Lynn Bennett-Mackenzie

Reflect/Connect

Lynn — Sat, 11 May 2013 12:01:06 +0000

This show will be on display at Gairloch Heritage Museum from 11th May – 15th June, please look at sidebar for more images of works

Back on the blog…Reflect/Connect

Lynn — Thu, 02 May 2013 08:01:18 +0000

After a few hitches, mainly due to a malicious worldwide bot attack which managed to lock me out of my site for a period of time, but thankfully the gremlins have been gotten rid of for the time being which means I can actually post stuff to my site again!

It’s been a hectic few weeks, working on works for my solo show at Gairloch Heritage Museum next week, paperwork, meetings – including the Creative Scotland open session in Skye – a session well worth going to. One of the good things to come out of the “Stooshie” going on with CS is that these sessions and the twitter feed accompanying it has created a network of artists that may not have come in to much contact with each other – this in itself might lead to better communications between those involved in the many strands of creativity here. I have been following the other 7 sessions and the general hope is that CS will really listen to what is being said and that matters will move on in a much more constructive manner. The reaction has been sensible and the criticisms are generally constructive, sometimes things have to come to a head in order to improve. We await what happens next with hopeful anticipation but it will need work from all concerned. You can’t please all of the people all of the time, but you can listen and react which is what CS have been doing in the last few weeks, it is heartening to see them getting out and meeting the faces behind the work and organisations. The conversations have been varied, and there will be much to take into account – for my part, simplifying the application forms and making the website more user friendly would be a big plus! I think Pat Kane’s blog sums up the Skye session nicely.

Shadows and shapes….

Lynn — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:25:03 +0000

Not been blogging much, but have been creating in the studio, jotting down ideas, and working towards Ceangal 2013 and a show in Gairloch Heritage Museum in May. Met quite a few interesting folks at various meetings over the past few weeks, and a few more to come, some of whom I have and will be interviewing for Two Lochs Radio, a series of shows featuring people connected with the arts in the Highlands.

A walk on the beach, been a fantastic spell of weather in the west, calm, cold, with glorious sunshine…peaceful and quiet. It is very easy to forget just how wild the weather can be when we have periods like this, so best just to appreciate and enjoy it while it is here. Time to reflect on ideas, inspirations, experiences…they all come through in our art eventually…the shape that keeps appearing in mine, refuses to leave just now….

Photos!

Lynn — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:10:52 +0000

Apologies to those visiting my site only to find text but no pictures! Please bear with us, the previous server crashed and we are now in the process of changing to another which has caused a few issues – the gremlins are happy tho! Meanwhile, you can view some images on my Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/lynnbennettmackenzieart

Thank you for your patience!

Farewell but not goodbye….

Lynn — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:09:55 +0000

How fast the days have passed, and so, another amazing trip here comes to an end in what feels like my second home …a different experience this time, not so many miles clocked up, but still plenty of brilliant memories, some new and some familiar faces, invitations to return to visit, work and see some more new places, and hopefully some of these faces will be seen in the Highlands in the not too distant future where I can return their hospitality – can’t guarantee the weather tho….

Working here in 0km studio was a great experience – the space, being able to work outside without worrying about the weather changing at the drop of a hat, access to materials, and the support shown by friends and the people who took the time to come along and have a look at the works. The interest shown was very positive…art should make people think…

A long journey awaits…one of the issues of living in a remote rural area… but these days, I don’t mind travelling.. a chance to people watch -look at the interesting faces – what stories do they tell, and where are they all going..

I will go home revitalised (after recovering from jet lag) – plenty to knuckle down to when I get back, so not much chance to rest…who would want a quiet life

Solo Exhibition, 0km Studio, Pardi, Gujarat, India – 17th February 2013

Lynn — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 16:18:54 +0000

Death! I live with it …

Walking backwards from an invisible yet omnipresent boundary is the central process of these works. Death as an end of a relative time is both an involuntary premise and sapping question that continues to build each works in layers. Each layer whether partial or total is accumulated fear of walking around and walking back from the inevitability of death as an idea.

Every passing moment has been cherished with zest of building, reconstructing and re-stretching both the material and its context. Each act has the subconscious platform to seek direction of a flight that is about to take off. Each act eventually becomes a frozen print of what I can be, could be, will be.

Each act is a frozen Mummy I must re-read, redesign with material that is my home, my world; all the time looking at and looking back from the final and impending boundary of death. Death not just of a life but death and re-birth of all my decisions; my eventual acts and acts that could have been.

The Mummy and its mutations are actually the documentation and ornamentation of my articulated and unarticulated desires. But it must conform to the sizes and shapes of the dominating voices and fears of my world. Everything should be cut down to make a bare cut out form of my truth. Everything must be neatly wrapped and frozen with plaster. The heaps of dried cow dung must maintain its precarious balance in a fast and furious movement of time, all hurtling towards a relative finiteness. The religious strength located in community and sense of belonging is also my burden. My decoration of the given/found material is also its closure.

Lynn Bennett-Mackenzie India 2013

Death! I live with it…. an invitation

Lynn — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 01:51:50 +0000

To Baroda and back again…

Lynn — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:16:03 +0000

A few days on the road – first of all we head a couple of hours south to a small village where The Japan Foundation are in residence – the project being to paint a room at a local school with works depicting Japanese folklore and legends – it will be magical when it is finished and am sure many of the children will spend many happy hours in there.

Then we head for a temple at Trambakashwar, a drive through changing landscapes, from lush paddy fields to mountain plateaus with trees devoid of leaves…waiting for the monsoon to quench their patient thirst. Some of the roads are less than good, and by the time we reach, we are fully rattled! We arrive just before dark (no photos in the temple) and enjoy a wander round some of the shops and stalls before heading back to Pardi – a late night and more travelling tomorrow.

The next morning I head for Baroda – thankfully getting a lift with a friend, a 4hr journey with a coffee stop, we arrive and meet my host – Yogesh Mahida, an artist met through mutual connections & FB. We spend the remainder of the day visiting studios, as well as a visit to his farm in the nearby countryside, and the evening is spent with some friends.

The next day I am happy to meet Dhruva Mistry, (friends through FB) and his wife, Trupti Patel, and we spend a couple of hours putting the world to rights before heading for a visit to Baroda MSU, and then some very tasty mutton biryani. A short rest before meeting my lift back to Pardi – arriving quite wiped out and with a bit of a dicky stomach – probably partly due to all the hours spent on the road.

Today we were invited to inaugurate a show at the B A Mehta Kala Mahavidyalaya school in Amalsad. A bit of judging, speeches and opening , as well as a couple of presentations, one being about Ceangal.

Tonight, rest for me, a lot to do tomorrow before the show opening on the 17th!

Time is passing…

Lynn — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 02:46:59 +0000

Over a month gone – and now playing catch up – with my own work, paperwork, and a variety of other things that need to be done – you always think you have plenty time till it is gone…..so going between the studio and house, and last night a meal followed by a film with friends – this time a more musical base story so easier to understand!

The weather is heating up, I have lost my sense of time and forget it is February…will get a bit of a shock when I return to the UK I think!

Back to the studio….

Lynn — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 15:55:42 +0000

No photos today, the first day without any clicking of the camera, instead, clicking a mouse! Much to fit in in the last two weeks of my trip, finish off and document my works, visit some more artists, visit a workshop that will be taking place near here and also need to work on Ceangal plans.

Some and I have also been invited to inaugurate a show at a local fine art college – B. A. Mehta Kala mahavidlaya, Amalsad on 15th February, and whilst there will give a presentation about Ceangal. So a pleasant few hours was spent browsing through the many many photos taken over the two weeks of the residency – despite the often frantic pace, there were lots of laughs and happy memories!

I had transferred all the photos onto an external hard drive, but, strangely, found many missing when I came to upload them. Luckily some forethought had come into play and I brought the memory card with me, so thankfully we can give a more rounded version of events!

More information about Ceangal can be found on our website www.ceangal.wordpress.com, and the blog www.ceangalart.blogspot.com

If you would like to get in touch, email: ceangalconnect@gmail.com