We have recently gained ACE support, and amino -otherwise known as Ben Pontin and Lee Callaghan – who are a North East based art production company are acting as our mentors.

Convalescence or the idea came about through visiting the National Review of Live Art this year. Whilst we were there it started to feel as though it would be a nice idea to provide artists and visitors with some kind of ’sickbay’ – somewhere to recover and recharge – somewhere to lie down, have a rest and forget about live art! Personally I have always found the nrla quite taxing, and once at the Tramway I constantly find myself looking for escape roots. This isn’t particularly because of the work, just the whole thing – the atmosphere, the excess of chrome at Tramway, the noise, the crowds, the queues, the pressure to network, the “i know that person but is it an appropriate time to say hello” thing…

So ideas charged with a bit of uncomfort began to follow; that really as artists we all need to go to rehab from time to time – to drain ourselves from the inherent bullshit of being ‘creative’ and get over indulgent selves – That all art, not exculsively live art is useless, that artist’s statements reproduce the same old long words and phrases, non words, new split words, two word words that all ultimately add up nothing etc etc… Could all this be researched and formatted in some way – programmes that can pick up how may times a certain word is used, a random statement generator, pie-charts and lectures all became viable options.

So at the moment we are recovering. I am trying to like art again whilst hoping that our collaborative process will mean we can let loose that white knuckle grip on our pained (mine certainly!) individual concerns and work together investigating more responsive works – whilst attempting to grasp exactly what the spectrum of collaboration could be.  Like a kind of rehab.

Fran

www.francescasteele.co.uk

www.francesca-steele.blogspot.com

www.grimboy.net

www.amino.org.uk