Lonely Image Hunter

About

The Artists:

Emily Marbach – Lonely Image Hunter

I was born left-handed in a righthand scissored world. My mother thrust rounded pairs into my non-dominant hand as soon as I was old enough to use them. She was determined to make me an agile snipster. It took me many decades to kneel at the altar of collage. But once I did, I found an organic connection. Did she know right from start that this was my destiny?

Collage, for me, sprung from a wish to add humanity to my washy, painted landscapes and seascapes. I painted little paper figures as well as London buses and iconic black cabs and situated them in unexpected surroundings out of town. The people found themselves at the beginning and ends of arguments. The buses rescued urbanites from settings in nature. People took the cabs to plot, where no one would hear their plans.

In March 2020, I found myself locked in a home surrounded by shelves full of “vintage” books and magazines that contained images I was saving for a special moment. Covid became that time. My excuses were gone. The shops were closed. I had my artistic task and that was to react. And I rose to that moment, which lasted for a very long time. Will it always come back to Covid? I can’t say, except that I know that the Covid lockdown and the rest of that sixteen months of hibernation changed me from a general artist, who swayed back and forth between painting and collage, into a collagist. Although I suffered existentially with the greater world, lockdown for me was a longtime wished excuse to be chained to my studio desk, void of distraction from friends, urban life and art exhibitions. That solitude and time allowed me to produce a collage every day. This exhibition was the result of that.

The collages in this exhibition, except for a few from my original painterly style, emanate from that period. I spent my early mornings in Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. So, plants and animals feature widely in my work. I don’t know if it was a hallmark of ageing or a lack of other stimuli, but the parks became a source of endless wonder and amazement to me. Going everyday made me notice the ever so slight changes that are constantly happening in nature, even through the dormant time of winter. There are a few bath pictures, as bathing became a great luxury because my grown children returned home during this time and scheduling alone time in our single tub was a challenge. Seeing so few new faces, as out in the world, many were masked and eye contact was reduced to a minimum, I became entranced by the faces in my library. Portraiture dominates this collection partly because of a wish to spend time with strangers again and partly because it is my favourite art form.

This is a great moment for collage. We may be experiencing the swan song of mass printed publications. Photos are taken and go unprinted. Many books miss the hardback stage and go straight to paperback. Newspapers are being read online. The collagist of the future may be able to print high quality images at home. But for me, it would be missing one of the best parts of collage and that is the hunt. I couldn’t gather during Covid but I was able to hunt. Please enjoy the fruits of my labour.

Instagram: @collagenottinghill

Julian Brown and MOOGZ  - Loosewaves

Julian Brown and MOOGZ are conceptually-driven Artists working with Audio, Data and Installation.

Brown’s work explores relationships of meaning between Listening and Environment with a focus on urban and social space. He employs an interdisciplinary framework combining sensory, data and urban practice to interrogate how listening-processes mediate our understanding of the world and inform, modulate or corrupt maps of meaning within urban and social contexts.

Artist and curator MOOGZ addresses a diverse range of subjects related to the sonic tapestry of global urban landscapes. Recent approaches have included transforming data from cyberattacks and associated media into immersive game worlds, sound installation and participatory live performances.

Their work for Slash Arts, titled 'Loosewave' will shine a light on the sound of London and its people, blending a performance narrated by MOOGZ with conversations and moments recorded by Julian Brown using his hyper-3D binaural techniques. The result is an enveloping soundscape revealing the sometimes-neglected sonic intricacies of London.

Their Instagrams are @julianbrown and @mo0gzy