I have been preparing for the opening of WORKS, an exhibition I have curated, by artist Tim Stock from The Lombard Method, Digbeth, Birmingham. The private view was successful with a warm reception to the work installed (in the main) and around 70 people attended. Dan McClane has kindly documented the opening night, photos to follow.
The Eagleworks Gallery committee (c/o Simon Harris) offered me the chance to curate a show in their summer programme 2011 when I was accepted on the MA last year. Of course I jumped at the chance and I am very grateful for the trust and support over the last 6 months. What interested me particularly was the Eagleworks artists and their building, which stands alone amongst acres of derelict land, land that is in limbo due to planning and ownership wrangles between two major supermarkets. The following text is extracted from the exhibition guide that I published to accompany the exhibition.
"WORKS is the conclusion of Tim Stock’s investigation into the long running Eagle Works Artists Group, and their relationship with the former Baynell building at Alexandra Street. This visual study is a snapshot from January to June 2011, potentially a pivotal moment in the studios 27 year history following the announcement of the Raglan Street development by Sainsbury’s. In his first solo show he explores an inter-changeable building-specific relationship that highlights the implications of regeneration, on both an external and internal basis.
...Buildings and edifices shape and control the environments that we occupy and live or work within ...they have an influence on our lives and the environments that we move through. ...Each place seems to demand attention from some and become ignored by others. They allude to their own histories and question their futures.. Many are to be converted or completely flattened and built over. But is what replaces them for the better or the worse? The plans themselves are often quite visually stunning, and by bringing them into the context of the what is past and what is current, they are further into the public domain and open to discussion. (Tim Stock, 2011)
Inspired by the historic Eagle Works sign, the title WORKS is a reflection of the changing usage of this impressive Victorian industrial building, formerly a drapers, gun lock makers, bed manufacturer and finally artists studios. Partly as a reciprocal gift to the studios and as a performative intervention on the building itself, Tim has begun restoration of the faded Eagle Works sign. It is also a permanent display to the outside world that the group care deeply about their building and their art practice. The relationship between the artists and the building is explored through two works in the gallery itself, a billboard scale monochrome image of the current derelict Raglan Street site, overlaid with drawings based on architectural plans, a palimpsest of past, present and possible futures. On the opposite wall, contained within drawn window panes that mirror the original architectural features of the building, are anecdotes from the Eagle Works artists, their experiences and concerns about the effects of the proposed regeneration as well as reflections from Tim’s research into the history of the site. Both works place us, the viewer, in the position of the artists group. Whilst the current external spaces are not picturesque, they confirm the basic needs of an artist for light, quiet spaces and continued public access to the gallery we now stand in. The image we see suggests this view will become a memory, like so many photographs of lost industrial buildings from around Raglan Street contained in the city archives. Eagle Works Artists Group may be on the cusp of change, through regeneration that is founded on economics rather than social or cultural need, and this is a reflection of the current times we find ourselves in. The exhibition and this essay highlight the situation that the Eagle Works Artists now face, and serve as a reminder that within this historic building the artists are acting as patrons to other artists, students and curators and as such are a vital part of West Midlands arts and culture."
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| Eagleworks the view that will disappear |
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| Tim Stock photograph for private view card - at this stage WORKS was theoretical |
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| The completion of WORKS - the EAGLE will be reinstated 25 June 2011 |
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| Large panoramic of the derelict spaces outside of the building, the aim being to highlight the Eagleworks Artists relationship with the outside spaces |
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| View of the "window panes" containing anecdotes and history details |
