She’s gone off on another tangentcreating a small, independent art ‘zine.

tangent is a bi-monthly publication produced with the intention of informing and amusing in bite-size chunks. Quick ‘n Dirty, Black ‘n White, each issue

contains contributions by and features on artists as well as arts listings in the South London area and beyond.

To get the skinny on how to submit writing and/or artwork check out the website or contact:

Karen D’Amicovia email: tangent.mail@mac.com

StockistsIn London:

Clapham Art GalleryICA Bookshop

Space Station 65Studio VoltaireThe Residence

The Flea PitTransition Gallery

In Nottingham:Moot Gallery

Further Afield:Eye Level Gallery, Halifax BC

FluxFactory, New YorkSticky, Melbourne

Zeke’s Gallery, Montreal

Events News etc., etc. available on the website:

www.tangent.org.uk

tangent is a member of Indi&Ink, the independent publishing society

all content © karen d’amico 2006 unless otherwise noted. all contributing artists’ work in the form of text and /or images is used by permission and is copyright by the artist.

no stealing allowed; hey, make up your own ideas FFS! after all, we have.

inside (in no particular order)

[contributors]

Ed Gray www.edgrayart.com

The ‘Dear You’ Project anon of melbourne

Tatiana Macedo macedo.tatiana@gmail.com

Joe Schneider www.joeschneider.co.uk

Jin-me Yoon www.catrionajeffries.com

Loren Bevan www.lorenbeven.com

Stephen Harwood www.stephenharwood.co.uk

Karen D’Amico www.karendamico.com

[review]

The FleaPit www.myspace.com/tom_and_bob

[reflect]

Thoughts on a Grey Day www.karendamico.com

[inform] Arts Listings

inter-national

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we are all inter-nationalThe world, indeed, has become a small place. People from all walks of life, and for an assortment of reasons - both good and bad, are finding themselves flung all over the planet. This scattering, whether chosen or forced upon, has given way to an increasing sense of dislocation; the fragmented self is now a commonly shared experience.

In addition to the forced migrant, there have always been a selection of people who have traversed the globe by choice. The fact remains, however, that it’s actually only very recently that large amounts of people are relocating to and enmeshing themselves within other countries and cultures as a common, everyday ingredient of their profession. My point is this: the effects of migration are permeating society in a variety of ways.

With all this movement, paths are crossed, intersected, overlapped and connected. And while our increasingly networked world presents the notion that portability and interconnectedness are things that exist now and are easily available, the reality is not always so. An analogy would be like having a jigsaw puzzle with the main shape or image apparent but with a crucial piece missing. The puzzle can never be whole, complete.

In terms of residing in this shifting space, the effect is curious, unsettling and subtle. Zones of recognition appear and subside, redistributing themselves across the geography of ‘here’ and ‘there’. We construct and maintain multiple identities, shifting between cultures, translating ourselves within and without as we go along, in an attempt to create parity, to complete the puzzle.

The artists in this issue grapple with this notion of Inter-National, whether it’s from the vantage point of experience or that of observation. The contributions on the following pages are but a snapshot of what their work is about, so it’s worth checking out the links provided to get a fuller picture.

- Karen D’Amico

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Stains on a small

Norwegian flag.

Though often faded

by time, some

things can never

be removed or

erased. Personal

histories, cultural

histories, political

and national events;

they all continue

to exist, indelibly

marked in the fabric

of memory.

Karen D’Amico Time Stains (2005);Digital photographic C-print on MDF; 22cm x 10cm x 1cm

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T O U R I S T C L A S SSix ways to piss off the local population and stand out like a sore thumb:When at a restaurant, expect - no,

demand - food that you would

usually get at home.

When that doesn’t happen,

complain loudly about it.

Attempt to bargain over the

cost of your groceries with the

check out clerk at the local

supermarket.

Assume everyone speaks your

language, and when they don’t,

get all huffy with them about it.

Comment about ‘how quaint’

everything is.

Refer to people as ‘the

natives’.

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the flea pit www.myspace.com/tom_and_bob

Located about 5 minutes from All Things Hoxton, The Flea Pit is a small, laid back exhibition space in the back of an organic eaterie. The space has been around for a while, having hosted exhibitions as well as performances, screenings, poetry and script readings, music and a knitting circle in the past. A quick web-search reveals some nice reviews of the atmosphere, the happenings and the food.

The exhibition space has recently been taken over by Tom Wilmott and Bob London, two artist / arts professionals whose vision is to present good contemporary work by underexposed artists in a space that is unpretentious and friendly. I attended the PV

for ‘Oh My Days’ their inaugural show in early May, featuring their own paintings and drawings and I quite enjoyed the experience - especially considering I didn’t know a soul there, and though I didn’t have a chance to sample the fare, the food as well as the organic beer and wine is rumoured to be pretty fab.

Wilmott and London are now busy filling the diary for upcoming shows, which run for 4 weeks. The second show, featuring works on paper by RCA graduate Jonas Rsnson, runs through 25th June.

Exhibition proposals are being accepted so if Saatchi hasn’t beaten a path to your studio yet and you have something good you want to get out there, contact Tom or Bob (website above) for further info.- Karen D’Amico

The Fleapit 49 Columbia Road London E2 7RGtube: Old Street bus: 55, 26, 48

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Joe Schneiderwww.joeschneider.co.uk

GLOBAL TRAVELERSMy work charts the process of moving, on a daily trajectory,

towards the everyday. I aim to be open and spontaneous to

the immediate topography of day-to-day experience and to

follow the contours of place, encounter and circumstance. I try

for a spontaneous response to the infinite local that is finally

revealed as exotic. The familiar local becomes an oasis of fertile

strangeness and distant otherness. The mundane activities

of walking, shopping and working reveal a plethora of myths,

stories and facts that fracture the surface of the city street.

In PASSERSBY the ordinary and the everyday is reified in a

conscious repression and sublimation of the pathological. The

paintings are collages of imagination, drawings, photographs

and memory. Any method is used to carry the small objectivities

of observed experience back to the painting surface. Through

a process of projection and emergence I try to draw out these

objectivities. They become reconfigured, distorted, rescued

from the false depths of dark inwardness, emerging from

shapelessness. I aim for a fragile victory over darkness and

emptiness. To hold at bay the nightmare figures of destruction,

fear and doubt that crowd together at the peripheries of the

hopeful moment. The painting’s shape is like a full-length

mirror and a coffin-like box. It is a shape that allows for self-

effacement, projection, incarceration and entombment. A shape

that suggests the passerby is saint or prisoner. They become

fragile heroes in the battle against forces beyond their control,

internal and external, that threaten to overwhelm them. Our

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Joe Schneider PASSERSBY (2005-6); Oil on Board, Each panel approx 160cm x 30.5cm. courtesy of the artist

myriad relationships to the everyday are revealed in this figure

of the passerby. Figures drawn persistently towards the parodic

paradise of the shop and the ordinary heroism of the workplace

by primal forces but also by globalised manipulations. They

are pre-occupied and persistent hunter-gatherers with plastic

bags. They are isolated, momentarily trapped, in the thin space

of the painting. Entrapped and homogenized by the immediate

necessities of everyday life. They are held in their own worlds,

held in isolation by their shocks and fears or by their cultural

differences. But they also form an uncertain crowd. They are

global travelers arriving from and departing for different

localities. They are moving on their myriad routes through the

day towards a common destination.

- Joe Schneider

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Joe Schneider From PAGES FROM THE EVERYDAY (2004-ongoing); Pencil on Paper, approx 14cm x 14cm, courtesy of the artist

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Joe Schneider From BUS (2004); Pencil on Paper, 88 drawings, each drawing approx, 20cm x 14cm,courtesy of the artist

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You are truly inter-national – you have lived and worked in a variety of places that quite a lot of people would term ‘exotic’, and you now find yourself in Katmandu. What impact has this move had on your art practice? I have had to re think how I literally make work as the materials and resources available here are so different. There is no AP Fitzpatrick equivalent, or even Atlantis, but on the other hand people are so skilled and the scope for working with silversmiths, metalworkers, carvers, embroideres etc is exciting. And I have had to reconsider my practice in the context of a different environment.

Best / worst bit about the move? The best bit is the sense of adventure, of things new and exciting and unknown and the worst bit is leaving London.

On your recent visit to London we talked a bit about the importance of engaging with the facilities and tools available where one is; in that context, what is the one thing that has enriched your work the most? Here people make so much with so little. For me this means always having to come back to thinking about the simplest way to approach a new work.

Do you find that there is a common thread or collective interest of sorts that runs through the international contemporary art community? Interest are as wide and as varied as the locations.

What is the biggest challenge and the biggest reward of working in an academic-arts environment, and specifically, in another country? The biggest challenge is managing the balance between time for your own work and spending time with students. The biggest reward is those students and staff whose work is inspiring, it’s the same where ever you are.

Is language an issue and if so, how do you overcome that obstacle?I have always worked where people speak at least some English. Inside the studio I stick to English as it is the lingua franca of the art world (and many words aren’t in standard issue dictionaries!). Outside I always try to learn at least the basics. A smile always helps.

Imagine yourself having to re-locate to another country at the drop of a hat (not that this is out of the ordinary for you!) What three items pertaining to your art practice would you absolutely have to bring with you? My three most current sketchbooks, they serve as some kind of continuity in a strange land.

Any advice for artists doing international moves or residencies? Don’t underestimate the impact a change in environment makes - it affects more than your practice and it can take a while to find equilibrium. If the residency is short use the time to challenge the way you work and don’t necessarily expect to produce finished work. That often comes later.

Re-Locationin conversation with Loren Beven

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dear you anonymous, melbourne

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asked & answeredJin-me Yoonwww.catrionajeffries.comwww.ssamziespace.com

when did you first know you wanted to be an artist?not sure. from a very early age, i wanted ask questions about what i saw and observed around me. contemporary art with its interdisciplinary conceptualorientation was best suited for my curious disposition.

can you remember your first piece of work?no. probably was ephemeral.

smartest thing you ever did in terms of your art practice?pursue art making as a form of inquiry rather than a PhD.

worst mistake in terms of your art practice?making rash statements as a younger artist such as “abolish studio practices”. wouldn’t call it a mistake though.

best / worst bit about being an artist?best thing: can research and develop interests in absolutely everything.

any heroes or villains?many brave artists who dared to follow their work rather than mere trends.

in an international context, do you think the notion of ‘other-ness’ is beneficial or detrimental?right now, detrimental as well as beneficial depending on if you threaten orconfirm the status quo/ existing power structures. this is a rather generaland simple way of stating things but it’s shorthand and describes thetendency for conformity and consensus in the international art scene.

where do you feel most at home?difficult, complex question. home is my body. home is attachments to certainplaces, Westcoast of British Columbia, Seoul; and people, my partner, mychildren and good friends dispersed in many parts of the world.

What shows have you seen recently?The Atlas Group, Walid Raad at the Kitchen, NYC; Bac, Yisu in Seoul, Korea(Samsung Gallery).

Any words of wisdom for emerging artists?go for a long term relationship with your work. have faith in this. yourwork will take you to places you can’t even conceive...

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tatiana macedo macedo.tatiana@gmail.com

Sala Comum“Sala Comum” 1 is a photographic series made during the course of a Photography based Artistic Programme at The Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon.

These are portraits of immigrants taken at an Immigrant’s association - the “Solidariedade Imigrante” 2 also here in Lisbon, where I currently live and work. This is an independent association, which stands (or shall I say “fights”) for the rights of the immigrants supporting them not only in their legalisation procedures but also promoting intercultural activities, discussions and debates. Mainly immigrants run it and its pillars are “participation and intervention”.

As an association member, I had been going there regularly for more than a year, participating actively in their programmes. During these periods I learned a great deal about the problematic associated with the current flux of immigrants reaching Portugal every day3; their struggle to work, get their work or residential permit, learn the language, interact with the host as well as the immigrant communities, etc. Above all, I realized the need for more consistent and realistic integration policies.

I was also fascinated by the great mix of people and cultures that I met there, which is truly unique, and the feeling of having the world (represented through cultural difference) inside one of these small rooms.

This page: Tatiana Macedo, Sala Comum (Installation views) (2005); Photographic inkjet pints, 80 x 60, 90 x 70,

courtesy of the artist

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During the course of three months, I went there with the sole purpose of taking photographs, I would go to the waiting room and ask the people if they wouldn’t mind being photographed by me, explaining them the purposes of the project. Most of them said yes, others a big bold “no”. By doing this, I caught them in a particular moment, anxious because they were waiting to get help/information on their processes. If someone said yes, I would take him/her to another room in order to do a more intimate picture. All the photos were taken in the same room. The room then acts as a metaphor for the world and, in a crude manner, a certain segregation/separation exercised upon the person being photographed.

Finally, the 4 years I lived n London as a working student gave me a personal perspective of what it is to be and feel like “a foreigner”.

A selection of 12 portraits was shown at the Gulbenkian Foundation at the end of the Programme and they are now being used as the communication images of the Immigration Forum promoted by the Foundation in 2006/07. For this event I was also commissioned a public art piece consisting of an outdoor measuring 2m x 30m long, together with 2 other photographers, which will be shown from September 2006 to April 2007 in the Foundation’s gardens.

At present I am looking to expand this project through a residency abroad, as well as looking for venues to show this project.

1 English translation “ Shared Room”2 English translation “ Immigrant Solidarity”3 The Portuguese have always been emmigrants, and many, mainly from the ex-colonies immigrated to Portugal, but only recently a great number of people from other parts of the world such as Brazil and Eastern Europe, come to Portugal looking for better life conditions.

- Tatiana Macedo

Installation view: Tatiana Macedo, Sala Comum (2005); Photographic inkjet pints, 80x60, 90x70, courtesy of the artist

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Ana Manuel – Angola

Ghulam Sarwar – PaquistanDzhangr Ombadikov – Russia

Harjit Singh - India Milya Kikeeva - Russia

Julio Tavares - Cabo Verde Marina Serputko - UkraineMohamad Iqbal - Paquistan

Sala ComumShared

Room

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Evgueni Vinokourov - RussiaLucia Elena - Brazil

Nicolai Ciubotaru - MoldaviaValeria Muntian - Ukraine

Vera Ciubotaru - Moldavia Nadezda Mukranova - Russia

All the photos

were taken

in the same

room. The room

then acts as a

metaphor for the

world and, in a

crude manner,

a certain

segregation/

separation

exercised upon

the person being

photographed.

Opposite and above: Tatiana Macedo, Sala Comum (2005); Photographic inkjet pints, 80x60, 90x70,

courtesy of the artist

20

Having just completed a solo show at Ssamzie Space in Seoul, Korea Jin-me’s video installation, ‘Unbidden’ will be shown in December at the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Further information can be found at www.cmcp.gallery.ca or by contacting the Catriona Jeffries Gallery, Vancouver, BC.

Jin-me’s art practice has centred around notions of cultural identity, history and memory. Born in Korea and living in Canada, she incorporates photographs, objects and video images, intersecting, splicing, repositioning, and re presenting overlapping histories, constructed memories, identities and experiences.

Unbidden (below and following pages) explores the resonance of and connection between past and present; how histories often hover around us like ghosts, phantom memories which, though they may never have been experienced firsthand, leave an indelible mark as their stories are told and re-told. The emotional scars of war, dislocation and fragmentation, experienced by one generation and internalised by the next, become part of an emotional and cultural fabric, reinforced through their recounting.- Karen D’Amico

Jin-me Yoonwww.catrionajeffries.comwww.ssamziespace.com

Above and following two pages:Jin-me Yoon, Unbidden (2003); Single channel video installation, courtesy of the artist.

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22

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stephen harwood www.stephenharwood.co.uk

The idea of ‘Inter-

National’ suggested

parallels between the

contemporary East End

and the ‘International

Zone’ of Tangiers prior to

1956. Specifically, William

Burroughs’ and Brion

Gysin’s involvement (or

more correctly escape) in

that place.

I’m interested in the idea

of a ring-fenced territory

where the rules seem to fall

away and this project put

me right back in the middle

of my long-standing East

End subject, which was put

on the shelf slightly when

I started painting about

my own childhood a couple

years ago.

- Stephen Harwood

Stephen Harwood, The First Loss (2004); Acrylic and charcoal on handmade paper, 100 x 72cm

Following five pages:Stephen Harwood, Inter-national (2006);

Mixed media on paper, 29.7 x 21cmimages courtesy of the artist

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A city map, traced and redrawn several times. Obliterating the actual information contained using graphite and pewter powder is an attempt to re-trace and

apprehend a heritage and locality that, though they exist, are somehow unattainable and inaccessible.

Karen D’Amico TraceMap (2005) Graphite and pewter on canvas; 30.5cm x 30.5cm

30

Ed Graywww.edgrayart.com

His paintings are keenly observed snapshots of the urban landscape, whatever the city. What I love about Ed’s work is the way he crams in an agglomeration of detail which somehow comes together and presents a painted story that, although relating to a specific locality, could actually be almost anywhere.

From the carictural faciel expressions to the discarded wrapper, fag butts and pigeons pecking through trash on the street, it’s all there: humour, pathos, bustle, tragedy, boredom, love, violence, hopes and dreams, clutter and chaos. It’s that connection and inter-connection that Ed’s work portrays that really floats my boat.

- Karen D’Amico

Ed Gray, Berwick Street (2003); Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30”,courtesy of the artist and GXgallery

31

Ed Gray, Socraties Diner (2005); Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 36”courtesy of the artist and GXgallery

32

In Nepal caste, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and

politics continue to create profound divisions within its

society. Inspired by The 100 Doors Project in Belgium

2004, the Siddhartha Art Gallery launched Khulla Dhoka

(Open Door), a community art project that brought together

artists, poets, musicians and people from different social

backgrounds.

As symbol of passage from one place to another, between

different states, the door was chosen to initiate dialogue and

break through barriers of mistrust and ignorance. Artists

worked on old traditional Nepalese doors together with

marginalised and disadvantaged people as well as Maoists,

members of the security forces, political prisoners and,

particularly, widows, battered women and teenage girls

who had been sold to brothels in India, all of which hold

particular stigma in Nepal.

KHULLA DHOKA Curated by Sangeeta ThapaNAFA Gallery, Kathmandu, Nepal17 May - June 2006The project is supported by the British Council and the European Commission.

Loren Bevenwww.lorenbeven.com

- Loren Beven

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Loren Beven, in collaboration with Lila Thapa and Damoder Gautam Where do you come from? (I come from my childhood) (2006);

Mixed media,180 x 110 cm, courtesy of the artists

Where do you come from? I come from my childhood.

-Antoine de Saint Exupéry

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Thoughts on a Grey Day

Traces of the past merge with the present and help to shape our sense of identity; shared histories, common experiences, language and so on, combine to form a sense of who we are in the world. This is true for everyone, and perhaps there can never fully be an amalgamation for any of us. But I think the gaps are more acutely felt by those who have experienced living in a culture different from their own.

In the 15 years I’ve lived in England there has been a gradual but significant shift in my outlook on the notion of ‘home’ as well as how I view my own identity. I have felt at times fragmented, tied to both ‘my life today and my life then’ and yet detached, removed, an observer in both as a subtle estrangement from the home of the past has occurred. Everyday nuances that were once second nature and familiar in my home culture have been forgotten and in their place new modes of functioning and relating to those around me have been adapted.

The realization has slowly seeped through that while one has access to a shared history with friends and family as well as with one’s wider ‘home’ community, the link is forever ruptured, simply because the possibility of sharing subsequent, ongoing day-to-day experiences together is no longer available. The waters close in quickly and that everyday awareness that one once had begins to dissapate.

There is still, and always will be, a deep sense of understanding and connection with my home country on some level, but it is now and will forever be framed differently. I have become two people and yet I am one and the same.- Karen D’Amico

catch: Arts Listingsgalleries, weblinks, etc.Publications

Anxiety Culture www.anxietyculture.com/ [an] magazine www.a-n.co.uk Arty Magazine www.artymagazine.comFound Magazine www.foundmagazine.comInterlude Magazine www.interludemagazine.co.ukLeisure Centre www.leisurecentre.org.ukPublish and Be Damned www.publishandbedamned.orgRant Magazine www.rant-magazine.comrifRAG www.riffrag.org/Smoke: a london peculiar www.shink.dircon.co.uk/smoke.htm

WeblinksArtangel www.artangel.org.ukArtinliverpool www.artinliverpool.com/blogArtquest www.artquest.org.ukArts Council England www.artscouncil.org.uk/ Art South Central www.artsouthcentral.org.ukAxis Artists www.axisartists.org.ukEyebeam www.eyebeam.orgFallon & Rosoff www.fallonandrosof.com/artblog.htmlHappy Famous Artists www.happyfamousartists.blogspot.comKollabor8 http://kollabor8.toegristle.com/Newsgrist www.newsgrist.typepad.com/underbelly/weblogs/index.htmlRe-Title www.re-title.comRhizome www.rhizome.orgStunned www.stunned.org Theory.Org www.theory.orgWooster Collective www.woostercollective.com/

Galleries / Studios / ResourcesUK198 Gallery (SE24) www.198gallery.co.uk 020 7978 83092B1 www.2b1studio.co.uk - Bearspace (SE8) www.thebear.tv/bearspace/ 020 8691 2085Cafe’ Gallery Projects (SE16) www.cafegalleryprojects.com 020 7237 1230Castlefield Gallery (M15) www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk 0161 832 8034Cell Project Space (E2) www.cell.org.uk 020 7241 3600Clapham Art Gallery (SW4) www.claphamartgallery.com 020 7720 0955Gasworks (SE11) www.gasworks.org.uk 020 7582 6848Hayward Gallery (SE1) www.hayward.org.uk 020 7921 0813inIVA (EC2) www.iniva.org 020 7729 9616ICA (SW1) www.ica.org.uk 020 7930 3647Levack (W1) www.levack.co.uk 020 7539 1911Moot Gallery (Nottingham NG3) www.mootgallery.org 07786 257213 MOT (E8) www.motinternational.org 020 7923 9561Photographers Gallery (WC2) www.photonet.org.uk 020 7831 1772Photofusion (SW9) www.photofusion.org 020 7738 5774SevenSeven (E8) www.sevenseven.org.uk/ 078 0816 6215South London Gallery (SE5) www.southlondongallery.org 020 7703 6120Space Station 65 (SE22) www.spacestationsixtyfive.com 020 8693 5995Space Studios (E8) www.spacestudios.org.uk 020 8525 4330 Spectacle (Birmingham B16) www.spectacle-gallery.co.uk/ -Stand Assembly (NG3) www.standassembly.org -Standpoint (N1) www.pauperspublications.com/gallery.html 020 7729 5272Studio Voltaire (SW4) www.studiovoltaire.org 020 7622 1294Surface Gallery (Nottingham NG1) www.surfacegallery.org/index.html 0115 934 8435Tate Modern (SE1) www.tate.org.uk 020 7887 8000The Flea Pit (E1) www.myspace.com/tom_and_bob -The Residence(E9) www.residence-gallery.com 020 8986 8866The Wyer Gallery (SW11) www.thewyergallery.co.uk 020 7223 8433 Transition Gallery (E8) www.transitiongallery.co.uk 020 7254 0045Transmission (Glasgow) www.transmissiongallery.org/ 0141 552 4813

Further AfieldFlux Factory (New York) www.fluxfactory.org/ 1 (718) 707 3362Location 1 (New York) www.location1.org 1 (212) 334 3347 Printed Matter (New York) www.printedmatter.org 1 (212) 925 0325White Column (New York) www.whitecolumns.org 1 (212) 924 4214

Platform Artists Group (Melbourne) www.platform.org.au +61 3 9654 8559 Sticky (Melbourne) www.platform.org.au/sticky.html +61 3 9654 8559The Invisible Inc. (Sydney) www.theinvisibleinc.org.au -

Torpedo Artbooks (Oslo) www.torpedobok.no/ +47 48231217

Eye Level Gallery (Halifax, Nova Scotia) www.eyelevelgallery.ca 1 (902) 425 6412Zeke’s Gallery (Montreal) www.zekesgallery.blogspot.com 1 (514) 288-2233