shop front

 A chance encounter has reignited my passion for shop fronts....

Leh, Ladakh, India 2010

British Museum

The rest of London was strangely quiet during the Olympics...It was a perfect opportunity to see Shakespeare: Staging the World at the British Museum in relative calm and finally see the etching I have been working with over the last couple of months in the flesh- it didn't disappoint!  It was also great to see my latest ceramic patchwork pieces in the Grenville Room, beautifully displayed as ever.  It's such a thrill to see what were once charity shop rejects, make it into such an iconic venue!...and makes me wonder if there isn't still a chance of me winning a gold in Rio 2016?  Thank you to the excellent retail team who talk with such knowledge and understanding about all the artists' work.   The exhibition runs till the 25th November 2012.

Olympic Reunion

A special reunion was held in April 2012 for the 1972 (Munich) Olympic Canoe Slalom Team and other members of the National Team from that time.  The photo, taken by John Freeman, is of Geoff Dinsdale (front) and Mike Hillyard (dad, back) as they attack the London 2012 slalom course at the Lea Valley White Water centre.  They dusted off their orginal C2 boat, paddles, buoyancy aids, spray decks, cags and hats for the occasion.  Such an equipment, technique and material contrast to the sport of C2 today!  Fantastic to get gold and silver at London 2012, our first ever C2 Olympic gold.

Dad still has his racing-green, two-piece tracksuit with its Great Britain World Championships 1969 logo.  It is brilliantly nylon, with a zip ribbed roll-neck and thin tapered trousers with stirrups to keep them tensioned when on.  I remember as kids we weren't (rightly) allowed to borrow the tracksuit for a 70s fancy dress event...   The finishing time and penalty points for the run have not been disclosed.

Dad & Geoff, April 2012

Korean Eye 2012

It was hard tearing myself away from Olympic coverage, but Korean Eye 2012 at the Saatchi Gallery was well worth it.  It was Yeesookyung's ceramic sculptures that initially drew me there, but her approach to challenging the use of materials, fragmentation and transformation provided a link across many of the other artist's work.  The whole visit proved an inspiring visual treat.
To highlight just a few....Shin Meekyoung's soap-ceramic replicas contrasted beautifully against their raw lable-patched crates and resonated with my interest in material and cultural journeys and transformation.  Yeesookyung's ceramic fragment structures are the result of a slow process-led experience where she is interested in the way the undertaking changes her as a result.  Cho Duck Hyun has created a series of  multiple-canvassed compositions providing haunting glimpses into the lives of two Korean women in order to suggest narratives that involve history, identity, romance and family.  Lastly, Kim Hyuen Jun's work's makes comment on consumer culture and questions the notion of value placed on materials and objects.

Shin Meekyoung, Translation-vase series, 2011, Soap, pigment, fragrance, wooden crate

Shin Meekyoung, Translation-vase series, 2011, Soap, pigment, fragrance, wooden crate

Shin Meekyoung, Translation-vase series, 2011, Soap, pigment, fragrance, wooden crate

Yeesookyung, Translated Vase, 2007, Ceramic trash, aluminium bar, epoxy, 24k gold leaf

Yeesookyung, Translated Vase, 2007, Ceramic trash, aluminium bar, epoxy, 24k gold leaf

Cho duck Hyun, The Nora Collection, 2008, Graphite and charcoal on canvasses, frames, wall papers

Cho duck Hyun, The Nora Collection, 2008, Graphite and charcoal on canvasses, frames, wall papers

Cho duck Hyun, The Nora Collection, 2008, Graphite and charcoal on canvasses, frames, wall papers

 Kim Hyuen Jun, The Side up, 2009, Cardboard

Kim Hyuen Jun, Fragile, 2008, Cardboard