Saturday 18 September 2010

Here Lies ART! - exhibition photos

'The Remains of the Child' (2010)

'The Remains of the Child' (2010)

'The Remains of the Child' (2010)

I took these three photos today.
Thankfully, the weather has been on our side so far and we have had a sunny day.

I have had very mixed comments for this piece. The funniest was from a man who seemingly inspected it from all angles. Not knowing that I was the artist he said, 'I don't know what it is but it is ugly.' Then he looked at the other pieces. But later on I noticed that he stood in front of it again and had another good look. I presume he is still trying to figure it out, which is a good thing.

There were other people who liked it even though they found it disturbing or maybe because of it. It is interesting for me to watch people's reactions.
All comments are welcome.


Saturday 21 August 2010

Here Lies ART! 18-19 September 2010

The Remains of the Child (2010)
mixed media
45 (h) x 45 (d) x 72 (l) cm

A public art exhibition of Victorian Funeral Traditions
in the Anglican chapel at

Nunhead cemetery
Linden Grove
London SE15 3LW

Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th September 2010
11am-5pm


Most people associate Victorian funerals with the colour black – mourning dresses, hats, gloves etc. It is less widely known that the colour white - white crape looped with white ribbon - was appropriate when a child or young person had passed away.

Black feathers were a typical accessory for a funeral at the time. But mourning symbols in 19th century Victorian America, for instance, included jewellery made of the hair of the deceased. They acted as memorabilia.

For this exhibition Désirée felt compelled to base her work on those Victorian funeral customs that are less commonly known. She chose to use the colour white instead of black and hair instead of feathers.

This artwork represents the mortal remains of a child. It may refer to an actual young person or be symbolic for everyone's own inner child - may it be a wounded, sad, happy or a prodigy child. It is about the purity of the soul shining through at a young age. By mourning such soulfulness, one regains it.

Wednesday 4 August 2010

Cork Street Open Exhibition 2010 - 5-13/08/2010

The 2010 Cork Street Open Exhibition for Charity will take place from Thursday, 5th through Friday, 13th August 2010.

Venue:
The Gallery in Cork Street
28 Cork Street,
London W1S 3NG

The opening times for the Cork Street Open Exhibition are from 10am to 6pm, Thursday August 5-13th, with the exception of Sunday, August 8th when it is closed.

Admission is free and a percentage of all sales goes directly to CHILDREN with LEUKAEMIA.

Please click here to see my work on the Cork Street Open Exhibition website.

Please click here if you would like to get complimentary tickets for the Artist's Receptions on 11th August 2010.

Sunday 4 July 2010

Shortlisted for Cork Street Open Exhibition 2010

Acute Awareness (2010)
wood, correx, latex, varnish
131 x 42.5 x 6 cm


Acute Awareness has been shortlisted for the Cork Street Open Exhibition 2010.
For details please click here.



Sunday 27 June 2010

Café Gallery Project - private view - 4th July 2010



Pathless Land (2009)
Mixed Media on cardboard, 29x29cm, framed (50x50cm)
*
'The core of Krishnamurti's teaching is contained in the statement he made in 1929
when he said: "Truth is a pathless land".
Man cannot come to it through any organisation, through any creed, through any dogma, priest, or ritual, nor through any philosophical knowledge or psychological technique.'
(p. 5, "To Be Human" by Krishnamurti)


Coming Together (2010)
jesmonite, hair

What happens when two opposing forces come together?
A sperm penetrates an ovum during fertilization and the tail tells a tale of what happened.


I am pleased to invite you to the private view of the Open Exhibition
organised by the Café Gallery Projects on Sunday 4th July 2010, 2-5pm at:

CGP LONDON

  • Southwark Park
  • London SE16 2UA
  • United Kingdom
Nearest Stations: Canada Water, Surrey Keys


Sunday 20 June 2010

Jazz Concert and Exhibition - Friday 25 June 2010


Please come to this Friday's Jazz concert at St. Augustine Church where my sculpture Inner Reflection - male & female is exhibited. I will be there.

http://www.augustineonetreehill.org.uk/events.htm

Please click here to see a film.


St Augustine's Summer Festival (25th to 27th June)


There will be concerts on Friday (25th) and Saturday (26th) evenings and on Sunday afternoon. The concert on Friday evening will be Jazz, on Saturday evening the Elm singers are offering an evening of music for a summer evening including madrigals and on Sunday afternoon there will be a concert of chamber music.


On Saturday 26th June there will be a summer fair with opportunities for local craftspeople to hire a

t

able and sell their art works.

Please put these events in your diary:
25/06/10 - Evening Jazz concert. 7.30pm
'Take A Pew' show 7pm to 9pm

26/06/10 - 10.00am - 5pm St Augustine's Summer Fair
Craft stalls, antiques valuations, refreshments, books and more.
'Take A Pew' show 10.30am to 5pm
Evening concert for a summer evening. 7.30pm The Elm Singers

27/06/10 - Sunday Worship
'Take A Pew' show 12noon to 5pm
3pm - Chamber concert with contributions by talented local
musicians and actors


Westham Festival - 19 June to 4 July 2010

Feathered Lotus (2010)
paper, paint, feathers
36 x 39 x 36 cm

Feathered Lotus is being exhibited as part of the Westham Festival
- 19 June to 4 July 2010.
I will be at the church on 30 June 2010 at 7.30
for MUSIC FOR A SUMMER'S EVENING.

For more details please click here.

Thursday 10 June 2010

Private View at UEL, Docklands, on 15/06/2010

Feathered Lotus (2010)
paper, paint, feathers
36 x 39 x 36 cm


The Delta of Venus (2010)
jesmonite, bronze powder
33 x 26 x 22 cm


1st & 2nd Year Show
AVA Building
University of East London
Docklands

Start: 6pm

nearest station: Cyprus (DLR)



Sunday 6 June 2010

2 is 1 - video

Detail of 2 is 1


2 is 1

Click on the link above to watch a short video showing pics of the sculpture 2 is 1.


The sculpture 2 is 1 is androgynous. Depending on the point of view it could be perceived as either male or female. Even though true hermaphroditic humans do not exist, Désirée believes that regardless of our biological reality we have both masculine and feminine qualities.

Through understanding and awareness we can synthesize our double nature and thus undergo a process of inner alchemy turning ourselves into gold.


Saturday 5 June 2010

Next Moving Exhibition - Private View - 09/06/2010

Photo from Private View on 9th June 2010



2 is 1 (2010)
plaster, paint
L120 x W70 x H55 cm



A MOVING EXHIBITION ** 8TH OF JUNE, 11:00-17:00
** Moving London Through Art
9TH JUNE, PRIVATE VIEW, 18:00-21:30
Curated by Antria Pelekanou

Address
10 GALE gallery
10, Gales Gardens, E2 0EJ

Closest station: Bethnal Green (central line)

Exhibiting Artsts: Maria Garton, Jill Tegan Doherty, Kako Peko, Maddy Robinson, Maria Ader, Barbara Rosenthal, Adam Matthews, Antria Pelekanou, David Baldwin, Jay Heron, Richard Alderson, Charlie Tuesday Winner Gates, Graham Evans, Henry Whysall, Colin Hampden-White, Désirée Ickerodt, Renata Fernandez, Adrienne Wroath, Omoniyun Afolabi, Shiela French



Thursday 13 May 2010

A Moving Exhibition - Private View - 3rd June 2010



2 is 1 (2010)
plaster, paint
L120 x W70 x H55 cm


A MOVING EXHIBITION** – Curated by Antria Pelekanou
**Moving London through Art

01-7 JUNE 2010 PRIVATE VIEW 3RD JUNE 18:00 – 22:00

Vyner Street Gallery
23 Vyner Street
London, E5 8NN

Friday 23 April 2010

Take A Pew - Private View on 3rd June 2010

Inner Reflection - male & female (2010)
jesmonite, brass powder, paint
male: h17 x w11 x d14 cm; female: h18.5 x w9 x d10 cm

For details please go to http://www.take-a-pew.blogspot.com/.

Having been specifically made for an exhibition in St. Augustine Church, these two sculptures are inspired by the church’s inner architecture, i.e. by the arch and space behind the altar. A church is a sacred place and being inside it induces inner reflection. The two sculptures’ inner spaces are also reflective and in stark contrast to their outer appearance. There is multiple reflection within this sculptural couple – the feminine and the masculine, above and below, without and within.


Wednesday 14 April 2010

FRESH - Private View on 22nd April 2010


FRESH - First Year Show of UEL Fine Art students


on Thursday 22nd April 2010 from 5pm

For directions click here.


Armchair (2010)
armchair, steel wool
h 90 cm X w 85 cm X d 75 cm

Désirée Ickerodt explores the juxtaposition of opposites; in this case of interior decoration and industrial material i.e. steel wool. The armchair is a familiar household object and induces associations of comfort and homeliness. The steel wool’s abrasiveness negates this. This piece of furniture is holding the paradox of being inviting and repulsive at the same time. But there is more… A ball of steel wool crowns the armchair’s backrest. Is this a cushion or a person’s head? Has the furniture come alive? It is up to the viewers to make up their minds.

Someone commented on the armchair as being 'uncanny'.
This is what I found out about it on wikipedia:

The Uncanny (Ger. Das Unheimliche -- literally, "un-home-ly") is a Freudian concept of an instance where something can be familiar, yet foreign at the same time, resulting in a feeling of it being uncomfortably strange.

Because the uncanny is familiar, yet strange, it often creates cognitive dissonance within the experiencing subject due to the paradoxical nature of being attracted to, yet repulsed by an object at the same time. This cognitive dissonance often leads to an outright rejection of the object, as one would rather reject than rationalize.


Wednesday 10 February 2010

Please vote for me at Saatchi Online

I have entered one of my sculptures in a competition at Saatchi Online.

Here is the link:


When you get there, please page/srcoll down.

Thank you for voting for me.



Monday 8 February 2010

Sunday 7 February 2010

Artists

'If you study a great work of art, you'll probably find the artist was a kind of genius. And geniuses are different to you and me. So let's have no talk of temperamental, self-absorbed and petulant babies. Being a good artist is the toughest job you could pick, and you have to be a little nuts to take it on. I love them all.' (Charles Saatchi)



Conjoint



Conjoint (2010)


metal mesh, latex



The paradox of being connected and separate at the same time.




Thursday 4 February 2010

Giving Shape to a Secret

I am reading 'Memories, Dreams, Reflections' by C.G. Jung at the moment. One of his early childhood memories is having made a little wooden figure with a stone. He calls this a first attempt to give shape to a secret.

I can really relate to this. When I am making a sculpture I feel I am giving shape to an idea. The 3D form can express concepts succinctly where mere words would fail to convey them. The idea becomes manifest.



Tuesday 26 January 2010

Coming Together


Coming Together (2010)
jesmonite, hair

What happens when two opposing forces come together?
A sperm penetrates an ovum during fertilization and the tail tells a tale of what happened.