A Cartographic History of Action

About

A Cartographic History of Action continues Patrick Milsom’s investigation into the genesis of drawing processes, the point in which the everyday emerges into the aesthetic and what engenders the spark of creativity that causes us to make our marks. There is a multiplicity of times in an artworks life; from the thinking, planning, making and exhibiting, each serving as important stepping stones in its realisation. What Milsom proposes is that by exposing all of these times rather than just the finished work, we may be able to achieve a greater contemplation and understanding of the works.

Milsom's practice primarily focuses on themes of time, repetitious labour, and the phenomenology of handmade craft; making performative non-representational and parameter based drawing processes. Each mark is a record of a moment in time. The repetition of marks creates relationships, developing a synergy where the whole transcends its parameters. What emerges is truly unexpected.

Milsom demystifies the drawing processes of his practice, inviting his audience into the intimate unfolding of the drawing, and revealing the human experience behind the mechanical making of the marks. The result is an aesthetic experience that is authentic and honest. In A Cartographic History of Action the artist and spectator connect in a shared experience much like that of two individual marks; the mark of history and the mark of ontology.

Throughout the exhibition Milsom will inhabit the space, performing the iteration task, primarily repeating the final stage of the process, using ink on paper. Visitors will be able to see the labour involved in the actual making of the works. Milsom will also invite other artists and practitioners to respond to the process, either collaboratively
or individually and will present a simplified version of the task for visitors to undertake.

A Cartographic History of Action opens in the project space in conjunction with Make Your Mark: Topsy-Turvy Exhibition, facilitated by Helen Sills and Alison McCulloch, which will take place in the main gallery. As always, there will be a donations bar with ales from local brewery, Springhead.

16 Southwell Road, Nottingham NG1 1DL

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