Process as Product - Crafting Anatomies exhibition, Bonington Gallery, Nottingham.

7th Jan 2014 - 04 Feb 2014

Crafting Anatomies placed the human body at the centre of a multi-disciplinary dialogue; exploring how this entity has been interpreted, crafted and reimagined in historical, contemporary and future contexts.

The exhibition dissected attitudes and approaches towards contexts of the body by showcasing visionary practices of leading international artists, clinicians and designers. These items were featured alongside anatomical exhibits selected from historical collections including films from The Wellcome Trust archive.

Organs crafted by silk worms, bespoke jewellery cultured from human skin cells, and couture garments constructed using plastic surgery cutting techniques were just some of the speculative projects that were on display.

A series of talks, demonstrations and workshops accompanied the exhibition, culminating in a symposium which highlighted the rigour in approaches to this subject by the individuals featured in the show.

This exhibition was curated by Amanda Briggs-Goode, Rhian Solomon and Katherine Townsend – members of the Creative Textiles Research Group at Nottingham Trent University.

words -Bonington Gallery website

Process as Product

A film and live performance which was created as a site specific artwork along side Copes’ body block from her Dress Block tryptic (2012). The work explores the hidden processes in Cope’s making methods where she builds directly onto the body using lining wallpaper and making tape. The material is a reference to her early years, when her father taking a job in a wallpaper factory after becoming unemployed in the 1980’s recession, would bring home paper seconds for Cope to make art from as a child. The artwork questions the often lost value and invisibility of the process in the creation and prototyping stages of art, taking if from a hidden act to center stage.