Franko B 'Woof Woof I'm back" ♥

On Friday the 6th of February I went to the new Franko B exhibition "Woof woof I'm back!" at the Mayor's Parlour Gallery in Bow House.

"Woof Woof I'm back" is the first exhibition of Franko's work in the last four years. Franko is an italian born artist who has lived and worked in London since 1979. His work - mainly performance in nature  - is internationally acclaimed and features in the Tate and V&A's permanent Collections.

I met Franko B a good few years ago through a mutual friend and I was immediately taken by the way his body and his personality didn't seem to coincide. His soft voice was not strong enough for his mouth, jam-packed with golden teeth and his body, completely covered in tattoos and scars, could not have been greater in contrast with his lovely and gentle nature.

I fell in love with him instantly. Well, I always really admired his work but now it was personal. 

Franko is mainly known for his performances. Extreme and sometimes dangerous actions in which the body is the main focus and becomes a space to speak and confront not only his own fears but also ours;  our limitations - wheelchair, cage, catheter etc. "The social body written in the physical one*".

In "Woof woof I'm back" the white canvas takes central stage and the body is transferred on to it. Using wool stitched on paper he narrates scenes of his everyday objects, everyday sex, everyday feelings, everyday battles.

Soft wool, pastel colours, strong images. Forget all you know about embroidery! Franko's sewing is not there to prettify the walls but to raise a political discussion in both the real world and the art world. Controversial and argumentative he doesn't lack the confidence to raise his head above all others. He uses sarcasm to address his contemporaries and implores you to go fuck something in your life, don't we all need that?

"Fuck your democracy", "Fuck dead art", "Fuck poverty", "Fuck heroes", "Fuck wars", "Fuck nothing", "Fuck what you want"...

Woof Woof I’m Back!! is on show at the Mayor’s Parlour Gallery, 1st Floor, Bow House until 27th February 2015

http://www.franko-b.com

http://www.mayorsparlourgallery.com

* Francesca Alfano Miglietti , Identita' Mutanti 1997

Amy Dignam 2015 ©

Desperate Artwives night out ♥

Hello everyone,

Here are some pictures from the Desperate Artwives Christmas reunion and our wonderful Secret Art Santa! (Sorry in advance to some of the artists as I couldn't cover each and every single artwork).

The below piece was made by Chloe Bowles. Chloe's work consisted of a kids orange play dough container inside which is a web address and a password. Sharon Reeve's picked it out of the big Tesco bag that I used as my Santa sack. It was very intriguing and mysterious and we only found out what it was a couple of days later when Sharon sent an email revealing its identity. Sharon wrote "I was bemused! I was intrigued! And I was rewarded with the most beautiful image from the virtual Dropbox world!... It really is gorgeous to look at and is now my desktop wallpaper - giving a lovely glow to all the windows I open on top of it. It's a seductive spiral in a sultry sunrise and I love it."

Chloe Bowles 2014 ©

Chloe Bowles picked Louise Nevett's collage. Chloe - "I was thrilled with this striking black and white image created by Louise. It reminded me of my daughter giving up her violin lessons this year, despite my best efforts, Maya refused to continue - and her determination seems echoed by the confident and challenging stare of Man Ray's model in this picture, as if she is saying 'it's my life, and I'll live it how I choose!' (also reinforced by the 'fight the power' style fist!). A powerful, evocative piece that for me speaks of the strength of a woman - and a daughter too!"

Louise Nevett 2014 ©

Sharon Reeves 2014 ©

Esther Geis holding Amy Dignam's 'Golden time' paint and gold leaf- Amy Dignam holding Esther Geis' 'Alice in Yogaland', paint on paper- Karen Barnett holding Juliet Guiness' 'Fixing Fontana', Stitches on canvas

Karen Barnett picked Juliet Guiness' 'Fixing Fontana' work. 'Fixing Fontana' is a little canvas with a vertical cut in it (reminiscent of Lucio Fontana's spatial concept). Juliet tried to fix the incision by applying surgically precise stitches running up, down and sideways on the canvas. Karen said "I think it's beautiful,leaf like, precious and intimate which is open to interpretation of either... Today as I write this my daughter is 20 and I'm reflecting on her birth so as I look at this it has those conertations too, stitching and darning both linked with birth and motherhood. The pieces that I've exhibited with Desperate Artwives have all been with stitch so I feel very privileged that the only stitched piece in the secret Santa found its way to me."

Me and Esther Geis picked each others artwork. Esther made a beautiful sketch taken from her 'Alice in Yogaland' series. It is completed in purple, pink and white paint. Alice's head is the subject; surrounded by intricate doodles that remind me of reaching out but at the same time also sheltering her. Esther described my work 'Golden Time'(made with black paint and gold leaf)like a moment in the sun where childlike naiveté and adult seriousness meet but somehow don't contradict. Thank you!

Thanks for all the DAWs for coming over and making it a very enjoyable and interesting evening. More to come!

DAW Selfie 2014

The ever so late 'next post' - Back to square one ♥

After a long pause here I am again. It's been a long summer and with two successful exhibitions in March and April behind me things have gone a little quiet. So back to square one - Looking around me using 'my everyday' and my children's never ending creativity to get back to work. Only a couple of days ago my little Dakota came back home from nursery with this beautiful hedgehog sculpture. 

Not only is this hedgehog an incredibly beautiful and intriguing piece but it also reminds me of how simple it is to direct my imagination towards that place in my brain where everything becomes conceptual art. Yes, I still wish I had a studio to go to when creativity strikes but it's ok, I'm back to square one now - looking around me and searching for inspiration. In the past couple of months I looked everywhere for it to then find it again right here, in my kitchen sink. Watch this space! 

Sink Poem Amy Dignam 2014 ©

Pink bath ♥

Amy Dignam 2014 ©

We're going on a bear hunt - revisited ♥

'We're going on a bear hunt - Revisited' Work in Progress  June 2014

Amy Dignam © 2014

Mercedes Ferrari ♥

During the search for new artists for my recent Desperate Artwives exhibition at the Crypt gallery, I came across Mercedes Ferrari. 

Mercedes Ferrari's work is composed of sculpture, drawing, video and performance. Packed with humour and energy, Mercedes' work explores human behaviour and relationships with the domestic space. Using readymade materials and traditional objects, she assembles them together transforming them into unique installations with a universal meaning. 

Her human-like creatures are often shaped as the human female body. With this, Mercedes attempts to deconstruct the social stereotyping of women, such as the objectification of women as domestic fixtures and mothers.

In her work - full of different patterns and colours -  she not only challenges her own sculptural language but also tests our sense of humour touching, on the tragicomedy of daily life. 

Works such as 'La Mujerzuela(The Floozy)', 'The Female Peg' and 'Memories as an Object' really stand out for me because of their simplicity in the making but nonetheless incredibly significant in their intent. 

'La Mujerzuela' was selected for the show at the Crypt gallery. I have to be honest and say I couldn't keep my face straight in front of it. Its bizarre nature makes fun of women and subsequently I could not help laughing at myself. Much more seriously, 'La Mujerzuela' underlines issues with the female body, often seen as a commodity without taking into consideration the personality or dignity. 

Mercedes is a masters graduate from the University of Brighton.

'La Mujerzuela(The Floozy)', lampshades sculpture, 2013

'The female peg, like a 24hrs shop ready to serve',  pencil and peg, 2010

'Memory as an object', mixed media, 2012

Amy Dignam © 2014 

Latest ♥

This is the last week to go and see a few pieces of my work showing in two different galleries in London. 

'Housewife Essentials', 'Golden Dinosaur' and 'Golden Building Block' are exhibiting as part of the 'Wall of Gold' at Cultivate Evolved gallery in Vyner Street, East London. Cultivate Evolved is a quirky little gallery run by eight artists that "use the space as a permanent base to show (and sell) work, as well as to experiment, create, interact and generally use the corner room in a rather refreshing way". 

The other exhibition where you can find my work is 'Down to Earth(with the fairies)' at the W3 gallery in Acton. In there you can find a selection of digital photographs from my 'Monster Mum' series. 

Both exhibitions end this Sunday the 1st of June.

For more info get in touch at amyf.dignam@gmail.com

Amy Dignam © 2014