Bristol Diving School (Bristol, UK): Maps in Doubt
Artists in Residence at Oxygen Art Centre from June 8th to July 6th
Upcoming events:
Artists’ Talk: Thursday, June 13th at 7pm
Visit their booth at Canada Day Celebrations at Lakeside Park: July 1st
Artwalk Opening: Friday, July 5th from 6-9pm
Oxygen Art Centre is located at 320 Vernon St (Alley Entrance)
Bristol Diving School (UK) is a collective of artists from Bristol, UK, four of whom are Artists-in-Residence at Oxygen Art Centre from June 8-July 6th, 2013. In its initial inception, Bristol Diving School (BDS) was a project that developed into a collective with the objective to erase individual authorship of an artwork through negotiation between those collaborating in its conception and production. So named for the building where the collective was formed in 2009, it operates both on and off-site as members of the twenty-strong collective extend the project through national and international activities. Within BDS collaboration is regarded as both method and subject, with all works accredited to Bristol Diving School: the project as the author, the artist. The group works primarily in New Media and Installation. For more information visit: http://new.bristoldivingschool.net/. For a look at their latest on-line project: http://www.p-e-r.net.
Bristol Diving School will use their residency to investigate the cultural heritage of Nelson as a research point and develop their findings into a body of work that questions, distorts and embellishes these historical narratives. By researching local history, integrating themselves into Nelson’s artist community and engaging the public in their process through participatory events, they hope to cultivate an archive produced through a collaborative process that takes on an (pseudo) anthropological form.
Oxygen Art Centre gratefully acknowledges the support of British Columbia Arts Council, Columbia Basin Trust and the Government of British Columbia for its Exhibition And Residency Project.
(Media Release:)
Canada Day: Painting School by Bristol Diving School, July 1st
ArtWalk 2013: BDS exhibition at Oxygen Art Centre, July 5th
Four members of the UK-based artist collective Bristol Diving School (BDS) have been undertaking a 4 week residency at Oxygen Art Centre. The collaborative group has been investing research into the local historical context of Nelson and surrounding area, its unique ecosystem and rich network of people and legacies. This line of research has developed through meeting with members of the community; botany experts, astronomers, staff of the local cultural institutes, to name a few. A localised engagement with Nelson’s diverse cultural and natural environments has informed BDS’ consideration of broader social narratives relating to systems of belief and knowledge, activation and speculation of space and territory, and the role of the artist as interpreter, amateur, fabricator.
Bristol Diving School will be participating in two upcoming public events, providing an opportunity for members of the public to speak with the group and get a sense of the research that they have been developing. First up, to celebrate Canada Day in Nelson, BDS will present Painting School at Lakeside Park. Taking inspiration from a long history of empirical botanical studies and modes of classification, BDS will be examining a selection of local plant specimens and studying their attributes through the traditional practice of watercolour painting. BDS invite the public to join in on the activity and create postcard-sized studies that will be used to initiate an exchange economy within the Lakeside Park setting.
Friday 5th July is the 25th celebratory year of ArtWalk in Nelson. For ArtWalk 2013, BDS will activate the Oxygen Art Centre gallery space with an installation of different works that manifest the undertaken tangents of research. This presentation is part of an ongoing body of work developed by BDS, which investigates methods of processing information and associative learning formats.
An online project ‘Proboscis-Extension-Reader’ accompanies the artist practice and research process of the collective. For more information visit: www.p-e-r.net
Upcoming events:
Visit the BDS booth at Canada Day Celebrations at Lakeside Park: July 1st
ArtWalk 2013 Opening: Friday, July 5th from 6 – 9pm
Oxygen is located at 320 Vernon St (Alley Entrance).
Photo credit: Bristol Diving School – Soopolallie Harvest
