Research Catalogue

research expositions

• 
  An Obstract for Midpointness (2018) author(s): Andrew Bracey, Steve Dutton published in: RUUKKU - Studies in Artistic Research
  Our aim here is to both provide a response to the Conference ‘Please Specify!’ and to find an alternate way of ensuring that the intrinsic generative nature of research and art is kept active, akin to the mobius strip-like path of both conclusions, and openings. “Midpointness” is a generative project. It is dismantled and reconstructed through the gradual accretion of surrounding connections, associations and influences of the curators, artists, students and other audiences who contribute to it. These are in the form of artworks, public events, texts, artefacts, performances or other interventions. 'An Obstract for Midpointness' (Obstract)is a piece of artistic research constructed before, during and after, "PLEASE SPECIFY!", The SAR Annual Conference 2017. 'Obstract' is as an element of the ongoing project “Midpointness” that seeks to invite us to consider the ‘work’ of art as art’s labour or task. We seek to explore the dynamics of inner/outer dialogues of the process of artistic work, opening up other potentials that an artist researcher might hope for when he/she explores the generative potential of the work of artistic research directly within and in response to a conference about artistic research. At the centre is spoken text that is a play on the tradition of the conference ‘abstract.’ The abstract is the site of an outline of intention, yet here we couple it with an ‘obstruction’ as a means of aggravating and diverting the attempt at a conclusion towards which an abstract, and indeed a formal presentation, might be aimed. “Obstract” suggests, by a process of intervention that the ‘centre’ (the work and/or the text) and its surrounding universe are completely indivisible. As such the principle of ‘footnotes’ filter through to the whole spoken text; the footnotes being analogous to the surrounding constellations within which the ‘centre’ of the work sits, swapping footnotes for centre and vice versa. The footnotes refer to points both real and imagined in the past, present and future.
  open exposition comments (0)
• 
  Painting as Discourse (last edited: 2019) author(s): Andrew Bracey This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
  'Painting-As-Discourse' is a methodology to complement painting practice with a reflection of “on action and in action” (Gray & Malins, 2004, p21) that is central to the research and its findings. Selected individuals (from a range of expertise and levels of knowledge of the author's research) have partaken ‘Painting-As-Discourse’ conversations with Bracey in regard to one body of practice (ReconFigure Paintings), through the course of his PhD. In this way the artistic researcher has been encouraged and challenged about what he is saying verbally about the practice and being encouraged to respond to new readings and possibilities for the research. Each conversations is then used to form an ongoing series of revised statements about the work, following the approach of Elizabeth Price’s ‘Sidekick’ (Price, 2006). Each revised statement is given to the most recent 'Painting-As-Discourse' participant prior to the conversation to act as a spur for the conversation. Gray, C. and Malins, J. (2004), Visualising Research: A Guide to the Research Process in Art and Design. Ashgate. Price, E. “Sidekick.” In Thinking Through Art, edited by Macleod, K. & Holdridge, L. (2006), Oxford and New York: Routledge, p122-132.
  open exposition comments (0)
• studio Culture (last edited: 2022) author(s): Andrew Bracey This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
  The ground-breaking pedagogic research project will elevate the function and usability of the MA fine art studio, and to instil a greater and more effective studio culture. We will do this through a two-phase project, in one staff will demonstrate best practice and students will reflect and evaluate this in regards to their own studio use. In phase two students will replicate what has been demonstrated for their own studio activities. Both phases will be recorded using stop-motion cameras to enable us to study the time and space usage. The innovation of the project is to give a heightened sense of professional studio activity to and for students, by the direct observation and dialogue with their course lecturers. Tacit knowledge of studio practice has always been integral to art practice and pedagogy, but never formally or quantifiably studied or recorded. We aim to make students actively aware of this through the observation and evaluation of how lecturers use the studio, allowing them to view what is currently hidden as lecturers have studios off campus. The intended impact is that they will productively improve their own studio activity on the MA course and beyond as they become professional artists.
  open exposition comments (0)
• 
  Self-ish Portraits (last edited: 2024) author(s): Andrew Bracey This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
  My position is that knowledge about an artist and their work can be uncovered through close looking at their work and that some of this knowledge can be held and transferred tacitly to viewers (that are also artists). This knowledge can be articulated through practice, in this case in the making and subsequent close looking and reflection of the Selfish Portrait paintings. Because the knowledge is tacit, as opposed to propositional, the knowledge may be sensed, felt or difficult to articulate in words. Practice is the most appropriate vehicle to test whether this knowledge can shift from what Alexis Shotwell’s has articulated as ‘nonpropositional knowledge’ to ‘potentially propositional knowledge’. In Selfish Portraits I search for self-portraits by a range of dead artists in terms of geography, gender, race, ‘status’, time of working, style, etc. This necessitates (re)searching beyond my current knowledge base using gallery visits, internet searches and books. The selected self portrait(s) are subjected to a period of ‘looking attentively’ in order to visual interrelate and learn about the painting, and by extension the artist. The main focus is allowing the self portraits to ‘talk to me’ following the theoretical stance of the ‘active’ painting or picture, that knowledge is held in the painting itself and cannot always be found in (written) documentation.
  open exposition comments (0)
• 
  Controlled Rummage Approaches for Bummock: Tennyson Research Centre (2024) author(s): Sarah Bennett, Andrew Bracey, Danica Maier published in: Journal for Artistic Research
  'Bummock: Tennyson Research Centre' is an artistic research project involving three artistic researchers: Andrew Bracey, Danica Maier and Sarah Bennett. A bummock is the unseen — submerged — part of an iceberg, and comprises the largest volume of ice, compared with the tip — which is visible above the surface of the water. Likewise, archives hold more items than are commonly viewed or accessed. In Bummock, we choose to bypass the catalogue to engage with materials directly, establishing a 'controlled rummage' method as an alternative approach to standard archive access practice. This iteration of the Bummock project explores, examines, and creates new artistic research from five years of working with the Tennyson Research Centre (TRC), Lincoln, UK. This exposition has been collaboratively authored by the three artistic researchers and is structured into two sections. The first, labelled the 'controlled section', serves to introduce the project and its core concerns. The second, referred to as the 'rummage section', provides visitors with the opportunity to navigate their own path through the archival objects from the TRC and the artworks created. Within this section, individual reflections and critical discussions on three themes are presented: our past experiences working with archives, the research journey of the project, and potential future directions stemming from our research. The exposition concludes with a collective summary of findings and a film documenting the project. The contribution of this exposition is twofold: first, to unveil and disseminate the artistic research associated with the project, and second, to identify the key benefits that artists can bring to the archive by employing the 'controlled rummage' approach. The intention is to establish a framework that facilitates future use by other archive users. Download Accessible PDF
  open exposition comments (0)
• 
  Super Juicy Atelier week (last edited: 2023) author(s): Andrew Bracey This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
  The studio Atelier is an updated and short term atelier residency that replaced formal scheduled teaching with the aim of teaching by demonstration. Rather than formal demonstrations, students observed informally and asked questions that were of relevance to their own practices, or just of personal curiosity. There was no obligation for them to engage with us, but our presence and work was unavoidable, as we were based near the entrance to the studios. Rather than creating a purely hierarchical relationship, feedback from students reported that they felt we were more approachable, had more time to discuss artmaking, and that they viewed us more as fellow artists than teachers during this period. The mood was friendly and convivial.
  open exposition comments (0)
• 
  Reflected Self-Portraits (last edited: 2025) author(s): Andrew Bracey This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
  "Reflected Self-Portraits" is a body of practice-research that explores the intersection of subjectivity, appropriation, and the materiality of artworks through a series of self-portraits taken using the reflective surfaces of other artists' works. The project, ongoing since 2007, currently consists of an archive of 778 images. These photographs serve as both a record of the artist’s evolving self and a fragmented representation of another artist's work, operating with a parasitic intent that utilizes a specific material quality without engaging in interpretative dialogue. The work diverges from traditional painting practices and aligns itself with appropriation art, emphasizing "making-looking" through peripheral observation of overlooked elements within artworks. The images reflect a unique engagement with artworks, embodying a speculative approach that questions the boundaries between observer and observed. This interaction challenges the conventional hierarchy of artistic agency, positioning the artist's reflection as a secondary yet integral aspect of the host artwork. A three-part video installation at General Practice, Lincoln, featured a scrolling slideshow of these self-portraits, paired with a text-based screen acknowledging the original artists and a video of a mirror being shattered, symbolizing the ephemeral nature of self-representation. By documenting fleeting interactions with art, "Reflected Self-Portraits" questions the role of subjectivity and authorship in contemporary practice, suggesting a commensal rather than fully parasitic relationship with the original artworks. The project integrates theories from Susan Sontag and Hito Steyerl, contemplating the digital and physical dissemination of images and the shifting aura of artworks. As the photographs transcend traditional gallery spaces into digital realms, the work ultimately redefines the concept of the self-portrait, transforming it into a complex interplay between the self, the artwork, and the ever-expanding digital space.
  open exposition comments (0)