Gothic Pleasures

A selection of my NEVER AFRAID paintings will be exhibited at Emma Hill's Eagle Gallery as part of the group exhibition Gothic Pleasures.

Gothic Pleasures
Eagle Gallery - EMH Arts
159 Farringdon Road London EC1R 3AL

Private View
18th May 6.30pm - 8.30pm
Exhibition Continues 19 May - 11 June

Artists: Arabel Rosillo de Blas, Elaine Brown, Denise de Cordova,
Harriet Mena Hill, Sarah Sparkes, Carolyn Thompson

Sarah Norris' Review of the Exhibition: Gothic Pleasures Review

SUPERNORMAL 2014

'NEVER AFRAID - The Woods' Sarah Sparkes

SUPERNORMAL
8 - 10 August
Braziers Park, Oxfordshire
Ipsden OX10 6AN

Very excited to have been invited to show some of my NEVER AFRAID paintings at SUPERNORMAL.  You will find them in the study at Braziers House.  Look out for the NEVER AFRAID portal above a threshold too.
Nice preview here from The Quietus
and in Joyzine

SARAH SPARKES: NEVER AFRAID

“In the small village of my ancestors, on the Oxfordshire Downs, a legend past down to me by my mother’s family could hold a clue to the town’s pre-historic past …”

For Supernormal 2014, artist Sarah Sparkes will be exhibiting some of her series of NEVER AFRAID works – primarily the paintings. These paintings represent landscapes as they disintegrate from the suburbs into the rural urban fringes; diminishing along tunnels of treelined lanes into an familiar yet uncanny territory. The subject of many of these paintings is drawn from locations close to Braziers Park as well as from further afield in Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

‘NEVER AFRAID’ is an investigation of the stories, symbols and fragmentary facts that we use to try to communicate with ‘the past’; ‘NEVER AFRAID’ is a challenge made on a threshold before crossing into a symbolic, supernormal space.

Uncanny Landscapes and Material Mediums

THE WILDERNESS IS JUST BEYOND THE SHED

Never Afraid 9 - The Woods 

A rather uncanny start to March...

Firstly: Uncanny Landscapes

I'l be showing some of my Never Afraid paintings at The Centre for Creative Collaboration as part of the Uncanny Landscapes exhibition and conference.

The show opens on Monday 4th March when you can also hear me discuss these works as part of a series of artists talks the same evening.

4th-8th March 2013, The Centre for Creative Collaboration, 16 Acton Street,, London, WC1X 9NG

with: Dr Mariela Cvetić, Niklas Fanelsa, Sophie Hoyle, Dr Rachel Sarah Jones, David Kendall, Phil Legard, Luke Pajak, Sarah Sparkes, Annie Stogdale & Roz Marsten, Lisa Tilder

Mon 4th March

2:00 PM – 5:00 PM Artist Talks
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM Exhibition Opening

Never Afraid 9 - Roman Road

Never Afraid. This maxim crops up a lot in my work and has it’s roots in an oral history, passed on to me by my mother and grandmother. I grew up in the suburbs, right on the messy edges, where the new build advanced into the ruins of an old stud farm with its patches of damp looking small holdings and rusting barns. The neat gardens ended abruptly at a line of ancient woodland; sheds were the last out-posts between the lawns and the undergrowth. To step off the trimmed edge of an immaculate lawn was to take a plunge into the darkness and tangle of the woods. Domestic comfort and safety was soon out of sight; here one could be ambushed by wild gangs of children, followed by lone, furtive looking adults or glimpse flesh moving mysteriously amongst the rhododendron bushes. 

Never Afraid 3 -still from a cursed movie I

As a child, this suburban ‘Heart of Darkness’ found its way into many of my dreams and later, as an adult, into my artwork. Over the past decade, as part of a body of work titled ‘Never Afraid’, I have been making a series of small, intense paintings about these transitional landscapes. The paintings are usually shown as part of an assemblage or installation. Their intimate scale engenders a solitude through which the viewer can participate in this private world. Painted with the maxim Never Afraid – a reference to talismans and incantations, such as the ‘Bless This House’ samplers which attempt to project the domestic space against the foreboding of omnipresent danger – these landscapes, both enticing and menacing, banal and fantastical serve as a reminder that the wilderness is only just beyond the shed 

Secondly:

‘The Medium is the Messenger’  

I'll be participating in a roundtable discussion hosted by *Birgitta Hosea at The Lethaby Gallery at Central Saint Martins

Wednesday 6th March 3-4pm

This is in conjunction with the exhibition: 'Making Knowledge: Researching at Central St Martins.

Birgitta has participated in two GHost exhibitions with her peformance 'Medium'. She has also given a talk about Victorian woman mediums and her own practice at Hostings 9.  Documentation of the work 'Medium' is currently on show in The Lethaby Gallery.

*Birgitta Hosea is a Research Leader for Performance and Course Director of MA Character Animation at Central Saint Martins.

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Granary Square
N1C 4AA London
United Kingdom

On Spiritualism

Never Afraid - the mission Sarah Sparkes, mixed media 1995 - 2012

On Spiritualism' exhibition / events

'On Spiritualism'
Swedenborg, Spirit and Art
 MAY 2012
EXHIBITION

artists exhibiting -
CALUM F. KERR - VOGELFORD - KEVIN QUIGLEY - MARTIN SEXTON
MARIANNE WALKER - NICHOLAS JOHNSON - SARAH SPARKES
curated by Kevin Quigley


Swedenborg said that all life has correspondence between spiritual and natural things and these are extended to all objects in the physical world.
"Light corresponds to wisdom because wisdom enlightens the mind as light enlightens the eye. Warmth corresponds to love because love warms the mind as heat does the body"
.......but SPIRIT is a questionable 'thing' / the invisible in-between / the quantum strata / the creativity force / divination / divine guidance / essence of life / punch drunk / omnipresent being / nothingness.....
On Spiritualism exhibit and series of events doesn't set out give an definition to what is SPIRIT - but rather wants to open up a dialogue to question the idea of Spirit and Spiritualism.
Our diverse group of artists / speakers / performers have a wide range of analytical self-reflective approaches to SPIRITUALISM; they have produced works / ideas and expressions within in the metaphysical / anthropological / philosophical / analytical / anthroposophical approaches - all these approaches do hold a common bond where they are looking at the profound idea and thoughts of the identity of self, reality and the world around us.


'On Spiritualism'
@ Apiary Studios
3 May 2012
exhibition/live performances

www.apiarystudios.org

6pm - 9pm

Rhizomatic- Departure Gallery

RHIZOMATIC 1st October – 12th November 2010 by appointment.Private View Friday 8th October, 6 - 9.30pm (free taxi shuttle from Southall, see below) Departure Gallery, 5 - 6 Boeing Way, The International Trading Estate, Brent Road, Southall, London UB2 5LF.




A host of artists showing work in two awesome warehouses.

Needless to say I picked the scary warehouse and hung up some 'Never Afraid' Bunting as a welcome to visitors







Here's how it works - Rhizomatic is an experimental, decentralised curatorial system based on the concept of the Rhizome, as explored in Deleuze and Guattari’s philosophical masterpiece A Thousand Plateaus. This is Departure Gallery’s largest and most ambitious show so far and includes work by over two hundred artists exhibiting in 100,000 sq ft of warehouse space.Selected artists associated with Departure Gallery were each invited to choose up to six artists to exhibit alongside them. In turn, this second generation were encouraged to invite a further six participants, making a third generation, who could then invite six more. This six-link structure was inspired by the idea that all humans are connected by ‘six degrees of separation’. A rhizome is a sprawling, unhierarchical system of connections that are constantly in flux and can spring up at any moment in space and time. This exhibition does not seek to fix the rhizome by presenting it in a finished form, but, rather, it represents an attempt to freeze a moment of this rhizomatic process in the interests of examining its structure more closely. Furthermore, the show aims to catch a glimpse of the creative networks within which Departure Gallery’s artists operate, in order to locate ourselves within the wider art world. “Principles of connection and heterogeneity: at any point a rhizome can be connected to anything other, and must be…A rhizome ceaselessly establishes connections between semiotic chains, organisations of power, and circumstances relevant to the arts, sciences and social struggles.” Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus. This rhizomatic structure has particular resonance in the context of The International Trading Estate, which is a hub of haulage and distribution companies sorting and transporting goods in flux between producer and consumer.
The exhibition will not constitute the end of the rhizome, because a true rhizome has no beginning or end, but is ongoing and unlimited. Each artist involved will continue to make connections during and after the exhibition through the contacts and ideas that emerge as a result of the show. This opens up the possibility of creating a larger sequel exhibition at some point in the future. Who knows where this will go and what might result?
Louise Ashcroft, Curator.
Getting There: Take national rail from Paddington to Southall (14 minutes) then buses 105, h32, 105 or 482 to Brent Road. On the private view night there will be a free taxi shuttle from Southall Station between 6pm and 9.30pm- turn left out of the station and follow the signs to the shuttle stop.For more information or to make an appointment please contactlouiseashcroft@departuregallery.comLouise AshcroftDirector of ExhibitionsDeparture Gallery http://www.departuregallery.com/


Ancestors - I was selected by Ben Woodeson, who was selected by Russell Herron and I need to check on who selected him!

SOLD OUT

I have a 'Never Afraid' painting at SOLD OUT Elastic Residence, 22 Parfett Street, London, E1 1

2 July - 18 July 2010

Opening Thursday, July 1st,

6 to 10 pm

'Never Afraid 7 - Roman Way' paint and glitter on wall paperSarah Sparkes 2009

Sold Out brings together a group of internationally renowned and emerging artists to raise funds for Elastic Residence and The Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. Opening night performances include Martin Creed and His Band, whose music has been described as willful, wild and pushing the extremes of noise and silence. Among the internationally renowned artists showing, Beat Streuli provides an image from his Brussels series, characteristic of his street portraiture that captures the extraordinariness of the everyday, urban experience. From the well-known UK contributors, Daisy Delaney donates work that specifically responds to Sold Out, and subverts familiar images to deliver unexpected messages. The event closes with a performance by Gina Birch & Hayley Newman of the Gluts, concerned with the effects of over-consumption, capitalism and climate change. Artists donating work to the exhibition include Beat Streuli, Lee Maelzer, Yvonne Buchheim, Marie Le Mounier, Marc Vaulbert de Chantilly, Paul Sakoilsky, Daisy Delaney, Calum F Kerr, Cathy Lomax, Dolores Sanchez Calvo, Carla Cescon, Shiva Lynn Burgos, Andrew Hurle, Brook Andrew, Laura Oldfield Ford, Linda Persson, Rosa Almeida, Sayshun Jay, Marcus Bering, Isabelle Francis, Jan Savage, Sarah Sparkes, Tod Hanson, Sarah Doyle, Jessica Voorsanger, Rosemarie McGoldrick, Meinbert Gozewijn Van Soest, Richard Ducker, Paula Roush, Peter Bobby, Cyril Lepetit, Deej Fabyc, Simeon Nelson, Sean Edwards, David Blandy, John Hillson, Dave Hoare, Simona Bonomo, the Gluts, & Martin Creed & his BandWork will be for sale by auction on the basis of sealed bids that can be placed at any point during the exhibition until the closing event on July 18th. On this last day, all bids will be opened and the ‘winners’ informed.Dates:1st July 2010: Opening night performances including Martin Creed & his Band, 6-10pm.The exhibition is then open every Saturday and Sunday until 18th July, 1pm to 6 pm, and by appointment (020 72471375).18th July 2010: Closing event, 2pm-6pm Gina Birch & Hayley Newman of the Gluts will be presenting a Gluts(y) Performance at about 2.30pm.Sealed bids will be opened at 4pm. Monies raised will go towards the ongoing development of the Elastic Residence programme, an artist run space aimed at giving artists direct access to exhibition opportunities. 20% of funds raised will be donated to The Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, a non-political, non-profit organization working to address the medical and humanitarian needs of Palestinian children.PLEASE SEE WEBSITE FOR CATALOGUE AND BIDDING FORMwebsite: http://www.sarahsparkes.com/news/2010/exhibitions@elastic.org.ukemail: info@elastic.org.uk

ART OF MURDER

Seminar in Visual Culture 2010: The Art of Murder
'Never Afraid at Crimes Town'

Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, Room ST 274(School of Advanced Study, Stewart House, 32 Russell Square, WC1B 5DN London)Wednesday 26 May 2010, 6.30pm – 8.00pm

Sarah Sparkes, “Never Afraid – Murder at Crimes Town”A illuminated sign with the words NEVER AFRAID spelt out in fairy lights and pulsating like a slow heartbeat hung over the threshold of a forbidding looking metal door. This sign was in fact an artwork created for my recent solo exhibition 'Never Afraid' at the North London gallery 'Crimes Town’. The sign was both a welcome and a challenge to enter and to explore an exhibition that questioned our fears and superstitions. Part of the work included an installation with a coffin acting as a focal point in place of a TV or fireplace in a domestic living room. I had also created a series of cursed artworks, which visitors could have free but which came with a curse laid on the work by myself and promising 'misfortune, ill health and an untimely end’. The show was going well, it received a good review and lots of people visited and were responding to the questions that the work was meant to provoke - the superstitions we cling to to ward off death and our living fear of this great unknown. And then, half way through the exhibition a young man was murdered outside the gallery’s main entrance. Almost overnight the entrance was turned into a shrine, which grew daily in scale and content. The decision was made by the gallery directors to take down the 'Never Afraid' sign from above this 'real' ritual site and to limit access to the gallery to a side door and by appointment only. Effectively the art was safely isolated and sealed off from the real world, a doorway sealed out of fear or respect for a greater force?Lisa Downing, “Monochrome Mirror: Representing Dennis Nilsen”Perhaps more than any other British serial killer except Jack the Ripper, Dennis Nilsen, a homosexual necrophile strangler, who killed at least 15 young men between 1978 and 1983 in London, has caught the imagination of artists and writers. This paper will explore a series of aesthetic representations of Nilsen, including Dieter Rossi's portrait in oils "Dennis Nilsen" (1993), physical theatre company DV8’s performance of David Hinton’s "Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men" (1989), and the postmodern gothic novel "Exquisite Corpse" (1996) by Poppy Z. Brite. Alongside these cultural products, I will consider extracts from Nilsen's journal and his own sketches. My paper will pursue the argument that the representations created by the murderer, and those created OF the murderer, exist within a continuum. In his journals, Nilsen describes in detail his wishful identification with the corpses he created on the one hand, and his attempts to render them aesthetically pleasing as objects on the other (positioning them, washing them, dressing them, photographing them, drawing them). In the artistic/ literary representations discussed, the figure of Nilsen becomes the art object that is beheld. The represented, fictionalized, mediated Nilsen can be seen to function for the viewer/ reader much as the corpses functioned for Nilsen – as a mirror to an alterity tamed by the processes of (violent, aesthetic) fixing. Nilsen fascinates the artists who portray him, I suggest, because the idea that his project resembles a more extreme, more ethically troubling, version of their own is one deeply ingrained in our cultural imaginary.
For more info on the Seminar in Visual Culture 2010: The Art of Murder see our website: http://igrs.sas.ac.uk/index.php?id=434

NEVER AFRAID

NEVER AFRAID
A show by Sarah Sparkes





Crimes Town 110 church streetLondon N16 OJX

Private view Friday October 30th 2009 6-9pm October 31st - December 6th 2009

'Never Afraid', this maxim crops up repeatedly in Sarah Sparkes’s work and in fact, repetition itself, as a magical incantation or as ornamentation within the domestic environment, is a recurring theme throughout this exhibition. The artists varied use of materials, from painting, hand made wallpapers, adapted found materials and optical illusions, are linked by their implied underlying narrative. This is a reflection of Sparkes interest in what she refers to as 'domestic archaeology', a kind of 'finds processing’ in which fragmentary evidence is pieced together to shape a mythology from what is formless and unknown.

For more information, visit Crimes Town.

REVIEW

Sarah Sparkes at Crimes Town Gallery November 16, 2009by: Kate Weir for Spoonfed

... at the private view of Sarah Sparkes' Never Afraid show at Crimes Town gallery, patrons faced an altogether longer-lasting danger – that of being cursed for life.

Taking as her inspiration notions of superstition, the gender bias surrounding witchcraft and the general public's lust for free stuff, Sparkes created a 'cursed' film and produced 'cursed' artworks, which were given away for free to willing patrons. Artworks such as Roman Way and Photographers' House, are found paintings of forest landscapes and chocolate-box thatched cottages, adorned with Sparkes' 'Never Afraid' incantation and given a sinister psychological makeover with the addition of an unbreakable lifelong curse by Sparkes herself, no self-professed witch, but playing to the notion of women as supernatural harpies and artists as all-round mystifying folk to get her curse on.

The works are part of a larger exhibition which juxtaposes the safety and comfort of home (the gallery set up includes some of Sparkes' relatives' furniture), with the foreboding of omnipresent danger, stemmed only by the superstitious and misguided faith in talismans and incantations. Customised wallpaper featuring Sparkes' haunted cabin motif and a cosy living room setup is disrupted by a coffin nailed to the wall. Viewers have to take a quivering step over the threshold of death to view an infinity box through the coffin's peep hole. It shames me as a critic to admit that I haven't personally viewed the cursed film, or even succumbed to free artwork.

A proclivity for knocking on wood and with Giovanni Bragolin's creepy, flame-retardant, and reportedly cursed child paintings in the back of my mind, the primal fear of the unknowable, and well, cowardliness has overtaken my journalistic integrity. Lame perhaps, but also part of Sparkes' intention, to question why we cling to these superstitions in the face of logic. It's a brave move to make your collectors jump through such hoops, but ultimately the object takes on a legacy of its own, much like Dario Robleto's bone and Electric Voice Phenomena sculptures, and makes it that much more desirable; and that much more irksome for us scaredy cats.