Elka Kerkhofs, Robert Stephenson and Paul Fletcher
THE ANIMATED ARTEFACT EXCHANGE.
An exchange between animation art and visitors to Allans Walk Artist
Run Space . An exchange between animation artists; Elka Kerkhofs,
Robert Stephenson and Paul Fletcher with other special guests. The
exhibition will feature a new short work produced collaboratively and
premiering at the exhibition plus a collection of Artefacts such as
drawings,prints, sculpture and inventions, from and related to their
present, past and future animation productions.
The theme of “exchange” is recognised as a pertinent and popular
perennial theme dating back to the original history of the Beehive
Building in which Allan’s Walk is housed. The Animated Artefact
Exchange, alludes to the history of the Allans Walk building having
once been a site of exchange- the mining and stock exchange. This
exhibition is conceived as several layers of exchange- between pubic
and artwork, between the artists involved and between the different
artforms and disciplines involved .
An exhibition of a diverse responses to the artform of animation-
past ,present and future, presented in a manner that references and
forms a hybrid of penny arcades/museums/ and audio visual libraries.
This exhibition will contain a collection of sculptural and drawing
based artworks as well as hi-tech/low tech, electro/electronic/
mechanical devices for creating/displaying moving image with and
without sound.
The three main artists involved, Robert Elka and Paul, are often
geographically separated and have diverse interests and artistic
practices in which various applications of Animation as an artform
are a common ground. Elka ‘s work has intersected animation with
Theatre, Dance, Installation and Performance Art, Roberts’ work has
encompassed the range from commercial art to independent film and
comic art and Paul’s work has been around the meeting of experimental
film, gallery installation and animation. This exhibition will pool
these interests to present a compendium of animation related
artworks. As such the exhibition will question the role of the moving
image in the 21st century, particularly the relationship between
animation and fine art and between animation and other forms of
manufactured moving image.
Artists statements re : Why Animation ?
Elka:
I like to use the craft of animation to visualise metaphors, like
many branches stuck together become a tree or a totally new wooden
stick creature.
Everything starts from a desire, which generates an idea that we want
to explore further.
The key to birth the idea into a visual and audio experience is to
communicate and exchange variations on the original ideas and apply
existing skills or develop new skills through experimentation. This is
a space any animator loves to swim in!
Robert:
I like to make things. I am never exactly sure how these drawings,
animations, models, writing, characters, places will turn out but
their development is fed by observation, personal biases, trying
traditional and non-traditional methods, responding to urges, being
inspired by others, and often just playing around with whatever
materials are handy. I have often found myself caught in the middle or
falling through the trap door of,‘industry’ and ‘art’ not being able
to completely satisfy both camps by what I do or how I go about the
work, and so the regions of ‘industry’ and ‘art’ and whatever
determines those places don’t, during the intimacy of the making,
determine the end result.
Paul:
I am currently fascinated with the potential of the combination of
digital and traditionally crafted animation for creating engaging non-
sense, realistic impossible and improbable spaces, creatures and
movement.
More info at ;
http://www.digitalcompost.net/animated_artefactINPROGRESS.html