Faculty of Art Cuenca 12-Dec-2013

I was fortunate enough to be  invited to give a lecture on the history of performance art and how I am using performance, with the work GMT-, as part of 34South|61north. The lecture took place on Thursday the 12th of December and was given to a mixed group of students from visual and aesthetic arts degrees based in the faculty of Art at the University of Cuenca.

The initial talk was based on the history of Performance Art, a series of videos by Gerald Curtis my partner in the work GMT- and an artist who has introduced me to the world of performance and encouraged my exploration of how our bodies can be incorporated into an art work.

I then went onto explain the work GMT- and how it is part of the larger project 34South61North. We concluded the lecture with a debate on the importance of different mediums and ways of making contemporary art. The discussion was fuelled by examining the differences and similarities between Ecuadorian and British establishments and customs that exist in the field of contemporary art.

Thanks to everyone who put this together and enabled a lecture that was filled with discussion and varying points of view.  Next opportunity: Medellin, Colombia.

GMT-5 and Zona30

6th time makes lucky…

8 months and 6 performances on I felt great performing GMT-5 in Zona 30, Lima. After various diaries, Skype convercacciones and mental battles I am coming to fulfil what I wanted to through performing as part of 34South|61North.

Big thanks to Zona 30, The Wick and everyone who helped on both ends. Next step is to live stream the performances so that everyone who has been part of and who have been following our work throughout the past 8 months can be there with us as we comment on the mundane and amazing moments that make us human.

Gerald next step Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela!

 

Camilla Brendon, 34South|61North film by Lara Jacoski and Patrick Belem

The month of June was spent in Brazil. I traveled from Porto Alegre to Caceres near the boarder with Bolivia. I stopped and worked in Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Sao Paulo and Rio.

In Curitiba Lara Jacoski and Patrick Belem captured the works I did as part of 34South|61North and combined them with an interview about my practice to make this Video.

Have a look and what they do and get in touch: contact@larajacoski.com

GMT-5 The Shag and Sustainable Bolivia

GMT-5 London-Cochabamba
Performance by:
Camilla Brendon- https://camillabrendon.wordpress.com/
Gerald Curtis- http://www.geraldcurtis.blogspot.com/
Friday the 12th of July 20:30 GMT, 15:30 GMT-5
London: The Shag, Studio 180, 180 Lambeth Road, SE1 7JY.
Cochabamba: 230 Julio Arauco Prado, Cochabamba.

Artists Camilla Brendon and Gerald Curtis come together to make work that enacts their individual experiences in London and Cochabamba. They explore day to day existence and are interested by the variety of emotions and transitions we as people experience over periods of time. By working together live over Skype they will re-enact parallel 12 hour periods of each other’s lives, in this piece each hour will take two minutes in real time. This re-enactment will let them explore the similarities and contrasts that occur between their lives over the very different cities.

Camilla is accustomed to working with traditional media, such as painting and collage and also with installation. She will use this performance as a way to create work with her body rather than other materials. It will be an opportunity to explore new avenues with in her practice and to use her body language as a medium to focus on the themes of existence and culture which are core to her work.
Gerald is concerned with his practice as a method of pulling apart the everyday. Moving from ideas to making quickly, he creates improvised situations which unfold their possibilities in front of the viewer. These pieces frequently use the format of an open work – work that is unfinished, unresolved, or borrowed or found and reworked to arrive at a different outcome. Gerald will use this performance as a testing ground to work across time and spaces in different cultures. He will bring to the work key ideas: language, context, the body, ephemerality.

p.ARTE

This Friday the 7th of June artist Camilla Brendon will be re-working and changing the collaborative piece, GMT- in Curitiba, Brazil.

The work has previously seen the two work simultaneously over Skype reliving each others parallel existances over time zones, seasons and cultures.

Brendon will work alone at p.ARTE pushing her limitations as she enters the world of Curtis. This performance will be fast and energetic, its sure to be a test of her mental and physical endurance.

To see the performance and interview with Camilla click here.

Porto Alegre Artists and Spaces

Brazil stop one: Porto Alegre.

Three weeks in Uruguay came to an end with an uneventful crossing into Brazil. A beautiful sunset and deep orange moon filed the horizon as we sped closer to my first stop in a new country. I was with photographer and new friend Denis Rodriguez. The plan was to spend the next few days at his home getting to know the city and its arts.

Day one Denis and Leonardo, one half of CONTORNO took the time to  accompany me to a meeting at SUBTERRÂNEA where I was preparing to perform GMT- with Gerald Curtis the following day.

They also gave me a walking tour of some of the city and included , BARRACO an interesting autonomous studio, office and gallery space. Operating since 2005  with the addition of  the gallery, Mascate de arte,  in 2011.

Then onto MUSEU DO TRABALHO a print exhibition space with full artist printing facilities and studio spaces to hire. These spaces have not only printmakers but also house sculptors as the space offers kiln facilities. MDT is another example of an autonomous space and offers a membership scheme where for 80r/month or about  US$40 members receive each month new prints by artists announced at the beginning of the year. This is a great way for the space to secure funding and encourages the longevity of artists work and a new generation of art collectors in Brazil.

Four full days of viewing performing and enjoying sunsets over the port my stay had come quickly to its end and with mixed emotions it was time to move on and up to Curitiba.

GMT-4 III at Subterrânea Porto Alegre

Wednesday the 29th of May, performance three between Camilla Brendon and Gerald Curtis this time at Subterrânea and ]Performance Space]

Brendon and Curtis kept the piece’s hour long format, squeezing 12 hours of events into five minute slots. GMT-4 III followed its predecessors in a more abstract use of symbology and props by the artists. They seemed to move further away form the written words of their scripts and more into how they imagined and interpreted the other to feel.

The lighting was low and both spaces were white cube. This has left the pair with an almost infinite pool of ideas for games with light, space and location. This Friday, the 7th, Brendon will work alone in Curitiba to explore these ideas and use colour and time as ways to further abstract Curtis’ London days.

GMT-4 at Subterrânea

Artista inglesa Camilla Brendon realiza performance GMT na Subterrânea, quarta-feira (29)

Acontece amanhã, dia 29 de maio, na Subterrânea, a performance da artista inglesa Camilla Brendon. A partir das 17h, ela vai desenvolver a ação GMT com parceiro Gerald Curtis, na qual a dupla explora as semelhanças e os contrastes de sua coexistência na Europa (Londres) e na América do Sul (Porto Alegre) a partir de uma interação via Skype. Com duração de cerca de 1h, a performance tem como base o diário do dia escrito por cada artista. Os relatos são trocados e as ações são realizadas com base no que o outro escreveu, de forma a problematizar as questões da distância e proximidade dos diferentes cotidianos proporcionadas pelas mediações digitais.

Camilla está realizando projeto autônomo 34South|61North, que começou em março, no Chile e terminará no Alasca. No trajeto que passa por diferentes países, a artista tem a intenção de mapear e ativar conexões entre pessoas e espaços artísticos com seu trabalho, a fim de diversificar esta produção gerada a partir da observação e imersão em diferentes culturas. GMT é uma das propostas que compõe o projeto como um todo, tendo sido desenvolvida em Buenos Aires, no espaço Zona Imaginaria, e agora em Porto Alegre, na Subterrânea. A ideia é realizar a ação periodicamente durante o percurso de 34South|61North pelas Américas, com o objetivo de documentar esta pesquisa artística sobre a coexistência em contextos particulares.

GMT, GMT-4 at Zona Imaginaria.

 

GMT, GMT-4 II at Casa Tienda, San Isidro, Buenos Aires

An action packed month has flown by, Buenos Aires is certainly full of life, art, party and bbq’s. Before taking the boat and heading over to Uruguay I was invited to take part in one more event at Casa Tienda a new space which is open in the North Zone of Buenos Aires. They organised an afternoon into evening event with a band, design, food and an hour long performance via Skype with Gerald Curtis.

May the fourth was nicely rounded up by visiting a private view of new works by two artists, Santiago Fredes and Antonella Andreoletti who I met at Zona Imaginaria working with the Poqueños Aprendices:

I then enjoyed seeing more of Buenos Aires museums and enjoying time with new friends and finally met Nora Schulman a Buenos Aires based artist and curator who runs Ralley art a mobile and temporary art space that travels in Argentina and internationally to challenge traditional art models and bring art to a wider audience. She will be coming to Uruguay soon so hopefully our paths will cross again.

Next instalment…News on The Map Exchange and Galo meets Brendon, along with Uruguay, the arrival!

GMT, GMT-4 at Casa Tienda, Buenos Aires and Performance Space, London

GMT, GMT-4 at Zona Imaginaria.

Artists Camilla Brendon and Gerald Curtis come together to make work that enacts their individual experiences in different cities. They explore day to day existence and are interested by the variety of emotions and transitions we as people experience over periods of time. By working together live over Skype they will explore the similarities and contrasts that occur between their parallel existences over the continents of South America and Europe, in the urban environments of Buenos Aires and London.

Camilla Brendon

Camilla is accustomed to working with traditional media, such as painting and collage and also with installation. She will use this performance as a way to create work with her body rather than other materials. It will be an opportunity to explore new avenues with in her practice and to use her body language as a medium to focus on the themes of existence and culture which are core to her practice.
HYPERLINK “https://camillabrendon.wordpress.com/”https://camillabrendon.wordpress.com/

Gerald Curtis
Gerald is concerned with his practice as a method of pulling apart the everyday. Moving from ideas to making quickly, he creates improvised situations which unfold their possibilities in front of the viewer. These pieces frequently use the format of an open work – work that is unfinished, unresolved, or borrowed or found and reworked to arrive at a different outcome. Gerald will use this performance as a testing ground to work across time and spaces in different cultures. He will bring to the work key ideas: language, context, the body, ephemerality.
HYPERLINK “http://www.geraldcurtis.blogspot.com/”http://www.geraldcurtis.blogspot.com/
GMT, GMT-4 2013 – AN ONGOING PERFORMANCE COLLABORATION BETWEEN GERALD CURTIS AND CAMILLA BRONDON. SATURDAY 4TH MAY. HYPERLINK “http://www.performancespace.org/”%5Dperformance s p a c e[

Casa Tienda, Argentina: https://www.facebook.com/events/341267239328390/?fref=ts

9pm – 10pm, GMT, 5pm-6pm GMT-4 durational performance.