News, Events & Forthcoming Shows

195 Miles
Major Collaboration between PSL [Project Space Leeds] and
London’s Whitechapel Gallery
13 December 2008 – 28 February 2009
(closed 22 December 2008 – 6 January 2009)

There are 195 miles between London and Leeds. This project is creating a bridge between two cities, two spaces and eight artists. For 195 Miles, PSL and the Whitechapel Gallery have invited four artists from Leeds to engage in a dialogue with four artists from east London culminating in four collaborative works of art conceived and presented for PSL.

Conversations commenced in November 2008 and will continue at the project’s launch on 13 December when each of the collaborations will begin to take shape on site. Beth Chaplin from the Whitechapel Gallery joins the three PSL Directors in curating the project.

Artists Nick Cass and Lizzie Hughes use found images relating to geography to create drawings, installations and moving image works that map perceptual and social networks. Cass's works draw on an art historical engagement with form and perspective while Hughes interprets geographical and topographic space through time and scale.

Dave Ronalds, co-founder of the Black Dogs collective, and east London artist duo Matt & Ross create objects and events that explore how we attribute value and use to objects or situations. Ronalds creates works in an array of media that suggest a creative potential in apparently mundane activity. Self-styled unlikely lads of the east End art scene Matt & Ross find their inspiration in a wide variety of subjects, from John Constable paintings to mobile phone snaps.

Montreal born Noah Sherwood, and Greek born Janis Rafailidou from Leeds are choreographers of space. While Sherwood creates dazzling sculptures that give form to the architectonics of the gallery, Rafailidou's performative events unearth the social and cultural conventions that define spatial dynamics.

Amy Stephens and Rory Macbeth juxtapose different materials to create surprising visual encounters. Stephens' sculptures are assemblages of found objects which create surreal and poetic associations; while Macbeth plays with image and text to create conceptual and often playful interventions into the everyday.

The artists will have three months to engage with the space at PSL, and will bring their projects to a conclusion by the end of February 2009. The outcome of these blind dates is unpredictable but central to PSL’s role as an artists’ laboratory. Co-Director Kerry Harker says, ‘Project spaces are about questioning the traditional gallery formula, enabling a process-based approach which places emphasis not just on final product but on artists’ working methods too.’

Iwona Blazwick, Director of the Whitechapel Gallery says ‘it is exciting to draw on the huge pool of artistic talent in London’s east End and connect it with other vibrant artistic networks. This cross-fertilisation of ideas and practices is an aesthetic and curatorial ‘what if?’

The public will be able to view work throughout the duration of the project during normal opening hours (Wed – Sat, 12-5pm).

PSL Co-Director Pippa Hale says ‘How the artists work within the space is entirely up to them. We’ve deliberately kept the brief as open as possible so the artists are free to take their conversations and work in whichever direction they want. It’s a hugely experimental project and very exciting!’

A wide-ranging series of events will run alongside 195 Miles, including ‘Exchange’, an artwork exchange programme in which artists and members of the public can exchange objects and art work. PSL will also be staging a series of Peer Critique events, a Panel Discussion as well as a series of artist talks by 195 Miles contributors.

Leeds has a longstanding relationship with the contemporary art world, and 195 Miles represents a unique opportunity to further develop that relationship. Co-Director of PSL Diane Howse says, ‘This project is about the synergy between two specific artists, organisations and cities. We’re very excited to be working with Whitechapel and the artists in this way and look forward to seeing what happens!’

PSL [Project Space Leeds]
Whitehall Waterfront, 2 Riverside Way, Leeds LS1 4EH, UK
www.projectspaceleeds.org.uk
Open Wed to Sat, 12-5pm or by appointment
Entry free

Media Contact:
For more information, interviews or images, please contact Justine Gaunt on: justine@carlshead.co.uk