DIY: 2012 – Andy Whall:  Bouldering, creativity and a haptic approach to landscape.

Andy Whall

Bouldering, creativity and a haptic approach to landscape.

Penwith, West Cornwall
DIY 9: 2012 – Call for Participants

Bouldering incorporates notions of the ‘new’, finding unchartered problems, and aesthetic notions of body movement over the surface of the rock

Project summary:
Participants will employ a haptic approach to experiencing the landscape using bouldering as a discipline and starting point for the course. The second part of the workshop will be a reflection of the bouldering experience and a consideration of its impact on the participants’ artistic/live art practice.

The project will take place in Penwith, West Cornwall amongst the unique granite formations found on the moorland tors of West Penwith. The moorland granite tors are unique geologically and they provide a context to explore bouldering (a form of rock climbing), space and the body. Bouldering incorporates notions of the ‘new’, finding unchartered problems, and aesthetic notions of body movement over the surface of the rock.

The base for the project will be artist-led project space CAZ (Cornwall Autonomous Zone), located in the basement of The Exchange Gallery, Penzance. On day one, after an initial introduction and preparatory talk, a trip will be made to the granite boulders on Zennor Moor. And after a demonstration of bouldering practice, participants have a go! And begin exploration of the ‘haptic’ and the ‘phenomena’ of the unique moorland granite landscape. Participants will boulder and document and record their experiences through a series of field recordings, including notes, drawing, photography and audio.

The second part of the workshop on day two will be a reflection of the bouldering experience and a consideration of its impact on the participants’ artistic/live art practice. Outcomes of this reflection will be negotiated through dialogue, discussion and workshops, taking place in CAZ space

Dates, times and location:
Thursday 6 and Friday 7 September 2012. 10.30am – 5.30pm on both days.

The project will take place on the granite boulders on Zennor Moor with a base at the CAZ project space (Cornwall Autonous Zone) in Penzance.

Application procedure:
Applicants should write an email to [email protected] (cc’d to [email protected]) describing why they are interested in this workshop and what they hope to gain from it at this particular point in time. Please also include a description of your work and a short biography or CV or link to your website. Please feel free to email Andy Whall with any questions.

Closing date for applications is Monday 9 July, 2012.

The artist:
The exploration of the ‘bouldering as practice’ is a unique approach developed by Andy Whall and currently being explored through his doctoral research at UWIC, Cardiff. He has shown his own work locally, nationally and internationally at galleries including Tate Gallery, St Ives, Arnolfini, Chapter Arts Centre, TBGS in Dublin and Banff Arts Centre in Canada.

He has also developed a curatorial practice as curator and director of Art Surgeryhttp://www.artsurgery.org/ He is currently co-director of CAZ, an independent artist-led space and project in Penzance. http://www.cazart.org.uk He is also a co-director of Alias http://www.aliasarts.org

Contact information:
Please email in the first instance: [email protected]

This project is supported by The Performance Centre at University College Falmouth

This project was a response to the DIY 9 Call for Proposals