Install view: Low Batt. 2018. Leah Carless, Janina Lange, Mette Boel. Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Press release, May 2018
“[looking at the zombies in the mall]:
Francine: What are they doing? Why do they come here?
Stephen: Some kind of instinct. Memory, of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives.”
Whilst in the familiar, comforting surroundings of a bright clean mall, an upside down is always present. Can you say where you are and what time of day it is – without pulling out your phone?
Low Battery. 5% battery remaining. Low Power Mode. Close. Dependency on technology is making our lives vulnerable and precarious. What tools might help expedite shopping mall survivalism? We scan shops for shelter. We twist objects for rescue: waste plastics turn camouflage, natural resources provide energy and we use cosmetics to create new guises. Skins like that of a cephalopod, we taste and see with all our limbs. Glancing at the modified physiology of our fingers, conditioned through swiping and clicking, we wonder, can we re-learn to tie knots and make fires out of tampon tinder?
Install view: Low Batt. 2018. Leah Carless, Janina Lange, Mette Boel. Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Install view: Low Batt. 2018. Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Install view: Low Batt. 2018. Photo: Tim Bowditch.
From being on ’stand by’ and ad-hoc prepping for a potential catastrophic event, to silicone skins which trace the smudges and smears of fingerprints, we anticipate, record and rehearse potential disaster. Different dimensions of time overlay in one space and are bundled in objects and prints. The works in ‘Low Batt.’ bear the marks of their own processed-ness, their digital lineage in .jpegs and .obj files.
Departing from a shared concern with the acceleration of technological developments, the artists of ‘Low Batt.’ set out to map fears and hopes for possible futures; neither hailing technological progress as a cure-all, nor judging it, wanting to return to a pre-modern primitive state of being. Non-sterile, hybrid and contaminated, manual dexterity and material approaches meet the use of hightech tools and 3d-mapping.
Opening Night: Thurs 17 May, 5-9pm.
(Performance By Janina Lange, With Foley Artists).
Exhibition period: 18 May – 1 July, 2018.
Free + Open To All: Wed-Sun, 11am-5pm.
Leah Carless. Soft Cover (glowing) (Powder coated steel, polyester mesh, silicone, fish oil capsules, evening primrose oil capsules 60 x 130 x 60 cm). | Leah Carless. Soft Cover (itchy) (Powder coated steel, silicone, polythene micro beads, plasters 40 x 175 x 45 cm). Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Leah Carless. Soft Cover (goosebumps) 2018 (Powder coated steel, latex, pigments, clay, crushed pearl powder, cast silicone 150 x 235 x 40 cm). | Leah Carless. Soft Cover (clammy) 2018 (Powder coated steel, latex, pigments, emergency blanket, microcrystalline wax 50 x 180 x 36 cm). Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Leah Carless. Detail. Soft Cover (blushing) 2018. Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Leah Carless. Soft Cover (blushing) 2018 (Powder coated steel, silicone, make-up pigments, 15 denier tights, bra strap. 210x65x37cm). Photo: Tim Bowditch.
// FREE EVENTS AS PART OF 'LOW BATT.'
OPENING NIGHT: PERFORMANCE BY JANINA LANGE, WITH FOLEY ARTISTS PAULA BORAM AND RUTH SULLIVAN // THURS 17 MAY, 5-9PM.
ARTISTS LUNCHTIME CRIT // LED BY LEAH CARLESS // SAT 26 MAY 12-2PM >
FAMILY ART FUN DAY // MAKE-DO & MAKE-NEW // WED 30 MAY 12-2PM >
FAMILY ART FUN DAY // MAKE-DO & MAKE-NEW // SAT 16 JUNE 12-2PM >
ARTISTS LUNCHTIME CRIT // LED BY METTE BOEL // SAT 30 JUN 12-2PM >
Mette Boel. Hammocks for the Future. 2018 (Digital print on tarp, eye lets, para cord, trockles. 200 cm x 100 cm x 120 cm).
Mette Boel. Limbos II. 2018 (Heat treated swim noodle, rubber shoes. 120 cm x 60 cm). Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Mette Boel. Detail. (Hammocks for the Future. 2018). Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Mette Boel. Detail. Limbos II. 2018. Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Mette Boel. Bug Out Bag 2018 (Screen w. 41 digital images, army bag, rain proff fabric, plastic, clasps. 30x35x20cm). Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Janina Lange. Storm Exercise. 2018 (mp3 performance recording, contact speakers). Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Janina Lange. Strike 2018 (bronze Fulgurite cast, 18 carat gold 240 x 1 x 1 cm). Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Mette Boel (1982) works mainly with installation and sculpture and divides her time between London and Aarhus, Denmark. She graduated from Chelsea College of Art in 2013 and went on to complete a mas- ters degree in sculpture at the Royal College of Art in 2016. Shortly after graduating she was commissioned by ’The Obel Family Foundation’ to do two large scale pieces for The Hammel Neuro Centre (Hammel). Mette Boel received a work grant from the Danish Arts Foundation in 2017. Selected exhibi- tions include: Solo show ’Sunkissed’ at Spanien 19 C (Aarhus), ’Adjacent Realities’ at the Austrian Cultural Forum (London), ’Sweat’ at Camden Arts Centre (London), ’I’m Every Woman’ at KH7artspace (Aarhus), Solo Show, ’FAKE SUN’ at ArtLacuna (London).
Leah Carless (b.1982) works between London and Birmingham. She graduated with an MA sculpture from the Royal College of Art in 2016. Recent exhibitions include Two Queens, Leicester (2017), KH7, Aar- hus, Denmark (2016), Copperfield Gallery, London (2016) and Division of Labour, London (2016). Bloom- berg New Contemporaries, Bluecoat, Liverpool and ICA, London (2016). She is currently artist in residence at The New Walsall Art Gallery in early 2018.
Janina Lange (*1986) lives and works in London and Berlin. She is currently conducting a practice-led Ph.D. entitled ‘Destroy She Said’ in the Sculpture Department at the Royal College of Art. Her work has been selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2016 and recently been on show Minshar Gallery, Tel Aviv (2017), ICA, London (2016-2017); Klemm’s, Berlin (2016); KH7, Aarhus (2016); GAP Glurns, Italy (2016); Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna (2016); Heit, Berlin (2014). She is recipient of the TECHNE: AHRC scholarship (2014-2017) and current artist-in-residence at CW+
Janina Lange. Storm Exercise. 2018, Foley performance. Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Janina Lange. Storm Exercise. Foley performance. Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Janina Lange. Storm Exercise. Foley performance. Photo: Tim Bowditch.
Turf Projects is the first entirely artist-run contemporary art space in Croydon, South London. A registered charity, Turf works to support artists, curators and the public through an ambitious programme of free exhibitions, workshops and events.
Established in 2013 and run by creatives with a personal connection to the borough, Turf now comprises; a gallery space exhibiting work from emerging and established artists; local, national and international; an artists’ workspace and events space; and an affordable studio membership for artists and makers.
Turf began as a nomadic project with events taking place around Croydon, including our outdoor artist- designed crazy golf courses 'Putt Putt (#1 and #2)', film screenings in skate parks, and exhibitions in col- laboration with Croydon School Of Art. In 2014 Turf won the Croydon Meanwhile Use Competition, funded by Croydon Council. In May 2015, funding from GLA’s High Street Fund supported by Mayor of London, in addition to significant public support via our Kickstarter 'No Turf Unturned!', enabled us to set up our first fixed space in Croydon.
Turf have led hundreds of events, talks and workshops at the gallery and around Croydon, including running Makers of Stuff Squad (a collective of artists with learning difficulties), artist talks, feedback and development workshops, drawing workshops, schools workshops and Family Art Fun Days. Turf aims to be accessible to all the community, whilst simultaneously engaged with emerging artist practices.