Tag: #slinkachu

Hull City Of Culture 2017

MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 16

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 16

I used to think that photographers who take part in challenges – daily, weekly, monthly clearly have a lot of spare time or they are just amateurs not willing to get a proper job. WRONG WRONG!
If you have a meaningful challenge that makes your life more awesome, if you gain something from the challenge, you are a winner.
And I am a winner. This year is super photo-busy, busier than it was each year at uni, I have taken a lot of photographs in sixteen weeks – amazing ones, bad ones, useless ones and a few life changing.

That is my wisdom for this week people

 

Now, week 16 of Hull City Of Culture 2017 has been bright and colourful, and interestingly – I went through some powerful feeling – drowning [I’ll explain].

Highlights/WEEK 16:

 

In previous weeks I have already attempted Slinkachu [ MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 11 ]

I made two sets – one of them was with tiny human figures and Hull City Of Culture 2017 branding and other one was with two silly penguins. The first set was not very successful, so I have to try another location/landmark. I was really hoping that The Deep and penguins will work, as they are slightly bigger and were made as a joke[ish].

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The idea was to celebrate Hull City Of Culture 2017 through something that Hull know’s but isn’t as obvious. The Deep is more than obvious, but the penguins are fairly new edition to Hull. And I mean….if I were to be an intelligent penguin aware of culture in 2017, I would probably escape too.
It was very funny, typical me – I was not prepared so my set was about to be swept into River Humber. As I was struggling, a nosy stranger [took pictures of me taking pictures of the penguins] offered to help.
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The result is pleasing.
I am shifting off slightly from the meaning behind Slinkachu, or just having some perspective problems. But I am still happy. happy me, happy penguins and maybe this will inspire other people in  a strange way.

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The Raft of Medusa  – CLEAN, CRISP AND CLEVER

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The quality standards of exhibitions in Hull have grown and like most of the people, I have high expectations. And The Raft of Medusa was a pleasure to engage with and look at. The artists have maintained a lot of detail and even the smells….beautiful. And really suits the nature of the Humber Street Gallery.

 

Somewhere Becoming Sea – goose pump[ing] experience

 

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Interesting interpretation of the bond between human and the sea, especially Hull’s longstanding prominence as a gateway to the North Sea and beyond. Again – beautifully represented. One of the installations really gave me goose pumps. I was looking at something that felt like men on ships in the sea going through something terrible..I am not sure. The big screen, darkness and the sound dragged me into the feeling that I am there and I am just about to drawn. Scary and fascinating at the same time. I had to have 3 minutes of deep breaths and conversation with one of the volunteers, to feel like I am okay.

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Another installation looked at the ever-changing boundaries between land and sea. We all hear about this, but not many of us have the chance to see the real “change”. The land is shrinking and the powerful sea is biting of bits of, what we think is ours. In reality we are all guests on planet earth and the real boss is the Mother Nature. The video was super realistic, it dragged me into the devastating feeling that the land is disappearing in front of me.
The photograph and description does not give the justice to the installations, so I really recommend to see this yourself.

Here is a link to read more about the artists, influences:
OUT TO SEA – EXPLORING HULL’S FASCINATION WITH WATER

 

Re-Made in Hull at the ScrapStore.

First of all, this was so exciting that I even considered to have a separate blog post. But heey – time is money and I haven’t got both at the moment.

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Re-Made in Hull is a series of educational craft workshops. Set in a pretend factory environment, it is designed to inspire families to make a difference to their community through increased environmental awareness.

yesyesyes. As I arrived early I went through the fantastic shop. I was like a kid in the candy shop. Really recommend this place if you are feeling a bit dull need cheering up. The stuff that they have will put a smile on your face and will inspire you to do a bit of crafting.

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At the beginning of the workshop creation bit, we had a lovely intro and health&safety induction with the lovely artists working there and running the workshops.

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No glue and no boundaries of what you can create.

I am not a the best in crafts, but I thought I’ll give it a go. And I brought Melanie with me, the 10 year old lady who has been cultured multiple time now.

She was about to make a blue sheep and I decided to make a robot.

There was a lot of people – most of them parents with children. A great way how to spend Saturday morning.

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The workshop was really, really fun. There was a lot of excitement, creativity and laughs. Each kid had different ideas, parents joined in and the artist helped to execute great ideas.
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I promised the artists from the workshop to give 10/10 for the whole experience. I have changed my mind – 11/10.

Also, this was the last workshop as part of the Re-made in Hull, but fingers crossed ScrapStore gets more funding to continue.

As you can see I had a busy week. And I will have even busier next few, so keep your eyes peeled.

P.S.
During the week I also visited town centre in hunt for daffodils, which off course weren’t there. But I have managed to get to awesome children to show off theirs. There will be an artwork coming next week regards that.

Hull City Of Culture 2017

MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 11

by anetesooda1 Comment on MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 11

Week 11 of my challenge being involved in Hull City Of Culture 2017 started off with a little panic – the work load glued me to the computer screen during the days, so how can I go out and be part of the celebration??
Also, the sudden reminder that The Blade is moving on Sunday, made me realise that the unfinished Slinkachu project must be executed this week.

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I finished off the set, little worried of how I am going to get two fragile sets in town.

My aim was to photograph these sets of Slinkachu and Hull City Of Culture 2017 [home-made] flags near The Blade. I’ll explain my reasons later in the post.

 

On Thursday however, I had a meeting in town so to be efficient, I decided that I finally want to visit HIP Gallery in Princess Quay and Hullywood Icons exhibition. There has been a lot of excitement about the exhibition, so I had to see the execution of photographs by Quentin Budworth .

Also, I got Oliver Fisher [very wise man and my accountant/marketing adviser] cultured.

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I have mixed feelings about the exhibition. First, the idea is really good, I like that local “celebs” and “known” people are involved and have been turned into these fantastic characters. The project is about Hull, about the world around us.

But then, I am slightly disappointed about the photographic and editing quality. Photographs are lacking professional quality and post-production on few are quite dreadful [like the one above]. I understand that everything is about the content and we celebrate…but everything from the idea to the end result should be 100% quality.
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Why on earth would you edit this together, if it is a lot more easier to do in real life. It is funny and a bit sad at the same time.

The other problem I had was the information about how the final photographs come together.
Instead if Quentin coming up with the idea of the movie, theme, characters and location/props, he asks to do all this to the people wanting to be part of the project and he just turns up with the camera.

The hype around the artist made me think that the whole thing is set up by the artist, I guess I just have to read in between the lines next time…

Overall, 6 out of 10. Great to see people involved and the ideas in each photograph.

Whilst in the gallery, I had a quick chat with the Creative and Cultural Company volunteers about the upcoming events, exhibitions [need to be informed at all times].

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On our way to the exhibition I approached a familiar face of a Hull City Of Culture 2017 volunteer to make sure I know the exact date/time of The Blade leaving Queen Victoria Square.

It was lovely that she remembered me from another event I went to few weeks ago. When I asked if she could spare a smile, she was more than happy to have her picture taken.
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The same Thursday morning I walked down the  Whitefriargate and Preston Likely’s Amuse Agents – Hull’s Premier Inconvenience Store

I was there on the WEEK 1  of my challenge, but I wanted to have a second look during the day.
Sometimes exhibitions and other art events have to be seen twice to have a complete understanding.

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People still stop by and have a sneaky look. Maybe because some of the posters/photos/adverts are hard to believe or are too bizarre to be true.

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The installation is very much Hull and it feels comforting in a strange way. Sense of unity and a whole…

I don’t really walk through Whitefriargate that often, the shop windows have changed. Years ago it was busy shopping area, but now it is kind of dead.

There a lot of promises given, by the looks of it, so hopefully the area will get its charm back soon.

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There is more…as I was passing the Queen Victoria Square multiple times, I was lucky to see the Roots&Routes season POPPIES: WEEPING WINDOW installation being set up.

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I was trying to get the Hull Maritime Museum in the frame, I climbed on top of the men’s loos, near the monument just opposite the building. Being there for two minutes gives me an opportunity to watch people from above and ohh, there was a few characters.

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This guy was completely from 90’s with his sunglasses/glasses – the ones that you can flop. haha.

SATURDAY.

On Saturday I neatly packed my Slinkachu sets and headed in town.

I draw a lot of attention from the public and volunteers, as they wanted to know what is going on.

One of them kindly tried to help me with the execution.

 

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Sadly there was problems.
The first one was the equipment – 24-70 mm 2.8 and 85 mm 1.8 did not cope with the small set.
My phone camera [Huawei Leica] did a much better job.
I will have to get my hands on a macro lens to be able to photograph this properly. In the past I have tried Slinkachu technique, but with much bigger figures, so I was kind of expecting the failure, but hoped that I will find a compromise.

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The reason why I wanted to create this is to express how I feel around The Blade – I feel small and being put on a scale. The Blade is fascinating piece of structure [art now] and no one can pass it without feeling something.

I also struggled to position the set, so that it looks like real life [the whole idea behind Slinkachu], I was even on my knees in the square.

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The plan did not work, but I have kept the sets and will find a way how to make this work.
I also have another set for a attraction point in Hull, so keep your eyes out for that.

 

SUNDAY.

 

On Sunday I walked down to Humber Street Market. My purpose was to photograph a lovely family business BLOSSOM’S BAKERY stall and try their gluten free, vegan cakes and other sweet things.

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Such a lovely lady/family, everything made with love and I wish them the best luck in succeeding.

Off course, I spent a bit more time and money in the market.
But I have to say, that Hull now has a regular socialising place and if you are super bored at home, you have an opportunity to get out and do something.

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Last but not least, I visited the Female Gaze exhibition at the Kingston Art Group Gallery and spent QUALITY TIME with Anna Bean.
She got me and Melanie THE KID cultured, along with other artists featured in the exhibition. We chatted about the meaning of female gaze, about narcissism and how complicated art can be.

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As you can see I have been here, there and everywhere, bringing you the most random combination of Hull City Of Culture 2017 so far.

Until writing the finishing lines to this post, I did not realise how much I’ve managed to pack in this week.

I will see you next week with more exciting stuff.

Love

Anete Sooda

Hull City Of Culture 2017, Uncategorized

MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 7

by anetesooda1 Comment on MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 7

At the start of the week 7 of the City Of Culture 2017 I was thinking of taking it steady – stay at home, make my Slinkachu City Of Culture set  [read more about what is Slinkachu here: Slinkachu.com Street Installations and Photography] and watch BBC 2 Welcome to Hull presented by Hull-born comedian Lucy Beaumont.

But things turned out a bit different as the week progressed.

I started the Slinkachu, first testing the tiny people figures near The Blade  to see the scale and if I have the right lens to capture the installation.

It was fascinating to admit that I kind of feel like those tiny humans when I am near The Blade.

At home I designed City Of Culture 2017 branded flags, set up a rough idea of how I am going to work this crazy idea.

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Work in progress, cos the figures are very tiny and I have to be sure that I know what I am doing before start super-glue them to the base.

On Friday I decided to visit the good old Hull School of Art&Design. It’s not only the place that changed my life, but funny enough – a spot on the City Of Culture 2017 map, hosting an exhibition in the downstairs area, plus an display of abstract architecture prints by imagesaremoments.

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Sunday and the weather inspired me to get out and get cultured. I had three people with me, so we headed down Humber Street and Fruit Market.

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Last time I had to miss out on Humber Street Gallery, cos the child and the content was not the mixture to go for.

First, on the ground floor I rushed to see Sarah Lucas Power in Woman display, mainly because of the combination of colours and capacity of the place/sculptures. And I was stopped by a volunteer, cos no photographs allowed.

 

Really?

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Do I understand the cigarettes in the holes, do I understand why one of the sculpture was placed on a massive freezer…NO AND NO. But there was something about the roughness and boldness of these sculptures. It feels like they have been made by a man and is that the whole point?

Upstairs – COUM TRANSMISSIONS. The exhibition of materials drawn from the personal archives of Cosey Fanni Tutti and Genesis P-Orridge.

Founded in Hull during the late 1960s by artists Genesis P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti, COUM Transmissions was a collective whose work confronted, subverted and challenged societal conventions.

Labelled ‘the wreckers of civilisation’ by a Conservative MP following COUM’s Prostitution show at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts, the group’s end in 1976 heralded the formation of the musical collective Throbbing Gristle.

[Source: https://www.hull2017.co.uk/whatson/events/coum-transmissions/]

 

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For what I gathered  – COUM has been quite challenging for the society to understand and accept, but there it is many years later  – exhibited for people to apply another value to the work they did. Have we changed since the 1970’s?

I might have to get there another time, because I was unable to soak it in straight away.

People viewing the work certainly had something to discuss throughout and after.

 

Last but not least – Humber Street Gallery  top of the roof deck. AMAZING.

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The location and the opportunity to have this view accessible is what Hull needed. And thank you for making my day. It was beautiful.

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Overall I have to say that I am so happy to see that Humber Street and the Docks are buzzing, full of life and people are getting some sense of old and new binding together, creating today.

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Every single thing has been thought out/about, even to the tiniest detail and are giving people an opportunity/reason to get out, get some fresh air, get to know Hull and most importantly – GET CULTURED, COS CITY OF CULTURE.

 

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.

Hull City Of Culture 2017, Uncategorized

MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL- WEEK 4

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL- WEEK 4

Welcome to a reflection of one of the less – cultural Hull 2017 week so far.

This week has been more about reflecting my challenge and photography content, working on other photography jobs and planning.

 

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This photograph is a view from Princess Quay, in a distance you can spot one of the City Of Culture installations ‘I Wish To Communicate With You’  initial concept by Italian artist Silvio Palladino.

The installation has involved the majority of the Thornton Estate’s 600 residents, living in 240 homes.

This photograph is part of my future involvement in City Of Culture and planning my next material.

I have planned some serious “culture stuff”, so here is the list below:

  • I will be creating City Of Culture Slinkachu [read more about what is Slinkachu here: Slinkachu.com Street Installations and Photography]
    I have tried Slinkachu in my second year at Uni, so I DEFINITELY KNOW WHAT I AM DOING – NOT.  I am waiting for my “little” people to arrive and in the meantime, preparing props and planning locations.
  • I am planning to meet up with City Of Culture Volunteers. All the volunteers involved in City Of Culture are so important, so I want to hear their stories and celebrate the work they do. This was to happen this week, but volunteers are very busy, so I am patiently waiting.
  • I am planning to visit Lines of Thought – A British Museum Touring Exhibition at Hull University and see the history for myself. I have discussed the exhibition with other “cultured” people that have seen it and apparently is a moment to be appreciated.
  • One of the really interesting things not just to photograph, but get involved in definitely is RE-MADE IN HULL in ScrapStore Community Centre Hall, Hull. For this one me [and you] need to book your attendance
    [link here: http://scrapstorehull.co.uk/Hull2017/]
    I am thinking about 4th of February, so it could be awesome if someone would like to join me. Free lift to and from location available upon request :)
  • All things Hull History Centre and Revolutionary Makers Workshop
    The main focus will be to get there in general, have a look at “Hull Characters” exhibition.

 

more to come….