Decalcomania

24th September - 29th October at The Exchange

An exhibition created through a process of invitation and chance

Featuring Ross Birrell, Adam Burton, Ana Carvalho, Maile Colbert, Lucy Gunning, Dominic Hislop, Matthew Hodson, Seung Jung Kim, Darren Norman, Tiago Pereira, Sarah Tripp and Gethin Wyn Jones

Devised by Cornwall-based curators Maria Christoforidou and Laura Smith as an experiment in non-hierarchical curatorial practice and collaboration, Decalcomania aims to create an exhibition through processes of invitation and chance rather than a theme. The process follows a collaborative framework; choosing artists from their professional or social circles, the curators each invited two artists, who in turn invited a further two, creating a total of 12 artists brought together by a process similar to the Surrealists' notion of 'objective chance.'

In this way Decalcomania is a project realised by participation, collaboration and friendship. It highlights the collective nature of any artistic endeavour and showcases the common threads that have filtered through the invited group via a lace of connections and negotiations.

New works from each of the twelve invited artists are currently being developed for the exhibition. In many cases these works are specific to the project's premise and/or to their Cornish context, and include video and audio installation, painting and sculpture, photography, illustration and music.

The process of invitation and collaboration is reinforced by a diverse range of public events. Throughout the exhibition's duration Decalcomania artists will lead events that invite local artists, musicians, collectives and communities to actively participate in collaboratory workshops, talks, performances and film screenings. The exhibition marks a full circle. An experimental project, it grew out of Cornwall, expanded nationally and internationally, and now returns to form more connections back in Cornwall.

Decalcomania
24 September - 29 October, 10am-5pm, FREE admission
Preview Friday 23 September 7.30-9pm with performance by Sarah Tripp at 6.30pm
The Exchange, Princes Street, Penzance TR18 2NL
www.newlynartgallery.co.uk www.decalcomaniaproject.wordpress.com

Decalcomania, curated by Maria Christoforidou and Laura Smith with generous support from Arts Council England, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Creative Enterprise Cornwall and Jubilee Wharf.
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Participating Artists (artists appear in order of invitation)
A selection of hi-res images is available

Ana Carvalho. b. Porto, 1970. Lives and works in Porto
Ana will present a continuation of previous audio-visual performances, this time referencing the Cornish landscape. Her exhibited work will include still images taken from the video footage that constitutes her performance.

Lucy Gunning. b. 1964, Newcastle upon Tyne. Lives and work in London
Lucy will present an existing work about excavation, recontextualised for the Cornish context in which she once studied. She will also provide a talk and discussion which will be open to the public.

Ross Birrell. b. Glasgow, 1969. Lives and works in Glasgow
Ross will present a newly developed film work and offsite screening event and performance, both created through collaboration with HMS Penzance and the Penzance Sea Cadets.

Matthew Hodson. b. 1984, Leeds. Lives and works in Leeds
Matthew will exhibit a series of new and recently developed drawings and prints and will host a large scale, drawing workshop for all ages.

Tiago Pereira. b. Lisbon.1972. Lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal
Tiago is currently developing a project in which visual and sound recordings of local Cornish musicians are mixed, reassembled, worked, edited and presented as video installation and as a live performance.

Maile Colbert. b. Los Angeles. Lives and works in Lisbon
Maile will exhibit an interactive video and sound installation that uses the conversations that Decalcomania has generated as its material. This will also be used as the basis of an interactive performance with a local dancer.

Darren Norman. b. 1969, London. Lives and works in London
Darren will juxtapose a selection of small scale sculptural and text-based works, he will also lead a 'repeated walk' from Penzance to Lamorna Cove.

Seung Jung Kim. b. 1980, Seoul. Lives and works in Seoul
Seung Jung will make a selection of her small clay cups, entitled Cheers Tears, available to be used in the café for serving tea and to be exhibited in the gallery along with her watercolour and drawing works. The cups will also be used at an evening event in which groups of local volunteers are invited to share a drink of Soju (a traditional South Korean drink) and to have a conversation.

Dominic Hislop. b. 1967, Dumfries. Lives and works in Berlin
Dominic is currently developing an interactive street environment that a viewer may negotiate similarly to a computer game - and which is composed of photographs taken all over the word. Darren will also work on this street environment whilst in Cornwall, adding an additional layer of photographs taken in Penzance.

Sarah Tripp. b. 1971, Hull. Lives and works in Glasgow
Sarah will show a collection of old and new work to include sculpture, photography and text as well as an opening night solo performance.

Gethin Wyn Jones. b. 1984, Llanelwy. Lives and works in Barnstaple
Gethin will exhibit a series of framed abstract screen prints on sheet metal, accompanied by a presentation and discussion on the use of old computer games in his work.

Adam Burton. b. 1982, Southampton. Lives and works in London
Adam will provide a take-away newsletter addressing issues of dissemination in art and wider politics of globalisation. This will be complemented by a series of discussions over the course of a week, regarding the content of the newsletter and its implications.

Notes to Editors
Decalcomania is an ongoing curatorial project initiated in 2009 by Maria Christoforidou and Laura Smith, two Cornwall-based curators whose research interests are in collaboration and multiplicity within curatorial practice.

Says James Green, Director Of Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange:
"At a time when the value of network culture is being widely discussed, Decalcomania offers a very timely curatorial response. We have been delighted to support Maria and Laura in the development and delivery of this project. Decalcomania brings national and international artists together with collectives and community groups in Cornwall to present a show that promises to be ever-changing. I'm sure it's a project visitors will return to again and again during its run."
Decalcomania is also supported by Martin Clark, artistic director of Tate St Ives, who has acted as mentor to this project.

The project follows a collaborative framework with the aim of bringing international artists to Cornwall and projecting the region back through this international reach. Decalcomania is committed to enriching and promoting the cultural life of Cornwall. It meets this commitment by providing the aforementioned series of educational, multidisciplinary events in which members of the Cornish cultural landscape are invited to actively participate or collaborate. The curators understand this aspect of the project as part of a longer-term practice in which resources and ideas are pooled in order to establish lasting international partnerships as well as to recognize and connect new audiences.

The dialogues and research that have developed Decalcomania are documented here:
http://decalcomaniaproject.wordpress.com

Image: Tiago Pereira, video stills from Cornwall Decalcomania Music Sessions, 2011.