From: one of the few
Category: Art
Date: 12 July 2005
I would like to start off by thanking you for giving me the opportunity to participate in the Artsweek Residence. It was an amazing two weeks of discussions with four people I may have never gotten to know, as well as many of the locals of Roundstone, and led to investigations into my own practice that may have other wise been left unrealised.
However, I would like to address a few key points that I feel need to be discussed. Before I go on I would like to say that I do acknowledge the fact that the organisers of this event and gallery do so on their own behalf. I respect and admire their ambitions, however this is no excuse for the following events that took place.
First, I was under the impression that the exhibit was to run until the 9th of July, which I believe it came down between the 6th or 7th. Now I know that one of the organisers deals with the bands so lets look at the situation in these terms: lets say you have the ‘Saw Doctors’ playing on the 2nd of July then on the 29th of June you decide that you are unable to see it through on this date, so without notifying the members of the band or the general public you change the date of the gig to the 30th of June. Now we all know how that would end, don’t we? We also know that it would not happen, so why the blatant disregard towards the visual arts?
I also know on a first hand account that there is a respect towards the artist and their views of dismantling their work from an exhibition i.e. the last artist to have an exhibition in the gallery prior to the ‘artist in residence’ exhibition was respected by allowing the artist to pack his own work up. Nonetheless without any notification our work, or rather three of the artists work, as some of the work was left remaining, was packed up. Whatever your excuses maybe, there is no explanation for not contacting the artists and notifying them of your situation.
My last issue is one of the most disconcerting, at least for me personally. While collecting my work I realized that there was a piece missing, ‘on the basis of secret affinities’, the grass in the crystal ashtray. Luckily I found it. Although it was not in a place where one might have thought to look. I happened upon it on the Tarot card-reading table with a lovely candle in it. Please laugh now, as I am sure you may find this humorous. The insolence portrayed through this action is rather hurtful. Do not get me wrong; it is not the appropriation of my work to a new function that has me passionate. It is the lack of communication and time invested into your ventures. As watering the plant is a simple task that does not demand a lot from anyone. While if you were watering the plant and it happened to die a simple email stating this would have cleared the air, as nature will take its course. I am most baffled by the fact someone felt the right to destroy the work by discarding part of it, dead or other wise, and then assigning a new role to the remaining piece.
I will leave it at that. However, I due hope this statement is taken to heart and addressed. In view of the fact if you choose to neglect these issues you may find the gallery as I found my piece, ‘on the basis of secret affinities’, dead and re appropriated.
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