Nigel Cheney: September 2012

PRESS RELEASE

Goldilocks and the Bears

Private View; 6-9pm, Wednesday November 16th, 2011

Exhibition continues; Wednesday November 16th – Sunday November 20th

10 am – 5 pm

Dalkey Castle and Heritage Centre.

http://www.dalkeycastle.com/

This themed exhibition is a group show of new textile and ceramic work that has been created in response to the Goldilocks narrative. The three artists featured are:

Dr. Helen McAllister, textiles

Alex Scott, ceramics

and Nigel Cheney, textiles

The intention of all 3 artists was that this theme would be inspirational and contextual for a diverse body of work, rather than a direct illustrative response to the fable. All work is for sale and the exhibition also showcases other recent work from all 3 artists.

Helen McAllister (PhD, NCAD)

‘Who’s been wearing my shoes?’

McAllister has been fascinated with the shoe form for the last decade. Her exquisite textile practice often explores the idea of pairing and narrative through objects. As so much of the Goldilocks tale is embedded with issues of identity and self-discovery there is no better metaphor than the shoe form for exploring the idea of coveting objects or as a means of expressing identity and personality.

Just who was Golidilocks? As the story has been passed through the generations she has changed from a ‘she fox’ to an old crone to an innocent young girl who disappears into the night leaving the story without conclusion or resolution.

Alex Scott (MDes, RCA)

‘Who’s been sitting in my chair and broken it all up?’

Architectural forms have long been an inspiration in Scott’s work. He is a master craftsman in ceramics, having exhibited widely in Ireland and internationally. The exploration of the chair form looks at issues of making, construction, craft, and function. This project offers him the opportunity to respond to the variety of chair forms he recorded in a recent research trip to China.

Nigel Cheney (MA, MMU)

‘Who’s been breaking my heart?’

Cheney’s textile works range form large to small scale, but all share a love of imagery, surface and colour. The central premise of this work explores the idea of a personal journey where choices are made that lead from innocence to experience. It employs the visual metaphors of the ‘forest’ as a place of mystery and of ‘packaging’ as a means of concealment; both are aspects of the trial and error ‘goldilocks approach’ to discovery. In addition to the imagery of the bears, Cheney uses his trademark image of the hare as a reference to the ‘white rabbit’, who sets the sense of urgency for Carroll’s Alice and revisits the cliche of hearts and flowers with the french heart shaped grave plaques that act as a symbol of loss that anotate these musings. Hand drawn graphic images are layered with photographic images and geometric pattern to suggest the nature of memory and the dynamic between threat and comfort. Digital printing, hand and machine embroidery are the predominant techniques. His work often explores ambiguous terrortories where childlike phrases are reinterpreted and juxtaposed.