Do Not Touch The Artwork

Jane Elizabeth Bennett PR1 Gallery Wendy Yu

‘Do Not Touch The Artwork’ an Exhibition curated by myself, Nick Rhodes and Kathryn Poole.

‘As long as the exhibition is socially distanced, you don’t invite any externals of the university to attend and you let people know not to touch the artwork, it will be fine.’

This was the advice we were given in regard to curating an exhibition at the PR1 Gallery. So here we are, advising you to ‘not touch the artwork’ to ‘socially distance’ and preferably not attend the exhibition unless you have a specific reason to be in the Victoria Building. The UK is now in its second lockdown of the year, so I think these will be easy arrangements to keep.

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3rd July 20204th August 2020

Interrupting Solitude

Interrupting Solitude – My last weekly blog for the Zero Hour Residency

Time always amazes me, the way in which it can fluctuate. We have an abundance one moment and none the next. I think the act of interrupting solitude brought on by the pandemic has compelled the time to fly. Wendy and I have had long days of protracted conversations followed by intense days of making over the past four weeks and yet the month seems to have vanished. I suppose this is a good analogy for our residency; Searching for closeness while separated by over 1036km; Finding intimacy whilst in isolation; Time feeling abundant and scarce at the same moment.

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19th May 20206th August 2020

Intimacy in Isolation

Intimacy in Isolation.

This week has been one of meetings, technical failures and rethinking. And if I’m honest, I’ve had a great time. There is something so exciting about developing and growing a project, then pushing it in new directions. When technology fails or isn’t accessible during a pandemic, you really do just have to be creative and find new avenues of exploration. Part of creating these new avenues of research has been the group crits. Group crits are something that I actually really miss from my university days.

Wendy Yu and I have been separately attending group crits to discuss the development of the project. It has been an amazing opportunity to speak with other artists taking part in the Zero Hour Residency; as well as mentors brought in by We Belong Here. I was lucky enough to speak with Daniel Saul who hosted a group crit and Shabari Roa who I was pleased to have a development meeting with.

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18th May 202019th May 2020

Tactile Intervention in a Digital Environment

Tactile Intervention in a Digital Environment – Zero Hour Residency Week Two.

Week Two is over! I can’t believe how quickly the time is flying on this four-week residency. Our exploration of ‘touch’ is well underway!

Over the past two weeks, Wendy Yu and I have connected through a mutual love of absurdity. We decided to examine our shared goal of exploring ‘touch’ across digital platforms.

The reality is, that we want to explore tactile engagement and the physicality of touch – but how can we do this in a digital space? Somewhere that does not physically exist or have a tactility beyond the keyboard. This has led us to the somewhat oxymoronic phrase ‘tactile intervention in a digital environment’.

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4th May 202020th May 2020

We Belong Here: Zero Hour Virtual Residency

Zero Hour Residency We Belong Here Banner

Zero Hour Residency – A virtual residency in a time of social distancing.

I’m so excited to be taking part in Zero Hour, the newest project by arts group ‘We Belong Here’. Zero Hour is a collaborative transdisciplinary online residency; bringing together artists and performers to create a new body of work.

For this residency, I have been partnered with dancer and coder Wendy Yu. Yu is currently working and researching in Berlin. Our collaborative project will investigate ‘touch’ and the physicality of the body.

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