Behold! The finished time-lapse video.

Retrospective photos from Abigail's Golden Half, good old analogue! 

Tidying up

Today we finished the tidying up of the space, with the work finally coming down from the walls. After several trips between Newbridge and the university, it was interesting to view the space as a blank room again, with all the potential to start the process all over again! Maybe we'll give it a few months . . .

As for the concept itself, Ed, Abbie and I fully intend to play around with the idea of time based, site specific installations, changing the parameters and bringing in new rules. We'll keep you posted.

Only 2 & a half hours to go,

Who's excited?

And Finally

Preview tomorrow night. things to sort out before 6pm:

-Get amp and speakers from Ben Hughes who is kindly lending us some equipment.

- Print this blog off to be displayed in the space

-Make up fanzines

-Buy more wine and beer, ice, table cloth and nibbles

-Install T.V and projector for both films

- Display Anna's sculptures

- Put up posters/ give out flyers

-CLEAN UP

-Loads more, at the minute unknown, final prep bits and pieces.

This has been a real eye opener for me, getting the experience of setting up an event, working closely with artists away form Uni, sorting out funding and advertising and all the other stuff that generally people don't think about. I never knew how much work would be involved, I'm not complaining as its a great opportunity for us 2nd years, tough I would say that don't think about doing something similar unless your extremely well organised. 

A quick thanks to Lise Autogena who set up the initial meetings, Will Strong and Will Marshall for letting us use the space, and obviously to all the NewBridge artists involved, its been a hectic but great experience. Finally to those who have been following our progress over the last few weeks, CHEERS! especially those overseas, its amazing how a group of students can reach as far a field as Peru, Russia, the Ukraine, New Zealand, the U.S, Italy and all the other places the blog's been viewed. Keep a lookout for more news and possible future projects with similar themes.

After some rearranging today, I can report that the exhibition space is looking better than ever. Some small changes have made a very dynamic difference! Adding to this, Ed and I (Phil) have been constructing a large artistic pile of the remaining materials from the 60 hours in the bar and DJ area, linking the whole floor of the building together. This way there is no waste, with every scrap of material being used for the show.

Possible Changes...

After going to the space with a fresh set of eyes after a long sleep on Friday night, we have been wondering if it'd be a good idea to change some pieces around. Tom Whittle of the NewBridge Project offered some interesting insights about how the show could be curated, and I think myself, Phil and Abbie ( and any others who are interested/ free/ willing ) are going to go down tomorrow and possibly rearrange some of the work. The hastiness of creating the work may have clouded our judgement when it came to curating, and i think some of us were just happy to see work on the walls, and may have overlooked some now obvious problems/ weaknesses. It will be sorted out, so obviously still come along, for an even better than before preview.

So close yet so far

Having sorted out all the images for the time lapse, out of 3600 minutes we (I) missed 3 when the battery ran out and we didn't notice etc. which all in all ain't half bad, just so close to being perfect! 

So it's a record of one a minute, every minute, apart from 11:56, 15.57, 46.11 out of 60.00.
Maybe something magic happened, we'll never know..

Final Prep

Basically we have to sort out a few more things that weren't possible to do during the time spent in the space such as print the completed blog, get photographs of me ( Ed ) and Becy printed off, and install a TV to show the time lapse photography film. As well as that, the fanzine needs to be printed out and copied, and Anna, who unfortunately fell ill after the first day, needs to sort out a few finishing touches to some of the maquettes she produced. The sound system needs setting up, and alcohol needs to be bought, all of which are small jobs compared to what we've done in the last 3 weeks, not to mention the last 76 hours. Apart from that, its just putting up a few more posters and giving out flyers, and talking to Gateshead and Newcastle college, a relative walk in the park in comparison.

it is a full moon tonight...

Ta-Da!

We've all gone our separate ways for now, the space is completed right on time at 60 hours. See you at the opening next Wednesday!

There's a big backlog of stuff from the project that we're yet to upload and show you guys, it'll all appear here in the next week as the internet connection in our hovel was slightly to be desired, but for now we're off to catch-up on much needed sleep and sofa-sitting.

The time has come to start removing the unused materials and start piling them up outside the space. The bulk of the initial pile is hanging on the walls in the space; only scraps of paint, wire and paper remain. With the time lapse still rolling, the image starts to reverse itself, with the works emerging from the debris. This stage is particularly exciting ( which is lucky because i'm starting to get sleepy again . . .) Two hours left !

Exciting times! My drawing experiment ( pictured above) is installed and ready to go ! After a brief chat about setting up work, spacing and time use we are almost on the home straight. But then again, this space is rather filthy. Could be a long night of sweeping and mopping . . .

An inquisitive Eddy ponders his fanzine stand.

Only two radio DJ's to go then we're out of here, should probably tidy a bit first. Got a desk in this morning, just in time!

I hesitate to say it but the end is slowly but surely coming into sight. Everybody is still busy but the space is transforming more into a gallery. The initial masses of material are disappearing and re-emerging as experimental and exciting works. There's even been time for a bit of tidying up!

Hannah continues to make her light and airy origami objects. The pile is getting rather substantial . . .

Eddy is constructing a fanzine holder from the spare wood and extras left over following the majority of the work. The construction will be a help-yourself style bucket, with a donation pot at the side.

Drawing during the night shift led to some colourful and chaotic consequences.

Jessamy: 13 hours to go, things are starting to look more presentable. I was planning to catch the sunrise, which was at 6.35 am, but unfortunately on the east side of the building are locked studios, so the light did not reach me. The room I was in was so quiet and empty with minimal light, very different from the main space we have been in where there are strips of florescence white lights and eight other people to weave in and out of. Feeling a bit claustrophobic with all the materials on the floor, walking through the room is such an effort. But we now have a table which is greattttttttt!!!!!!!! 

Becky thinks its Thursday not Friday - she’s lost it.

Jazz FM is a relief after two days of Ed Sheeran and The Foo Fighters (crossed with Go Compare & Autoglass advert (they've got a new catchphrase, but that's by the by) ).

There are currently more tripods than people in the room, over and out.

It's almost midnight of day 2 and things are beginning to appear on the walls! The day has been busy with work making, spurred on by numerous tea breaks and radio 6. The pressure's on the final day of 60 hours approaches.

A little taster from Miss Abigail Howard.

Will: With over half the alloted 60hours over I find myself with three separate pieces of work. The first piece is a series of found images layered in a style echoing Robert Rauschenberg and finished with a glossy sheen. The next are 4 prints consisting of subtle mark making, highlighting the negative space around it. Finally on a large piece of wood I have started a painting using only modular shapes and presenting them in order to emulate the layout of a blackberry barcode. Anyhows better crack on, times a ticking!

Hannah: Just over half way through the sixty hours! Sculpture is finally getting somewhere! Had not anticipated it would take this unbelievably longgg to make a paper sculpture. A lesson has been learned. Now time to go fold some more paper.

Harriet : I have put my drawings up today, after a rather fraught moment of panic seeing how bare the walls were. Everything is gradually coming together it seems. Trying to avoid spilling paint on the floor has become for me an art in itself, and I'm proud to say that after creating my marble effect paintings the floor is still the same colour.

Here is a sneak preview of the film!

Jessamy: DAY TWO, 27 hours doneee! Everyone is looking rather tired, but time is ticking. We need to start pushing ourselves to get things on the wall, the wood is making everyone go crazy. I am officially making a film of the whole event, in a documentary yet aesthetic style. I am am particularly thinking about  Andrea Arnold's adaptation of Wuthering Heights when filming, though, of course, NOT the context! I am trying to capture a variety of different shots of which i am definitely trying to steer away from an Art Attack style (which the room kind of looks like at the moment!) I want to create a calming video piece of an event that is certainly not calm. I will try and create a somewhat chronological document, though it will also have abstract qualities and a big emphasis on sound.

http://youtu.be/dNRAOAxaN74


I am also doing some paintings which are awful and is making me think should really stick to my day job!

Our resident robin & Becy somewhat engulfed

It's almost 5 o clock! The hard yards of the night are over and we are settling down into our work. Discussion has moved to design of the fanzine, setting up and some curation details. Work is most certainly in progress.

Works in progress

Camera cheats

We're now able to look around corners at the control panel for our 60 Hours time lapse film by Abbie, one photo a minute for all 3600 minutes! 

Starting Off

After nearly a months worth of planning, not to mention 3 months worth of workshops and discussions with the NewBridge residents, we are ready to go. Securing £250 worth of funding through Newcastle Uni's ncl+ scheme has been extremely helpful, as it has allowed us to buy loads of materials, covered advertising costs, rent relevant equipment and so on.
A hectic first few hours lugging all our stuff from various places in Newcastle and from the studios was how the event took off, but we soon settled and got into the swing of things. We started off by setting up the time lapse film, then by moving in all the materials to the middle of the room, and from then on, until Friday night, its a bit of a free for all.

Already Abbie and Phil have started a huge painting/ mixed media piece, Will has been making some small-scale collages, Hannah and Harriet are both drawing in the corner, Anna has produced a Calder-esque little sculpture, Jessamys filming the action, and myself and Becy are currently planning the collaborative sculpture we intend to make in the coming days.