Visible Traces 12-17 April 2016 at Frameless Gallery

I'm excited to be exhibiting an installation of glass breaths in Visible Traces at Frameless Gallery, Clerkenwell 12-17 April. The glass breaths are assembled to create a precariously balanced tower which act as a metaphor for the fragility of life itself.

April Respiratory Lancet Cover

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension was the subject I worked with for April's cover. I created a block of ice from all the elements found in arterial tissue and photographed it's entropic demise:

Smoke without Fire....

The March issue of the Lancet is now in print...

Mother Load opens in Dundee

Its exciting to welcome the Mother Load project to the UK, please go and connect with this project if you are able...

A sharp intake of Breath for February...

February Lancet features my recent work, Round, which renders in glass the dynamic forces of the in-breath.The fragility of glass echoes the fragility of the breath and it’s transparency echoes the invisibility of it’s generating force; yet these structures are far from invisible.

I decided to see if it was possible to create an outbreath and then to breathe back into the molten form, therefore giving shape to the force and dynamics of the in breath. The concept behind this work has resonance with the exploration of breath in classical texts such as those under consideration in the Life of Breath Project (www.lifeofbreath.org). Here Philo speaks of a hierarchy of dispositions in relation to the soul/breath:

‘He [God] bound some bodies by tenor, others by physique, others by soul, and others by rational soul.  In stones, and logs which have been severed from their physical connection he created tenor, which is the strongest bond.  This is breath which turns back towards itself.  It begins to extend itself from the centre to the extremities, and having made contact with the outer surfaces it bends back again until it returns to the same place from which it first set out.  This continuous double course of tenor is indestructible.’

This idea of a breath turning in on itself was one of my core considerations as were ideas of liminality, the tensions between push and pull, interiority and exteriority. In making this body of work it has been fascinating to uncover organic patterns. This work, in particular, formed by the pressures of the breath bears similarity to the lungs that facilitate its essential gaseous exchange within the body.

A Year with the Respiratory Lancet...

I'm delighted to be commissioned to create the cover Images for the Respiratory Lancet in 2016. In January we feature My Breathe work where breath is etched on copper plate.

Life of Breath

To celebrate the Durham launch of the Life of Breath Project I was invited to create 3D prints of the words 'Life', 'of' and 'Breath' spoken by Professor Havi Carel, Project Facilitator Mary Robson and Professor Jane MacNaughton respectively.

I worked alongside Jason Tinsley of Gargoyle Studio to create the resulting forms shown below. The objects were printed with the help of David Swann at the University of Huddersfield:

Breathing workshop in Collaboration with Fun Palaces

As part of the And Breathe Exhibition at OFS curator George Mogg and I ran a workshop on visualising the breath in the gallery on Saturday 4th October. The event was fully subscribed and attended by people of all ages curious to explore making visible their breath.

http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/leisure/focus/13797886.For_Art_s_Sake_with_Jayne_Wilton/






The event was covered in the Oxford Times and the article can be read at the following link:

www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/leisure/focus/13797886.For_Art_s_Sake_with_Jayne_Wilton

And Breathe at OFS Oxford

I'm delighted to announce the And Breathe... Exhibition at the Old Fire Station Gallery Oxford curated by George Mogg which will continue until 14th November:

Oxford TV interviewed me on the evening of the Private View and the interview can be seen at the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dyPq7AJo4k&feature=youtu.be&ahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dyPq7AJo4k&feature=youtu.be&a

Inspired by the in breath...

I am delighted to be a part of the Life of Breath Project, a 5 year interdisciplinary investigation into historical, philosophical, cultural and anthropological aspects of breathing and breathlessness. 

The Project is led by Principal Investigators Professor Jane Macnaughton at Durham University and Professor Havi Carel at the University of Bristol.

After presenting to the group in January, Jane Macnaughton discussed her interest in experience the form of an in-breath. This discussion inspired me literally to produce new work in glass to explore the often not-so-subtle forces of the in breath.

On Thursday I worked to attempt to render this part of the exchange we have with our environment and found myself challenging my own breath and what I know of it in the process!

 http://www.lifeofbreath.org

Life of Breath Project is Launched in Bristol

An energetic event in Bristol to launch the start of 5 years of inter disciplinary research into breath and breathlessness- such an inspiring day!

Find out more about the project:

www.lifeofbreath.org

Birkbeck Talk: Experiments with the Invisible

Wonderful to speak to a very engaged audience alongside Writer Adrian Hornsby on Monday at Birkbeck College.

Find out about his film Urwald on his website:
http://www.adrianhornsby.com/R_theatrefolder/urwald.html

Event at Guy's Hospital MediCinema

Getting ready for Thursday's Screening of Vent and Singing for Breathing workshop this Thursday 30th April- hope to see you there:

 'Breathe: There’s something in there'

• Date: Thursday 30 April
• Time: 12.30pm-1.30pm
• Venue: MediCinema at Guy’s, second floor, Southwark Wing.

A lunchtime event to celebrate art in breathing with a screening of Jayne Wilton’s animated film, ‘Vent’, which simulates the dynamics of the breath of a Royal Brompton 'singing for breathing' Group performance.

Experience 'singing for breathing' techniques and hear about both the Breathe exhibition and a Lambeth and Southwark project.

Singing for Breathing Upcoming Events

'Breathe', will be in Guy's Hospital until the end of April and am involved in the following 2 events in connection with it. Both should be interesting and tuneful events!

Firstly:

Monday 6th April 1.30 Level 5 Southbank Centre (Easter Monday)

I will be screening my film 'Vent',a collaborative outcome from my project with the Royal Brompton Hopsital last year at the Southbank Chorus Festival Launch Event for the Lambeth and Southwark Singing and COPD Project.

Secondly:

Breathe: There’s Something in There!

30^th April 12.30-1.30

Medi-Cinema at Guy’s Hospital

A lunchtime event to celebrate art in breathing with a screening of Jayne Wilton’s animated film, Vent, which simulates the dynamics of the breath of a Royal Brompton Singing for Breathing Group performance. There will be an opportunity to experience Singing for Breathing techniques and to hear about both the Breathe Exhibition and the Lambeth and Southwark Singing and COPD project currently in development (Chief Investigator Prof. Stephen Clift, Canterbury Christ Church University).

Stills from the Vent animation which illustrates the dynamics of expired breath carrying song.

Breathe work selected for Moved by Metal Exhibition September 2015

I'm delighted that 2 breath-etched copper plates have been selected by curator Wendy Steiner for inclusion in Moved by Metal,  an exhibition which will be published in August by the SNAG and Metalsmith magazine. The plates shown below were part of the work carried out in my residency at Heal's where I recorded 200 breaths to celebrate the company's bicentenary.

 

Breathe at Guy's Hospital

A small selection of my work is currently installed in Guy's Hospital as part of the celebration of Voice by the Breathe Arts Health Research. The exhibition will continue until the end of April.

Sing at One Church Street Gallery

Delighted to show work from the Sing collection at One Church Street Gallery, Great Missenden.

Revisiting Breathe

This week George Mogg, Karen Taylor and I completed the evaluation of the Breathe Project for Arts Council England, our main sponsor of the programme.

This process has been a wonderful opportunity to review how much we achieved with the programme and the rewarding nature of the work with RBandH staff and patients- I'll never forget the experience or forget the passion with which people engaged with all aspects of the project. I'm taking this opportunity to show some of the images of the 2 events which took place during the exhibition at the Royal Brompton Hospital.

It seems opportune to once again thank ACE and the RBandH charity for their support of this project as well as all of the suppliers who have supported us in kind, especially Bespoke Framing, Inplas and Bodenpress. A massive thank you to Jason Tinsley for another exciting collaborative animation and to Joanna Foster and Katie Rose Window and Rebecca Tanner for their energy and talented input into making the project collaborations so successful. A personal heart felt thanks to the generosity of the patients and staff but also to the incredible project team of curator George Mogg and Karen Taylor and Annabelle Bond from rbandharts whose commitment and dedication to this project has been immense!

It also seems a great opportunity to post some of the feedback from participants in the programme:

“Excellent project, very enjoyable and fun.”

“Something to work towards, Wonderful co-operation between arts team, teachers and choir. A very special event.”

“Very enjoyable. It also exercises the main cells. Gave me confidence in singing without reading from a sheet.”

“It was very enjoyable to take part in this project.”

“Unbelievably beneficial and enjoyable.”

“Good fun.”

“I am making good progress and better breathing”

“The cells working. Makes me very happy.”

“Gave me a lift”

“Definitely enhances quality of life.”

“I used to think art was a luxury, now I think it is a necessity.”

“With a bit of imagination one can make art from everything.”

“Now I notice when and how my breathing affects my well-being.”

“If one concentrates on one's breath, one regulates it.”

“Quality of life improves”

“It’s amazing, I can’t get over it, it’s incredible.”

“Jayne invited us to participate in the Breathe project which sounded brilliant.  On 12th August the singing group explored the dynamics of breath with light on sensitised film.  I was very focused on the experience of "The Dark Tent" making some sounds and breath. I am quite sure this project by Jayne and her colleagues will be of great importance to the wider community in the near future.”

Thanks to Annabelle Bond for the images in this post.