turning circle’. We were bemused and entertained by this new naming on the street furniture.

It became the theme for the first online exhibition by Waller&Wood.

We have invited 7 artists to contribute works in a variety of media in response to the ambiguous theme, and are delighted to show you the outcomes in this exhibition: Graham Hollick, Christina Romero Cross, Fran Landsman, Egle Vasi, Geena Wood, John Harland and Will Renel with Carole Waller and Gary Wood.

Scroll down to see the work. Audio and visual descriptions are also available.

Contact us for details of A4 high quality prints from the exhibition which will be printed to order. Individual images are £20 on archival paper and a boxed set of 10 prints of your choice is £150.

Turng Head Keep Clear road sign fixed to a lamp post

Carole Waller

Turning head – 2 photographs by Egle Vasi/Carole Waller. ‘Heads’ collage: Carole Waller.

Audio description

‘Turning Head’
Carole Waller October 2021

In June of 2020 I had to accept two shocking pieces of information which have changed my life. One was connected with my work as a painted – and the other with my private life.

I was in shock and the result of the shock was my turning and tossing head. I could not sleep and this continued for about 7 months.

So my response to the theme ‘Turning Head’ is very personal
I tossed and turned in my sleepless bed for a long time and know that the human condition can sometimes be such.

We toss and turn in the search for meaning.
Heads turn when they see something beautiful passing by.
Our heads chatter at us – but its just chatter.
Our heads may be still .

My three images explore the literal image of a turning head and try to evoke some of the mood of that period of time.

The photographer, Egle Vasi, and I made two photographic images of beautiful women turning their heads, capturing movement which conjures three dimensional form in a flat picture.

The women are wearing colourful painted garments which are very positive to look at – in oranges, purples, greens, white and greys. The single body of the model has three heads, which appear to be shaking and turning quite violently. One model has dark skin and hair and the other is pale and blond.

Between these two images is an image with lots of layers of colour and line. Looking at it you can see sketchy coloured line drawings of heads in profile looking in many directions. They are partially camouflaged by multi coloured, energetic and vigorous paintmarks, in an image made using an Ipad.

Photos : Egle Vasi
Styling : Sarah Baker
Hair and make up : Sophie Cox
Models : Georgina Lloyd Yorke and Tahene Howell.

Bio

Born in Birmingham England in 1956, Carole began to make wearable art in 1986 – with BA Hons in painting from Canterbury College of Art (1978) and for an MA awarded by Cranbrook Academy of Art near Detroit, USA (1982)

Her work is featured in many books on contemporary textiles and is found in museums such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, Birmingham City Art Gallery , private collections and contemporary galleries internationally.

Awards include a major Research and Development Award from Arts Council England in 2005 and a QEST scholarship in 2007 for glass studies. Carole became a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Painters and Stainers in 2011.

She has sold through Harvey Nichols, Liberty of London, Fenwick of Bond St, and Contemporary Applied Arts in London.

See Carole Waller’s clothing and scarves at carolewaller.co.uk and IG @carolewaller

Will Renel

“I can’t see your face no more” – Video

Audio description

This is a video piece that uses digital illustrations created in response to the theme ‘turning head’. Some of the illustrations are static and fade in and out, others have been animated to rotate and move. The piece is in black and white.

I tried to create a tone within the piece that is playful and thought-provoking and at its simplest, the work is an exploration of some of the most primary visual elements – line and shape.

I composed a score for the piece which includes a manipulated recording of a music box which plays the opening motif from ‘Open up Your Door’ – a song released in 2009 by Sheffield born musician Richard Hawley. This track begins with the words:

‘Open up your door, I can’t see your face no more’

Bio

Will Renel is an artist and practice-based researcher based in Sheffield. His work explores people, places and senses with a particular interest in how different bodies and minds interact with the world. Having completed his doctorate in Communication Design at the Royal College of Art in 2019, Will is currently the Director of Research at Touretteshero CIC and a post-doctoral research associate at the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design.

Twitter: @RenelWill

Graham Hollick

Collage Masks 1,2+3– rug hooking

Audio description

This series of 3 ‘Collage Masks’ are made using the traditional rug hooking technique made popular in North America where scraps of fabrics were turned into rugs by pulling them through a backing of sackcloth.

My masks are made using fabric strips cut from used clothing (mainly wool) and hooked through a backing of hessian that comes from old coffee sacks. The imagery that these masks are based on are photomontage collages made from magazine cuttings.

Bio

Having gained a degree in constructed textiles and fashion from Winchester school of Art , I began rug hooking 30 years later in 2018. In between my creative career has touched many areas from Art Direction and styling for magazines and advertising to trend prediction and theatre design, from exhibition design to forming the ethical home textiles brand Stitch by Stitch. For more information see : www.grahamhollick.com www.stitchbystitch.uk and instagram accounts @grahamhollick and @thepopulareye

Christina Romero Cross

Rusalka – video

Audio description

Fairy tales and myths are endlessly fascinating for the things they tell us about ourselves and our history. The Rusalka, like many ancient tales, has been subverted to fit a darker Christian narrative of female as temptress or evil. These Rusalki are sleeping in their river, they are not interested in tempting men into a watery grave, they are content just to be and to dream.

Bio

Christina Romero Cross Instagram QR codeChristina is an American/English artist living on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. The wild beauty of Bodmin Moor is the location and inspiration for most her work in video and paintings. Rusalka was shot on Huawei P30 phone at Delphy Bridge and in the De Lank River near her home.

Christina Romero Cross
www.christinaromerocross.com
christinaromerocross on instagram
07432 657933
c_f_romero@hotmail.com

Geena Wood

Insight 1,2+3 – Drawings

Audio description

Throughout my life so far I have been conscious of the rich inner workings of my mind. During the COVID lockdown I was forced to sit with my own head, as we all were, in a way I had never experienced before. Initially it was tricky, sitting face to face with at times some quite challenging feelings. However, living without the usual escapisms of life as we knew it before COVID, somehow gave me the space to get to know myself in a different way.

This series of drawings represents a sequence of expressions within my ever turning head. Depicting this snapshot of what goes on inside my mind through drawing, has been part of a bigger lifelong journey in getting to know the colossal range of feelings that human beings are exposed to throughout life. The range of drawings represents the ever changing contrast within my mind – and how it can have spaces of clarity or tranquility, whilst simultaneously being busy or vibrant.

Bio

Geena Wood is an interior and architectural designer based in Brighton, UK. Having studied interior architecture at the University Brighton, Geena is currently working on a variety of design projects at a design studio in Hove. She is also the creator of GeorginaHome where she produces and sells her printed artworks. Geena enjoys working with a multitude of mediums including photography and film, hand drawing and digital/graphic design; with people being at the heart of everything she does.

T: 079566608684
E: geenaw97@gmail.com
IG @georginahome
etsy : www.etsy.com/uk/shop/GEORGINAhome

Fran Landsman

Life and Death – a short film

Audio description

My response to the theme, Turning Heads.

I immediately thought of the extraordinary taxidermy headdresses made by Sammy Cockhill (Mole and Dove Ethical Taxidermy). They turn heads for sure, but they also bring to mind death, and giving something new life. This in turn took me to a cemetery, and choosing to include the children, so full of life as they played amongst the crumbling tombstones. I wanted to make a film about the coming together of Life and Death.

Bio

Fran Landsman was an award winning documentary maker for many years, a writer, and an artist working with textiles, paper and wire. She also dances with the Yama Contemporary Dance Company and has made several dance films with them over lockdown. Her film collaborations with Carole Waller have been shown as installations in her gallery, and her work has been included in the Royal Academy Summer Show.

She can be contacted at franlandsman@gmail.com

John Harland

Doom. Scully. Too Big – mixed media paintings

Audio description

Doom  
The mixed media painting shows a man or woman with raised hands and a open mouth, as though they are screaming or laughing. The whole picture is fluid with scribbled crayon and sweeping brush strokes.

Scully
This square painting shows a man with one arm raised, the hand is not drawn but seems to just end in a collection of white spots – like snow. The man has a scarf shape that covers his mouth.

Too big
A small painting on board that simply shows a white head on a plinth with the words “Too big for your boots” on the base. There is a vague outline from his mouth, possibly a pipe.

Bio

Born in 1959, John Harland spent a great deal of his youth abroad, spending a considerable amount time in Singapore and Germany. John graduated from University of Bath with a degree in Architecture, yet was constantly painting. He spent time working for a framer, where he learned many of the techniques that he uses today in his hand-carved “tramp” frames. The Royal Academy Magazine labelled John a “painter’s painter”, with his naïve graffiti-like works exhibiting a unique maturity and understanding of colour and form that are anything but child-like.

John has operated out of studios in Scotland and Cornwall, and currently works in Box, Wiltshire. His works have been featured in many collections, including an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford. He has been featured in many mixed exhibitions at Edgar Modern, as well as in many international art fairs. His paintings are held in collections worldwide, including America and Europe.

www.johnharland.co.uk

Gary Wood

Turning head – photograph ‘Covid Boxer’, and film by Egle Vasi/Gary Wood

Audio description

My idea for a piece of work for this exhibition involves using a life-sized white plaster copy of the head of an ancient Greek boxer, to which I have attached a pale blue NHS Covid-19 protection mask covering its nose and mouth. I have then placed the head on a turntable against a black background and, starting from a view of the back of the head, slowly spun the piece while filming it, so what starts as the back of a curly-haired classical marble sculpture reveals a surprise when it turns towards the front, wearing the mask. This idea aims to capture a connection between ancient and modern cultures, the current pandemic and how what is happening now in the world forms part of our future history.

Bio

Gary Wood’s expertise is ceramics; painted stoneware and porcelain wall-art, sculpture and pots for use in the home. His work is vibrant, contemplative and evocative. His wall panels can be made to order as single items or in series for public or private commissions, site-specific installations and exhibitions.

Gary also enjoys collaborating with other artists and has recently been involved in public projects including ‘Transfer,’ a public interactive immersive event forming part of The Bath Fringe Festival. This project involved working with a filmmaker, sound engineer, lighting designer and a painter, to create a peaceful, contemplative interior space exploring the idea of images appearing on unfamiliar or untypical surfaces, to question our sense of how and why we find evocation in the unexpected.

See Gary Wood ceramics at wallerandwood.co.uk
E: info@garywoodcceramics.co.uk

a life-sized white plaster head of an ancient Greek boxer with face mask

Thanks to Dr. Will Renel for advice on accessibility and inclusion.

With support from the West of England Combined Authority’s Creative Business Grant.

West of England Combined Authority logo

Turning head