"Clean Modern Flat"- jigsaw cut, acrylic, varnich, mirror

"Clean Modern Flat"

"Clean Modern Flat"

"Clean Modern Flat"

This 8 foot jigsaw cut is a miniature reinterpretation of a previous installation piece at The Harris Museum & Art Gallery. "The simplicities of my complexities" was a 30 foot tall stack of reclaimed lampshades set on a side table.
The 2 Dimensional sculpture is a development exploring past works in a new light. A cleaner simplified aesthetic, almost like a doodle, is something I feel my work is leaning towards lately. As a means to both document but reinvent at the same time.

"Simplicities of my complexities"- reclaimed lampshade stack

"if you happened to be outside my window and on a ladder"- video installation

"if you happened to be outside my window and on a ladder"- video instalaltion

"if you happened to be outside my window and on a ladder"- video installation

"if you happened to be outside my window and on a ladder"

".... outside my window" was a reworked video piece installed behind my living room curtains, at an angle equalling that of the view of my television through my living room window.
I wanted an audience to witness my living space as real life spectators and as if they were literally prying eyes upon my life.
The video however is a nonsensical happening which occurred within my home- filmed with performer and filmmaker Mark Oughton a.k.a Burntworld.
A nonsensical everyday encounter was a deliberate reassurance that nothing is really ever honest in its presentation. There is always an element of staged reality.
The video was shot in real time with influences from Bertolt Brecht and also Mike Kelley and Cindy Sherman.
Duration: 18 Minutes.

"See ego OR home"- framed english dictionaries, bannister legs, lenses & "Mi Ohm"- aerial cord

"see ego OR home"- english dictionaries, bannister legs, lenses

"see ego OR home"- english dictionaries, bannister legs, lenses

This minimalist wall display as part of the "I AM gARTh" show was intended as a point of contemplation of the whole. My works rarely stand alone as they are woven or hold threads that can relate to one another in a space.
The framed dictionaries was to explore the relationship between the artist and the work in which they create. Simultaneous pages open at 'ego' and 'home' open discourse into the persona. Also enquiries into character and interpretation were brought into the exhibition as a whole through this simply propped sculpture.
"mi Ohm" is a piece that purely links one work to another. It feeds from outside the gallery window into a video installation housed within the "I AM gARTh" exhibition. Linking outdoor and indoor as my house has been temporarily moved into anew home.

"Table for two"- reclaimed table, candlesticks, framed dust captures

"table for two"- reclaimed table, coandlesticks, framed dust captures

"table for two"- reclaimed table, candlesticks, framed dust captures

This piece made use of a table found in the residency space. The framed works are of two table settings that have been created using dust on carpet taken from personal living space. The frames were then staged as a contemporary archive of a previous encounter or scenario.
I wanted a notion of monumentalism within this piece as it documents space whilst at the same time memorialising it. The traditional expectation of monumentalism is altered due mainly to the small scale of the work, however it is a monument as it imitates or supplements its origins.

"PropperTea"- Lancashire Tea, wood, varnish, acrylic, text

"I AM gARTh" details

"PropperTea"- Lancashire Tea, wood, varnish, acrylic, text

"PropperTea" close up.

Teabags donated by Lancashire Tea to develop this floor based installation, as a early study for future larger scale work. The scenario was staged to resemble a Monopoly card and hotel.
The piece was a result of personal working environments as a consultant- invloving travelling and staying in hotels across the UK, whislt also considering new works that are influenced by the home. This brings a marriage between personal and professional ongoings.
The tangerine Monopoly tone is to reference my home town of Blackpool, Lancashire, UK.
The form of a house or 'hotel' being positioned amongst a larger showing of work was to establish the space as a direct influence from living spaces as they are cited in a new context.

"I AM gARTh"- solo exhibition and residency, 2011

"First Floor Flat with a view of Blackpool Tower", 2011

"as given or used"- found and personal memorabilia, photographic stills, 2011

"as given or used"- photographic stills and reclaimed lenses 2011

"as given or used"- detail 2011

"as given or used"- detail, 2011

"I AM gARTh"

solo exhibition and residency, Oxheys Mill Studios, Preston, UK

Oct-Dec 2011

Introduction

After a realisation that Blogs are not art and that I therefore do not upkeep them very well. I have decided to start from scratch and produce a new blog. This blog is intended to provide an informal archive of my work as it is imagined. Seeing finished work is more suited to visited my website www.garthgratrix.com.

On here I will upload ideas, inspiration, rants, moans and celebrations as new work infolds over 2012 and beyond.
I hope you enjoy reading and feel free to make contact and input into anything I may have said along the way.