Make-shift
Black Barn, Cockley Cley, Norfolk
Group exhibition curated by Jo Melvin:
Bernice Donszelmann
Jeff Gibbons
Lucy Heyward
Michael Iveson
Bruce McLean
David Ward
‘Making shifts is what artists do. To make and to shift is equally intrinsic to thinking as it is to the art’s later distribution. Making and shifting are literally and metaphorically part of the lexicon and processes of art’s production. The term ‘make shift’ carries different meanings depending on the nuances of how the words are presented. Reflecting and devising are part of the processes. It involves shifting, or a shift between materials and decisions. The term ‘make shift’ embraces action, reflection and ‘making do’. A shifting eye is like roving attention, it alights on some things but not on others. Concentration changes the focus. In this way the overlooked detail might become a focal point. The subject of art invites the viewer to participate in shifts of emphasis, pointed, alluded… and these impact in multiple ways. Natural light, time and duration, stringing things together, picking, cutting and collecting; objects, colours, materials. Themes and shared concerns surface. I am very grateful to the artists for their direct responses to the situation of this space initially as an idea for the exhibition and to their commitment to make it happen.’
Introduction to the exhibition by Jo Melvin
The Crow and the Pitcher from Aesop’s Fables c.1784
Wood engraving
Collection David Ward
