leesimmons.org

Impossible collaboration

leesimmons — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:27:25 -0800

A collaboration with The Impossible live improvisational psychedelic dance crew at dusk on 29/11/08 (Sanford Arts Day) at Sanford Coop (1-20 Sanford Walk, London SE14 6NB). This will combine the experimental music and performance of The Impossible with the next phase of “I” Piece, in and on a new structure designed by Christos Choraitis for cycle storage and performance, self-built and funded by Sanford Coop.

The dancers, musicians and myself will work / play with notions of human aggression and control, communication and collectivity; together with residents of Sanford and visitors to the exhibition / arts day.

The piece will begin with people wearing black and saying only the word “I”.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2006/09/26/bikeshed
http://www.myspace.com/wearetheimpossible

Click on the paperclip below to download an invitation

The Comic Effect

leesimmons — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:54:35 -0700

2nd August, midday, Sanford Cooperative: notes from when reading 'Signal To Noise' comic / visual novel... by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean.

'People are digging behind me, building a bike shed. I took out food for them but I'm not digging. I'm sitting on a swing chair on the decking reading this beautiful story that makes me feel like crying at times. And Dave McKean has mentioned a world without walls and my imagination has soared - a world without walls, no secrets, no privacy, no divides. And I look at the houses lined up in front of me along the street with our oblong rooms and imagine it is all made of glass and how amazing that would look: and I lie back and close my eyes feeling still for a while and wondering if I can create the image using painting and photography and think I might give it a try and I want to shout it, shout Daves' words about walls. Stand on the decking and just go for it - really perform it - I wonder how people would react to that, if they would react? And I feel an urge to use words and images and untap my imagination and let the words and images flow without walls for all to see and I feel like gasping. I want to gasp for air but I'm breathing calmly and it's fine, it's just fine and I feel so still but like something is about to happen.
I look at the next few pages, he's talking about death now and I think about how one day I will die and wonder if there will be something else and think of the trace I'll leave and wonder what it will be whilst hearing the digging happening just behind me; a collaborative effort of people who have come together for this time and how this time will pass interests me a lot. That we have all affected each other, we are all now part of who one and other is and we always will be even if we never think, write or speak of each other again in our lives we will still be part of each others trace.'

Then I went and did some digging.

Jess Black installation off the wall...

leesimmons — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:31:02 -0700

During the show in 16mm Sarah Poffa visited, we made up different names for Jess comic strips - Jess Black and the Crepe Affair, Jess Black and The Impossible - we quite liked the sound of them... and following "I" piece I'd spoken with some Impossible people (it is a band - improvisational and open to collaborations) about maybe doing something with them. So we then spoke a bit about Jess Black and The Impossible as a potential project / event

Extension and end of exhibition at 16mm

leesimmons — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:42:57 -0700

The installation at 16mm is complete and still in situ until Sunday 29th June.

It's been really enjoyable, drawing on the walls, chatting, eating things upstairs, moving things about in the space. Really nice atmosphere and people hence the extended extensions... We will be photographing it all on Sunday morning and then taking down the paper drawings, removing books etc. and leaving the wall drawings in place until somebody else wants to use the walls.

Some of my notes / thoughts from the end of this show are below:

Summery from sketch book in 16mm

Tues 9pm

'I quite like the way this show came about - very naturally.

With a different project

Dates of work at 16mm

leesimmons — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:57:25 -0700

23, 24, 25 (today), 27, 29 May and 2, 3, 5, 7, 17, 18, 21 June.

So, 9 days left. They can pretty much all be full days from 9 am to 9pm and I might get a few extra mornings in too…

Installation

leesimmons — Fri, 23 May 2008 11:04:35 -0700

Host:
16mm

Start Time:
Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 7:00pm
End Time:
Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 7:00pm

Location:
16mm (downstairs)
19 D'Arblay Street,
London, W1F 8ED
United Kingdom

View map:

leesimmons — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:29:26 -0700

Beginning at Fabrica, there were 7 participants at the gallery, with 2 people visiting the exhibition donning some of my spare black clothes and joining the "I"

"I" project outline and invitation

leesimmons — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:39:29 -0700

“I” project

18/04/08 Fabrica Gallery, Brighton, 4-7.30 pm
40 Duke Street, Brighton BN1 1AG www.fabrica.org.uk

19/04/08 Margate Beach, Kent, 2-3pm
By the cafe and closest point to clock tower.
Meet at Turner Contemporary Project Space, 53-57 Hight Street, Margate, CT9 1DX www.turnercontemporary.org
In case of very bad weather go to the Project Space throughout

20/04/08 Sanford Cooperative, New Cross Gate, London, 3-4pm

Breathe, preceding I

leesimmons — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:18:55 -0700
This sound piece was made during research of City Spaces project in 2005.
It is here for potential participants and partners in 'I' piece, April 2008, to reference.

Q:2 Book

leesimmons — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:05:00 -0800

Oxted Quarry Project (preceding Q:2) ebook

leesimmons — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:19:31 -0800
Click on the paper clip if you want to download the books.

There are printed copies that exist and are hand bound. Lockwood, SIAD and myself (Lee) have copies of Oxted Quarry Project. The Oxted Quarry Project team have hand made scrolls of their work and I have a hand bound Q:2 book.

The Q:2 e-book is open to alterations pending feedback, though at this point I would like to leave that project at rest...

Conclusion: The felt tip is mightier than the sword. Now may the fat lady sing!

leesimmons — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 13:06:20 -0800
Public Art Online have written an independent case study of the Q:2 project that can be accessed through the link below:

http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/case/quarry2/index.php
This seems to wrap the project up pretty well, there will now be a London exhibition of photographs and book contents.

Use of remaining paint

leesimmons — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 12:16:19 -0800
The use for the remaining paint was left open to suggestions. A number of artists and involved parties discussed the body of work, and gradually ideas and opinions were choreographed back to the urban origin of the idea. I think the team whom actualized this have added a very relevant and interesting dimension to the project that I am interested to include in the overall display of the work.

See 'Jess Black Photos' for documentation of the temporary urban interchange.
A narration is attached, that explores and communicates a nature of the site, layering and altering stories, memories and sounds collected on the route from the train to the courtyard where the pink tunnel was situated. At the point this was made the materials used for research and interchanges were mainly text, photography and sound.

Quarry Exhibition

leesimmons — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 12:41:33 -0700

Quarry Project exhibition, of Oxted Quarry Project and Q:2

Lockwood Day Centre with Lockwood Artists Group (see www.lockwoodartists.org.uk): 03/06/06 - 21/06/06

Betchworth Quarry office with Q:2 event: 23/06/06 - 01/08/06

Dorking library, Dorking, Surrey: 19/09/06 - 14/10/06

South Hill Park, Berkshire (as part of 'Unravel') including 12 coloured lambs grazing on the Art Centre grounds: 21/10/06

AO3 Guildford Council Offices: 17/11/06 - 01/12/06

gallery:space Mckenzie Pavillion, Finsbury Park, London, June 29 6-9pm opening party, then open to 8th July 2007 Tuesday - Sunday. Project presentation (inc. paint bombing the park) on 29th See www.galleryspace.org.uk for more info.

Workshops

leesimmons — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 07:03:46 -0700
Workshops have run throughout the Quarry Project and Q:2 in South East England that draw from the projects as well as feed back into them.

Links and Thanks

leesimmons — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 16:25:33 -0700
links to involved parties and sites for reference

Ownership and Copyright

leesimmons — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 14:40:14 -0700
Ownership of land, work, ideas is addressed throughout this project due to the blurred lines over who owns what, did ...

Ornithological Survey

leesimmons — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 14:22:55 -0700
Introduction.

On 15 May 2006, Lee Simmons invited the author to undertake on her behalf an ornithological survey at Betchworth ...

Q:2 Text

leesimmons — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 06:36:33 -0700
The following text is a contribution to the body of work, for inclusion in a book of the project by Ola Stahl, the text might have moved slightly when uploaded here, if so it will be sorted soon.

Preamble

My contribution to this volume, is a set of three poems and a manifesto – of sorts – written in response to Lee Simmons’s intervention/event Quarry: 2 that took place at Betchwood Quarry, Surrey, in June 2006. T

Statement of Fact

leesimmons — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 03:44:48 -0700
Quarry 2

The project was intended to raise awareness of environmental issues, and explore our relationship with the landscape in ...

Final week

leesimmons — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 17:30:44 -0700
Flyer for next sheep location (October 2006) as well as info. on previous sites and documentation availability.

2 weeks after event

leesimmons — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 04:28:18 -0700
Sheep can be seen clearly from the National Trust lookout point at Box Hill: see photos.

The cliff has turned from fuschia to ash pink highlighting contours within the rock, with quite poetical movement and change over time: in time with changes within the responses, as well as the movement and blending of the sheep and their colours.
Next week sheep will be visible from A25 Reigate >< Dorking

This weeks Dorking advertiser is publishing letters of response.

There will be an independent party writing toward an evaluation of the work due to the mixed responses.
The documentation is being prepared and looking very exciting: strong imagery and communications have been captured within the photographs and video work.
Ola > writer for Q:2 is preparing our manifesto...

The work will be appearing in Green Places Landscape Review August edition and probably Surrey Life this month, it is also in Horticulture Week this month and Nalgao will be introducing people to the work and blog in the ezine this weekend. I will also present the work at an art event in London this month: will post more details when I have them.

The exhibition spaces are still to be decided / confirmed, any material contribution is welcome: as in reports of the Q:2 event, photos, info. and images of the quarry in the past, present and future. These are returnable at whatever date is requested by the contributer.

Whose idea was this?

leesimmons — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 05:25:55 -0700
The methodology in developing this work embraced and utilised conceptual and practical contributions from many parties. To clarify the idea ...

Concerned parties please read

leesimmons — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 15:35:13 -0700
NEWS RELEASE
Issued by the Countryside Agency's Landscape, Access and Recreation division

Draft 21 June
Friday 23 June 2006

Surrey ...

Responses to Q:2

leesimmons — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 06:57:46 -0700
There have been responses by phone and email, mainly positive. Some emails to me are below. Complaints have been made ...

Quarry:2 event

leesimmons — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 02:57:57 -0700
Quarry:2 event took place this weekend, there is a striking mark on the cliff face as a result of the activity that is highly visible from the A25, Reigate>Dorking train and planes in and out of Gatwick, as well as the surrounding area. The coloured sheep will remain at the site this week and will graze beneath Box Hill next week.

A few pictures are pasted below of core moments in the process of the colouring event, though some of the most significant moments are with the interaction between participants. The people involved particularly The Farmer, the Surrey Fire and Rescue Search and Rescue Team, and all the other volunteers were amazing to work with and formed a better team than it is possible to plan.

We had around 200 visitors to the site and many viewing progress from the road and the medieval fair nearby, people were continueing to visit and comment when I left yesterday early evening. Most people were very enthusiastic with only a few showing concern, I directed them to the info. room at the entrance to the quarry to find out more about the background to the work and methodology used and am awaiting a response.

Conversation took place in a very organic manner, with people talking to each other throughout the event and several group chats that were unplanned. There has been interest among participants to meet and have a more structured discussion about the site and the work in the future, perhaps at an exhibition of the project documentation.

First we coloured blue sheep, then red, then yellow. They looked like other worldly ethereal creatures standing on top of the hill in the sunset literally glowing pure colour! The next day they were slightly mottled with go faster stripes having been rained on and in contact with other coloured sheep.

The process of colouring them was with spray paint used for wool marking, I tagged a few of them Lee's as a play on markage, control and ownership: this project has utilised ideas as well as physical contributions from between 10 and 20 people.

The firemen used the project as a training exercise, it was difficult for them in blazing hot sunshine, with hot air rising up the hill lifting the powder up rather than allowing it to drop down on the chalk, and the cliff face was loose making it a real stafety hazard as chalk fell on thier heads and from under their feet. We didn't manage to colour the whole cliff but we gave it a good shot and noone got hurt.

The exhausted firemen dropped some paint over the edge. We ended the work on the cliff face when they were no longer able to lift each other back over the top.

I hope that people will use this space to add their own comment, image, memory about the event and inform of any developments. Groups will be visiting this week and the work is already changing... sheep colours are merging and the colour on the chalk will move and change with the elements.

Quarry:2

leesimmons — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 16:08:39 -0700
The following is a reaction to needing to communicate information about a current project quickly and without a distance: see ...