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Exhibition Catalogue

‘A Work of Art!’ the Old Biscuit Factory January 2019

Page 1 - Bo Cosfranz Laura Obon Page 2 - Belinda Ireland Nigel Rudkin Page 3 - Nedret Pekcan David McDiarmid Page 4 - Leena Shah Ferg Cooper Page 5 - Katie Mundy Ruth Batham Page 6 - Chloe Laurence Matthew Wilson Page 7 - Yigit Tasdemir Paul Bonomini Page 8 - Evagelia Hagikalfa Barbara Gittings Page 9 - Tom Hogan Marie Lenclos Page 10 - Georgina Maxwell Helena Maxwell - Jackson Page 11 - Louisa Helen Pankhurst Katie McGuire


Page 12 - Jesus Gomez Angelica Guerrero Page 13 - Ruini Shi Steven Edwards Page 14 - Yasmin Nicholas Henrica Langh Page 15 - Zoe Prichard Deborah Sfez Page 16 - Fred Fabre

My work explores the concept of artificially imposing structure to organic elements, through the extension of tangent lines. In the Lustres series, a human figure is depicted using two colours, representing the lightest and darkest areas. Tangent lines are extended out from the figureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s corners, creating a separate geometric network. The areas between these tangent lines are filled with colour, which reacts as the areas overlap, becoming darker with each layer, and creating artificial depth in the image. The resulting image displays a tension between the natural, organic shapes of the human figure, and the artificial geometric structure extending out from its corners.

Bo Cosfranz Instagram: @cosfranz

I make abstract collages out of paper. I am driven by the feeling colour creates in me, and by the act of creating a composition by cutting , sticking and overlappingshapes. Collages allow me to quickly change direction, or to add a new element to the composition, while the forms come to life in the making of it. I work intuitively, arranging all the cutout shapes in search of a particular kind of harmony, creating warm spaces with an element of tension. I am interested in the concept of seeing Art as a tool, described in thebook written by Alain de Botton and John Armstrong Art as Therapy: â&#x20AC;&#x153; Art is a therapeutic medium that can help guide, exhort and console its viewers, enabling them to become better versions of themselves â&#x20AC;?. I like to think that my collages can be part of such a fascinating process in which they become a useful tool. Instagram: @laura_obon_

Laura Obon


Game Over - The game has ended, it has all gone wrong. She doesn’t know what to do. Children use games to enact out what they see happening in the adult world. I am painting childhood to enact out what I see happening in a child’s world and the world around me. In my narrative I include historical and contemporary images to hint at wider universal themes. The girl / child is a complex character - powerful, inquisitive, sexual, manipulative, sometimes feral. She is the central character of a quiet moment or exchange in a tableau of suggestion. Seduced by the Music - a dangerous fancy dress dog-man tempts the little girl away from the light-filled happy play-days into adult shadow danger lands. Instagram - @belindairelandart

Belinda Ireland

“To see yourself in the mirror and look away; to enter a room and hope there’s another kindred fat woman there, so you don’t feel like the odd one out, disliked, shunned, pitied maybe..; to hear people talk about weight loss and dieting in glowing terms and realise by implication that your weight is being disparaged; to feel self-disgust at that weakness… The acceptance of self, the realisation of selfworth at whatever weight you may be, are key to making this journey. If you never see yourself depicted as a person of beauty, as a worthy of love, respect, desire... you begin to think that you are not worthy of those things. 2

I believe very strongly that representation matters ~ but what does that really mean? ~ it means different things to different people but to me it means presenting the fat female form in a positive, joyful, life-affirming way.”

Nigel Rudkin

“A Desolate Landscape” A solitary figure stands in an open rural landscape, separated from her home by a blue expanse of water. She glances at the viewer as if poised between her world and a new path into the unknown. The figure is tinged with blue, symbolising separation and freedom. “Untitled” A modern city emerges, creating harmony out of chaos. Day and night become as one. The viewer is led from the dark chaos of the foreground over a white bridge to the city beyond, its neon lights reflected in the water welcoming the viewer in.

Nedret Pekcan

David McDiarmid


The painting captures the mood outside a cafe on a sunny day. People walking past, others having a chat over a cuppa,... and suggestion of more behind the large glass door. With a background in architecture and urban design, I have always been fascinated and inspired by streets and townscapes and the way people interact with these. Movement, patterns, textures, forms, and lines in my surroundings stay with me and evoke memories. In my paintings I use these impressions to recreate those ephemeral moments. My process of painting is instinctive and meditative, ultimately trying to evoke a certain mood or emotion that I felt at the time. -802587876499210/

Leena Shah

A lot of my time nowadays seems to be taken up with the very important task of stalking people on Instagram. So my practice examines social media, making work around the idea of privacy as a commodity and the notion of fame. The work in this show reflects on an obsession with celebrity and brand association. There are deliberate echoes of tropes of religious iconography, playing with the understanding of a modern â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;iconâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. I work primarily with paint to create images drawn directly from social media, and then cut or tear them out to collage them together. I graduated from an MA Fine Art at Central Saint Martins in 2017, and in 2018 I completed a year long residency at The Florence Trust, London. I was recently longlisted for the 2018â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Elephant x Griffin Art Prize. I also paint pigeons.

Ferg Cooper


My work aims to create a dialogue between the viewer and the piece in front of them. Situation is my subject, attempting to capture the moment where something has happened or something is about to happen. In this painting I have provided hints but no solid evidence. We can recognise there are human figures in this piece but detail is removed reducing them to blank symbols waiting to be filled by the speculated narrative of the viewer. Removing information gives the brain licence to recreate what it sees in a way that it sees fit. ‘Docks’ is an ethereal scene with people passing through, some barely there creating an uncertain dreamlike state.

Katie Mundy

I am a painter and drawer whose palette engages with the history of colour theory. An interest in representation and perception of the human figure underpins my practice. The two drawings exhibited are selected from ‘Approach’: a body of work that typifies my fascination with developing life drawing sketches into colourful, bold compositions. Colour interaction enhances the stress and strain on the body as the figure fragments. It represents the human body but not as we know it. The outline of the figures is accentuated by the interplay of white space and a riot of colour. The collection title is a reference to how the figures advance and retreat in the drawings: It also alludes to the idea of perception. In these drawings, I invite you to see the human body in a different light by connecting colour and form.

Ruth Batham 5

I invite viewers into my world to engage with human activity and the use of the body into ways of thinking about our situated place in the world, to evoke a feeling of freedom within the playfulness of creating. The work is composed by dragging etching plates across shifting terrains in my environment to record the textures of the weathered land beneath my feet as I walk. Capturing the physical movement of these temporal, chanced-based happenings within the landscape, resulting in the movement of nature alongside the movement of my body. This process is always unexpected, with an ever-growing relationship to uncover marks in many landscapes of the world. Printmaking means to me ways of thinking and problem solving, as an approach to becoming more alive in a way that asks us to engage with life in a visceral and interactive way.

Chloe Laurence

Mapping personal realities, my practice explores a desire to make conscious the tensions between the temporal and the permanent. Memory is investigated through the traces we leave in our personal relationships, both physical and emotional. Found materials and objects such as this act as ‘artefacts’ of spaces and places whilst simultaneously having the power to allude to domestic spaces and materials which are culturally recognisable and carry the weight of collective history.

‘In the Hands of My Father’ features the hands of myself and my own father on a section of discarded building material from one of his sites as a building contractor. The charcoal clings to the surface in an ephemeral way, with the two hands reaching for contact but not quite meeting.

Matthew Wilson 6

“For a long time, the inspiration for my paintings came from observing the impact of societal issues on individuals and its effect. However, with moving abroad my state of mind shifted from examining the struggles of society to a very individual feeling of emptiness and loneliness. This process inevitably had an impact on my work. Instead of focusing on broader topics, I’m orienting to more subjective, specific happenings that are more alive in a sense. Regarding the paintings in this exhibition; the work titled ‘Nail’ is an expression of my struggle to communicate in a foreign language and many memories of experiencing seemingly small but individually very trying moments in social settings. On the other hand, ‘Snail Lady’ symbolizes accepting the many issues I have trouble coping with and turning within. Finally, ‘May I Stick a Flower in Your Heart?’ attempts to tragicomically soften the walls we’ve surrounded ourselves with.”

Yigit Tasdemir

My sculpture - Memento Mori symbolises the fragility and transience of the human race. As the title says “remember (that) you will die”. It is related to the Ars Morendi (“The Art of Dying”) and similar Western literature, although not exclusively. Memento Mori has been an important part of ascetic disciplines as a means of perfecting the character by cultivating detachment and other virtues, and by turning the attention towards the immortality of the soul and the afterlife. The complexity of the hand forged construction technique was most certainly character building. The time involved in creating the piece allowed for endless reflection. As to my soul - well I’ll let fate take its course. This piece forms part of a body of work with the recurring theme of death as its central narrative. Instagram @paul_bonomini

Paul Bonomini


An assemblage installation based on the philosophical idea of the Microcosm. Our world is created in correspondence to the universe and the “Microcosmos” is an alternative world equally corresponding to ours. The work presents an alternative cosmos, that explores human understanding through 3 categories of perception: Spirit, Soul and Material. Created with commercial souvenirs and amateur tourists’ photographic slides collected over 2 years, Microcosmos is looking into memory and documentation of human experience similarly to looking through a microscope at bacteria colonies.

The 35mm slides used are mainly from the early 60’s till late 80’s and include photographs from Africa, United States, Brazil, Thailand and from Europe: Greece, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, UK and Switzerland. As the collection of slides expand over time so will the geographical content of the work.

Evagelia Hagikalfa

In this piece I wanted to explore Agateware. Marbling clay was first recorded in China during the T’ang Dynasty (618-907CE), although the technique was only introduced in England in the early 18thC and was referred to as Agateware. Laid Agate technique is an extremely complicated process. The marbling, instead of being a surface decoration, goes through the body, so the decoration is made before the sculptural piece is even really conceived. This piece is hand built, using slabs of patterned porcelain. These are made by thinly layering different coloured porcelains, which are sliced and reassembled several times, alternating the pattern direction to achieve an agate effect. The sizes and shapes of the patterned slabs dictate to a degree the final shape of the piece, myself and the clay collaborating to achieve the end result.

I try to allow the subliminal to rise to the surface without too much forward planning

Barbara Gittings 8

My interest in wire as an expressive medium surfaced whilst witnessing workshop participants engaged in continuous-line drawing exercises. A personal fascination with using ‘the wrong tool for the job’ and enjoyment in attempting to evoke life in such a crude material, have fostered this interest. The sculptures originate from rapid sketches and are simplified through a process of line selection. Just how simple they can become is key and I certainly aim to suggest rather than overtly explain anything. Conveying a sense of energy and humour in the works is crucial. They are intended to be strange and busy little things. The gallery space has become a fertile source of subject matter and ‘Painting’ is one of a series of works in this area. I hope that omitting detail and distilling visual information to a somewhat liquid, linear world provides scope for imagination.

Tom Hogan

‘Down’ ‘Down’ is part of a series of urban paintings called ‘Moments’. They represent mundane or domestic scenes from the streets and buildings of South-London where Lenclos lives and works. As a documentary maker for over ten years, Lenclos got into the habit of ‘framing’ things all the time, even without a camera. Cycling or walking to and from work, she would suddenly see something and think: ‘this would make a good shot’. Now, Lenclos captures these moments in her paintings, which present a unique stillness in urban spaces and architecture. The paintings work like long exposure photographs, intensifying colours and removing traces of people and activity, allowing both artist and observer to contemplate the interplay of colour, light and lines in the physical environments we inhabit.

Marie Lenclos Instagram@marielenclos_painting Facebook @MarieLenclos 9

My art practice responds to the plight of cetaceans and other marine inhabitants in their struggle for survival in a desensitized, plastic-addicted world. My work has always involved a process. I have been cleansing the oceans of toxic plastics for the last 20 years. These fragments all have a story to tell that I can only imagine...once held by someone. The possibility of a Tibetan prayer flag finding itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s way to a Cornish shoreline is remote... an epic journey. The fragmented sun/ocean bleached plastic bag conjured images of organic wrinkled skin.. it also has jouneyed from the plastics factory to the oceans and beyond. They both fall within the process of time... past, present and future travels. How long had these fragments been at sea for? what had they witnessed? among the most beautiful, powerful force in nature, being crushed and pummelled by the crashing waves. On finding these fragments on a cold winters is only through washing and examining, that I saw their beauty.

Georgina Maxwell

Inspired by hydrothermal vents, Sea Rock explores ideas surrounding first life. Emerging an almost alien creature, the peculiar mass at Sea Rockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s centre blurs boundaries between the animate and inanimate. Becoming its own iridescent landscape, this stone like structure seems to convulse, a transient form at the verge of collapse between life and the abyss.

Helena Maxwell - Jackson


My photographs seek to fuse material and psychological associations with water into a single image. During the Great War, the English Channel was both a great physical divide between soldiers and their loved ones but was also a means of transporting letters to and from the Front to home. The light playing on the water is seen to represent a positive focus on the messages of hope and love and real human bravery conveyed across the channel during the Great War.

Louisa Helen Pankhurst Johnson

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Half of Wholeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; explores traditional techniques within the contemporary era. Whilst adopting a well established sculptural form, the traditional vessel shape is permitted to be diversified through the chosen material. The sculpture is created with digitally extruded polystyrene thread, known as backer rod. The material has been removed from its daily normality of being used on construction/building sites, and has been hand manipulated to fit with traditional techniques, such as crochet. It is interesting to see whether it is the vessel that is first noticed, the technique, or the questioning of material - are we still interested in tradition or is the unknown more appealing. The use of grey backer rod adds a stern weighted front to the sculpture, despite it being easily malleable and lightweight, allowing first impressions to once again become deceiving when tradition is combined with the contemporary.

Katie McGuire


Exhibition of three stunning places, full of magic, culture, smell and freshness. A man of ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he travels or not; but a man of superior talent will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place. Travelling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station’. We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment. Inspiration by Mozard, Aubin de Teran and Hilaire Belloc. Enter to discover.

Jesus Gomez

When an art piece is presented to the public for the first time in an unveiling ceremony, sometimes the piece is covered with a cloak in order to increase the viewer’s interest before is unveiled. But in this representation, what is the cloak covering? We can see that it is a cylindrical shape but, what is in it? There is no way to see through the stone or knowing when the ceremony is going to take place. It is implicit that the viewers have always the last word when it comes to interpreting an artwork. Art exists to provoke thought and reflection, and it can have a big range of interpretations for different people. It is important to recognize that there are no definitive answers.

Angelica Guerrero 12

“Desire Line” was originally an architect’s term for paths made by people when walking across open grass land, what these lines represent are the shortest or most easily navigated routes between an origin and destination. This film describes a metaphor of Artificial Intelligence in which optimal solutions to user problems are generated as a form of desire line calculation. This film aims to interrogate the increasingly controversial role of Artificial Intelligence by visualising a statement from an AI about its experience on a Valentine’s Day in the near future. The assumed neutrality of AI technology should be examined, and discussions on its ethical implications are ever more urgent.

Ruini Shi

Instagram: @uuunii

This piece is part of a body of work titled ‘Measured & Swift’. The work explores the material qualities of clay when exposed to the steps of a specific making process – Repetition, Compression and Cut. It investigates how implied movement within an artwork can provide the viewer with a shared experience of the past making event.



Steven Edwards

The intervention and introduction of a birth. The intertwining of languages, The Kwéyòl and English then also the other physical aspect; a mother and her baby. The female figure that stretches and reforms for another life to exist. This brings light to the importance of relationship and belonging through a cultural, linguistic and human connection. The intervention being the sub-conscious conversation between mother and unborn child, the dominant language vs ‘domestic’ language. Words become alive and the poem is then broken down to shape the child who is unseen to the human eye, all barriers are then lost.

Yasmin Nicholas @whatyasmindoes

We’re all made of memories, fears, and dreams; things we carry deep within us, things that shape us. While visually representing what is literally underneath the skin – the muscles and bones – metaphorically these corsets symbolise our most intimate thoughts and feelings. Just like the traditional Memento Mori symbol, these corsets symbolise human error and the fragility of life. As a part of the artistic process, the finished corsets were buried in the ground, which gives the white fabric a stained look and reflects the process of burying emotions, secret dreams, fears, and scars deep within our hearts. The tainted appearance acts as a visual metaphor for the imperfect and damaged, and the mortality of not just the body but also other aspects of our lives. What do you keep hidden underneath your skin?

Henrica Langh


My practice explores the world of ambiguous imagery through the lens of photography, and photo-mechanical print processes. I am interested in creating deeply mysterious monochromatic images which seem recognisable, yet also generate a wealth of uncertainty; imagery that is open to more than one interpretation and which has no obvious meaning. My imagery is often in monochrome suggesting to the viewer that the everyday material is something in the past. Digital print and screen-printing are my main methods of working which all have innate familiarity with the materials in hand. It is this combination and dialogue across print languages which excites me. In bringing together digital and screen-print the image becomes ambiguous, the viewer is in a creative engagement with the image far more than through an easy initial recognition and identification of the image. Therefore, the act of seeking forces the viewer to be pro-active, in search of the psychological space within the imagery.

Zoe Prichard

Deborah Sfez


Fabre began his varied and colourful career as a drawer and animator before turning to video journalism, working in many of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conflicts. He moved to London in 1997 and has worked closely with the BBC as a BAFTA winning director of photography before moving on to painting full time after doing an MA in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art in 2007. Fabreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paintings are a continual explorations of colour and form as a mean to explore the essence and energy of a place or a person to express the expansion of the inner life. In his latest paintings Fabre uses the concept of mental time travel to tie the past and future together either by re-exploring past iconic representations and/or projecting his sitters forward into time to represent possible future events.

Fred Fabre


The Old Biscuit Factory @manyhandslondon

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Exhibition Catalogue

‘A Work of Art!’ @artnumber23

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Profile for Art Number 23

'A Work of Art!' Exhibition Catalogue  

The exhibition catalogue from our exhibition 'A Work of Art!' at the Old Biscuit Factory!

'A Work of Art!' Exhibition Catalogue  



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