Fun Interview with Ting-Ting Cheng..

1) Briefly explain what has been your leading inspiration to be an artist?

I think it comes from great exhibitions I see. Interesting exhibitions always make me want to create something as good as those artists' works.

2) What is the most memorable exhibition for you and why so?

The most memorable exhibition for me so far should be 'Home and Away' at Castlefield Gallery in Manchester. Not only because the gallery space is amazing, but also that all the staff and interns are unbelievably nice. We even become friends and keep in touch after that. And the most important thing is, I had a 10 meter high wall to install my project 'Reasons to Travel'. It was my first time, probably also the last time installing works on a scaffolding with a helmet!

3) What song do you never get sick of?

Weirdly, the first song came to my mind is 'I will survive' from Gloria Gaynor. I am kind of old school and I think the song is inspiring!

4) What's your favorite food?

I love salmon sashimi and also a Taiwanese cuisine made by spicy blood from duck, yummy ;)

5) What is your fashion sense/icon?

I am not a big fan of fashion, it's very difficult to name one...

6) Do you have a life philosophy that you live by?

workaholic? 

7) If you could give anyone a piece of advice, what would it be?

Spend more time with your family while you can.

8) Name three countries you'd like to visit that you haven't yet?

Mexico, Brazil and Malta. It's too cold now all I can think of are warm countries...

9) What do you like the most about, England?

Lots of artists opportunities!

10) What's your favorite colour?

probably black and white.

Thanks a lot for your answers Ting-Ting. 

And from all of us at Salon Contemporary, have a lovely christmas and a prosperous new year!

Our 'Artist of The Week' WINNER is....Ting-Ting Cheng!

  Congratulations Ting-Ting!

                                               Untitled (Still Life With Fruits)

In the project, the artist focuses on the power of brand to represent the commodity fetishism - an illusion arising from the product to overrate itself, enchanting people to buy it. In our everyday life, we can find a bike from Hermes cost £2300, and a tennis-racket from CHANEL cost £450. What is the uniqueness about those products from famous designer brands? Fruits, as a natural product, without artificiality, are ridiculously labeled with Louis Vuitton, GUCCI…etc. Without any other difference, do people believe 
that ‘The Fruit’ is better than others?

Invisibilty  

In ‘Invisibility’, Ting-Ting Cheng’s photographs of found objects celebrate the banality of everyday
life. She collected a number of insignificant objects that were discarded on the streets and placed  
them on sculpture plinths.

Cheng is working in a long artistic tradition that stretches back to Surrealism. She is more directly  
inspired by contemporary artists such as Martin Creed and Fischli and Weiss, whose absurdist  
treatment of the everyday raises fundamental questions as to the nature and materiality of art. 
At the same time the images raise environmental issues concerning the huge amounts of waste  
generated by our society much of which appears to be invisible to consumers.

Things We May Never Know  
 
In ‘Things We May Never Know’, Cheng combines texts with objects that belong to  
international students from Asia to explore the isolation of being an outsider in a foreign land. The  
displacement of these objects indicates the cultural barriers that these students are facing by  
themselves, without the reassurance of family or a familiar setting. The texts, written in the native  
language of the each owner, describe the relationship between the object and the person. It is  
untranslated to force the owner’s position upon the viewer: their words are one of the many things  
that, due to enormous cultural differences, we may never know.

To view more of Ting-Ting's work, you can take a look at her website on www.chengtingting.com

Steven Emmanuel Artist of the Week Interview

1) Savory or Sweet?

Both.

2) Which artist has influenced you the most or challenged the way you look at things?

It is a really difficult question to answer because different artists work have influenced and challenged me at different times. At the moment I am more intrigued with artists who are quite different to myself and enjoy finding a conversation between their work and my own. A few of the artists who’s work I find really interesting at the moment are; Lindsey Sears, Anton Henning, Rebecca Warren, Nicolas Provost, and Marcus Coates.

3) How would you briefly describe the differences in experiencing an undergraduate degree to studying a Masters?

I was uncertain of what I wanted at undergraduate and when I started my MA I had already made those decisions, which made it a much more rewarding experience.

4) What gets you through the day?

Work.

5) What always makes you smile, without fail?

Painting my ball.

6) If you were going away for a long time and could only take one thing with you, what would that be?

My ball of paint.

7) If you weren't an artist, what career path would you chose?

A stable one.

8) What three words would you use to describe yourself?

Stubborn, neurotic and considered.

9) What will you do after answering these interview questions?

Nothing, I have no plans.

10) What is your favorite festive holiday and why?

None of them.

This week's Winner of 'Artist of the week' is Steven Emmanuel!

Congratulations Steven!


Steven has recently graduated with an MA in Communication Art & Design at the Royal College of Art.


Steven enjoys creating work that 'congratulates its own stupidity and dwells upon its consideration and its own perceived importance. Within this work labour and meditation are often perversely married to one another in the process of capturing everything and nothing.'




'I engage with art itself as a subject matter to attempt to 
understand the physical and philosophical ingredients of contemporary  
  art. I often think of art as an autopoietic machine that self-creates and  
continually perpetuates. The artist being the protagonist and operator of this  
machine, taking things apart and putting them back together again in a new way, 
re-mediating reality and re-configuring it to sustain itself.'

'Rorscach's rug'

'Death and taxes'

      

'Do not touch'

'Sorting the hundreds from the thousands'

'Inside the white cube'

'Seven folds'

'Stand up Protest'

'Each piece of work that I make speaks to the last and attempts to look forward and question something new to discuss with the next. It creates an introspective cycle that thrives upon the questioning of its self and the development of my own logic and my own language.'






To view more of Steven's work, follow his website on
www.stevenemmanuel.com

Jennifer Ross' Artist of the Week Interview

1. What is your signature drink?

-Savanna

2. Which is the best exhibition you have ever been to and why?

- Candice Breitz, 'Inner + Outer Space' at Temporäre Kunsthalle, Berlin. I found it totally hypnotic.

3. What did you enjoy about your degree the most?

- My Erasmus exchange to Rotterdam in the 2nd year, I wouldn't be where I am today without that experience. I had my first exhibition there at Het Platfond.

4. If you could describe yourself in one work what would it be?

-Ooo! That’s tough, I've no idea. But my friend suggested 'determined' or 'witty'.

5. What is your favorite thing to eat over Christmas?

-Extra crispy roast potatoes

6. If you were stuck in a deserted island and you could have three things from home, what would they be?

-iPhone
-Mac book pro
-Internet
(I'm assuming there's a power source on the island)

7. Where is your local hang out?

-Broadway cinema

8. What is your favorite film and why?

-I've never had a favorite film; it always depends on my mood. But the most influential film I've seen was Renzo Martens, Episode 3. I've seen this film about 4 times now, and each time is a different experience, however it never fails to shock me and leave me wondering about the nature of mankind. It was influential because it lead to me explore my obsession with the documentary, the promise of knowledge, the idea that knowledge could expand my world. Thus leading me to consider how knowledge can gives us freedom but also constrain and limit our possibilities.

9. If you were not an artist, what do you think you would have chosen as a career path?

- I was studying to be a doctor, however Science is incredibly boring and so I switched to Fine Art. So probably a doctor, or possibly a vet.

10. What was highlight of 2010 for you?

- Career wise would be being selected for the UK Young Artist Biennial. Personally it would be the city break to Budapest in the summer.

This week's Artist of the Week winner - JENNIFER ROSS

CONGRATULATIONS JENNIFER ROSS!

Jen is a recent Fine Art’s graduate from Nottingham Trent University.

Her current work aims to challenge a belief in a core true self, whether or not one exists. By Manipulating materials that feed into contemporary culture she seeks to reveal their function within society. Through her work, Jen hopes to make the audience contemplate what they believe, moreover what they choose to believe.

The following link will direct you to her current work:

http://www.yousendit.com/download/cEd1cmxabWcwZ2swTVE9PQ

Jennifer Ross' video still

Jennifer Ross' film installation

An Interview with Charlotte Billingham

1) If you could use one word to describe yourself, what would it be?
Focused

2) In your work, you use a lot of different mediums. If you had to chose only one, which would it be and why?
It's very hard to answer this as the way the different mediums relate to each other and to the space they are in are the issues my current practice explores- if I had to choose one based on aesthetic values, at present it would be the etchings into slate.

3) If you could be in any place right now, where would it be?
Somewhere sunny!

4) What one item couldn't you live without?
My Canon SLR camera

5) Name one piece of art work you've seen recently that’s had a powerful affect on you.  Why did you like it/dislike it and who was it by?
Turning The Place Over- Richard Wilson at Liverpool Biennial- His use of deconstruction, re-assembly and movement to create new questions and dialogues around a previously disused and derelict building in order to provoke a hightened contextual awareness within the city.

6) What is your favorite word?
I'm not sure I have one favorite word! There are too many to choose from!

7) Do you have a memorable quote/philosophy on life?
Antonin Artaud - 'it is not opium which makes me work but its absence, and in order for me to feel its absence it must from time to time be present'

8) What and where would your ideal gallery location be to display your artwork?
An urban, contemporary gallery, London, Newcastle, Glasgow

9) Is the glass half-full or half-empty?
Full!

10) What has been the biggest turning point for you as an artist?
Being in the final year of my degree, it is now when everything begins to come together and this is really exciting. I think the Degree Show in June 2011 will be a great experience for the whole year to work together in creating a successful Exhibition which will hopefully bring new opportunities!

This week's Winner 'Artist of the week' is Charlotte Billingham!

Congratulations Charlotte Billingham!


Final year BA Fine Art student from Loughborough School of the Arts.

Charlotte Billingham's current practice explores the relationships between individual elements within a given space, creating aesthetic dialogues using found objects.

'Locating ourselves in space... is achieved by relating ourselves to other objects in terms of relative distance'. (Benson 2001: 197) 

 

"A series of short, timed studio sessions help me to understand the objects, their properties and how they relate, before longer sessions allow me to develop my findings further and challenge the boundaries of the relational narratives achieved. Documentation of the sessions at every stage is necessary in order for me to assess the work in terms of its aesthetic value at a later stage. At present, studio work is quick, documentation is frequent and analysis is prolonged."

According to the artist,  reading has been an essential factor to grounding the context for this work. The Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard has been of exceptional importance in changing the way the artist view's space and our movement through it, both in and out of the studio. Texts on defining 'place' and 'space' are also proving to be very thought-provoking. Daniel Buren and Brian O'Doherty have also been relevant texts on issues surrounding the notion of 'The White Cube' and the questioning of the gallery space as the place of consumption.

Practice-based influences are vast; Gedi Sibony's work which evokes aesthetics of Arte Povera has been very significant - the considered arrangement of the objects used in relation to their environment challenges the relationships with surrounding contexts. Further reference points include Martin Boyce, Peter Fischli & David Weiss and Felix Gonzalez-Torres amongst many.

To follow more works of Charlotte Billingham, take a look at her website: 

http://www.charlottebillingham.yolasite.com

Duck Man making sense of west london - Our first EVER Artist of the Week Alex Mazitelli performs at Salon Contemporary

Salon Contemporary Artist of the Week 2010: The Artists

An Interview with Shaun Stamp

If you could use one word to describe yourself, what would it be?
Restless

Your house is burning down - you have to save THREE things. What are they?
Depending if I was outside, I'd leave it all, but if inside, my tent,
laptop and coffee machine.

What was your number one highlight of your residency in Armenia?
In this case (I would say for me), it was the starting point on our
new project and the subjective conclusions towards the end, everything

else in between was experimenting and reaching towards tough decisions
through our dialogue, it changed in different environments.  When you

collaborate (especially for the first time with that person) using
different disciplines, this becomes the real test, it brought about
our last kinetic work that self-destructed.  When people came to our
show (Yerevan), over a period of our Kinetic installation slowly
destroyed, the work was intended to be ephemeral, but during the show
some people started running up to it, trying to save and reattach the

fallen pieces. This brought a new element that we didn’t perceive when

we had the idea, seeing this happening was extraordinary and gave us

new ideas for other participation projects, in the end we let viewers, students

and children intervene.  After the show we proposed to the (first
grade) students to deconstruct it, recycling the materials and to
reconstruct it into something new.

Name one thing you learnt about yourself whilst at your residency in
the Netherlands?
During my residence, I discovered the Dutch art/artist scene and

squatting scene, it has a strong network, which is looked at in a different

way to how the (I’m being general here) UK public sees it.  Since then
I've been look-out in London for a place to start...

What is your favourite colour?
For now, Blue

What do you like to read?
Without wanting to be too vague and difficult, books, (when at work)
audio books.

Are you superstitious?
I like to look on the edge of things. But ask me again in 5 years time.

Name one piece of art work you've seen recently that’s had a powerful

affect on you.  Why did you like it/dislike it and who was it by?

Right now the trouble maker Gustarv Metzger, his early works are
painting/drawing with acid and pioneer of auto-destruction, but
without giving away too much you should check out his current stuff.
But choosing ‘one’ is difficult because I recently saw a couple of
artists that really made me say… WOW!, when it comes to viewing their
work I take on a Neanderthal manner by simply just wanting to
experience the aesthetics, walking around there works.  Later, I
usually question there technique, like Alan Vegas' combination of
Music and Punk, Jean Tinguely MetaMatic machines, a series of
sculptures that play on the notion of physics, I questioned his use of
medium and motion,  his works are in a way, playfully kitsch and
nostalgic.  And Anish Kapoors temporary works in the Hyde park, while
as if not even trying, they seem to beam energy, they move like live
paintings…just stand in front of one. All three are very are
different, but all artists have played a major role in the
experimentation of my current work.

What is currently on your playlist?

All in all, some really good music and some really bad music.

Sweet or Savoury?
Hummm…!

Which project of yours has been the biggest challenge...why?

Hard to say, every project seems to have its’ big challenges.

You favourite quote/motto that sums you up.

Recently I was in conversation with the very active Colombian artist,
professor and before that theatre and lawyer (and now mentor to me)
Danilo Duenas, he recently shared this quote by a Brazilian poet
before I set off for my artist-in-residence to (ex-soviet state)
Armenia;

...art is the experimental exercise of reality. - Mario Pedrosa

Your number ONE gallery/location to display your work at.

The last location I eyed up was just on the Kings road in South Ken’,
it was to be my future residence (squat) but recently when I returned,
it had just begun demolishment (so if I find another place similar, a
large warehouse with no limits).

Artist of the Week winner - Shaun Stamp!

CONGRATULATIONS to Shaun Stamp!  This weeks 'AOW'.  Shauns work is refreshingly innovative, intreguing and playful!

http://www.shaunstamp.com/



'Deadlock' 2010



Drawing on the ambiguous, Shaun Stamp explores theoretical collisions within the mechanics of industry and evolution, he reflects on engineering and construction as the form and basis to create sculpture, kinetic, ephemeral/performance and installation.  In 2008, he was selected  for ‘The Best Artists This Week on artreview.com’ and picked for ‘Vote! Your Favourite Artworks on artreview.com’ (selected by Artreview.com and art critic Laura Mclean-Ferris, art critic for the Tate Modern).

 

'Cyclus of Reinvention Installation view of Eduring love' 2010

In 2007, Stamp redefined the definition for the traditional process 'Oil Painting' by applying the word to his Vascellum Project works. His (Vascullum) artworks use pre-used automotive oils and engineering oils that see 'Oil Paintings' evolve over time.  His oil paintings are a mix between the traditional sense and contemporary exploration in aesthetics that amalgamate forms of painting and sculpture.

'Tank' 2010

'Tank' 2010



In juxtaposition to this exploration and obsession with shaping the world, 'Tank' forms part of a wider inquiry into themes of probability and chance.







Untitled Performance, 2010



Shaun Stamp’s work examines the human desire to understand the world and search for answers to human existence and development.



A decisive measure for infinite possibilities, 2010



Born in Cardiff, Shaun has exhibited in numerous solo shows both nationally and internationally.  His works have been published in the Independant and The Korea Times National Newspaper. 

Monoseduction, 2010

This year Stamp has undergone a residency in Yerevan, Armenia and The City of Enschede, Netherlands.  The work he produced at his time in both cities sensitively and accurately responded to the surroundings and culture.

He received his education in Sculpture at the Cardiff School of Art and Design (2008). Since his graduation, he has created artworks that are outdoor/environment, site specific, guerilla and performance in South Korea (Untitled performance 2009 and Sirens, Deok Je-do Island 2009), Netherlands (Zuiderval Project : Untitled, A decisive measure for infinite possibilities) and Armenia (Where's Charlie 2010, Around 4:30, maybe 5:00 2010).

An Interview with Helen Gorrill

Q:  What is your signature drink?   

A:  Easy: any red wine will do.

Q:  Can you reveal a secret about your hometown?  

A:  With pleasure, I can give you a few!  I live in an isolated rural community that isn’t the rural idyll it seems. It’s mono-cultural and ruled by the small-minded.   And people don’t talk to me much because I’m a single parent and they don’t like what I do with ink nor prosthetic limbs, and I’m not the asexual being you have to be in order to be accepted into such a community!

Q:  Where is your next travel destination?  

A:  I’m going to Paris with my boyfriend in November, via Erotica 2010 in London. 

Q:  What are your top 3 desserts?

A;  Nigella’s Pain au chocolate pudding (my speciality lol), sticky toffee pudding, and death by chocolate.

Q:  What’s most played in your music collection? 

Lily Allen. Mazzie Starr. Jazz.

Q:  What is your favourite song lyric and who is it by? 

A:  'When your halo slips for good,/ You’ll have to wear your hood'...(Iain Brown)

Q:  What’s your best memory from university?  

A:  Graduating (drawing degree) with the best peer group ever. And walking out of the ensuing degree (Fine Art) because I found it the opposite of what art’s meant to be about – it was way too restrictive and repressive at my particular university. Standing up for what I believed in was the best feeling ever.

Q:  Where’s your local ‘hang out’? 

A:  I live in the middle of nowhere and I’m barred from the only local pub (long story!).

Q:  What are your October 2010 highlights? 

A:  I’ve done quite a lot of magazine interviews recently and my work’s going to be featured in a couple of articles, which is great to see something on paper, I’m so grateful...Work-wise, I have lots of different projects on the go: I’ll be continuing to work on my ink ‘new generation dominatrix’ paintings, I’m also making another sculptural piece with the prosthetic limbs and using embroidery in lieu of paint on huge canvas panels.

Q:  Who do you think gets the worst deal, girls or guys, and why?  

A:  In theory, girls get the worst deal because we live in a society where biological differences reinforce patriarchy; and we’re also moulded by scripts for male power (looking at the bible and much of popular culture).  I think things have shifted slightly with the rise of ‘raunch culture’, but I still believe girls have to work harder for what they want (which actually isn’t necessarily a bad thing).

Q:  How do you make the most of your womanly powers of persuasion?

A:  Ha ha. Well my studio is filled with all sorts of scary-looking props for my dominatrix paintings.

Q: If you could only use one word to describe yourself what would it be?  

A:  Naughty!

Q:  Which magazines do you regularly read and why?  

A:  Elle, Harpers Bazaar and Elle Deco for style, Modern Painters for art, A-N for opportunities, Skin Two for inspiration and Viz because it’s genius.