Robinson & Reid
Damien Robinson and Walter Reid are a collaborative creative partnership developing works that combine new and old technologies, often bridging the transition between real objects and the increasing move towards expression through digital and online identities. The two artists have previously collaborated on commissions offered to Robinson, with Reid working as 'maker' (with a focus on crafting the visual elements) and Robinson as 'artist' (developing concept, design and content). Our longer-term aim is to develop an equal creative working relationship, rather than being interpreted as artist/technician respectively. While we recognise our differing skill sets, we feel the partnership will be strengthened by a less dualistic approach.
Previous works include Chimerascope, and The Lost Property Office, with Reid additionally contributing to elements of technical development for HOFS-Centric and Object-Orientation.
Previous works include Chimerascope, and The Lost Property Office, with Reid additionally contributing to elements of technical development for HOFS-Centric and Object-Orientation.
Ghost in the Machine 2018
Shape was at Tate Exchange 1-4 March 2018, running a diverse programme entitled Ghosts In The Machine. Invited to participate in this event, I devised two linked workshop approach, entitled "Object-Orientation" with the aim of sharing and showcasing the resultant works. ‘Orientation’ uses light painting techniques adapted for daylight working, to capture individual movement and gesture. Movement can involve the whole body or one finger; it is the individuality that is the focus rather than scale. For this programme I worked with artist Walter Reid, creating and exploring new light tools for participants to use.
You can see the outcomes of the workshop here
You can see the outcomes of the workshop here
Chimerascope: Journey to the Podium (2011-12)
"Journey to the Podium" was a programme linking artists and top tier athletes, aiming to capture the essence of an athlete in the lead up to the London 2012 Games. Essex County Council commissioned artists to work with a paired athlete, and create works inspired by them.
Robinson worked with British Paralympian sailor Hannah Stodel, currently part of the British Sonar Sailing Team based at the National Sailing Academy in Weymouth. Inspired by Hannah's role as team tactician, and the interdependent nature of a three-man crew, she developed the Chimerascope, a series of digital animations displayed on recycled technologies inside a wood cabinet. An optical illusion, creating a three-dimensional depth that would - if real - be longer than the cabinet itself, Chimerascope reflects and refracts experiences of Hannah's training through a kaleidoscope of the shifting conditions and constant change that she and her team deal with; it aims to mirror the illusion of ease we see them bring to competing events that belie the complexity of knowledge and intensive work that underpins what they do. Containing the core of the work within a decorative cabinet reflects the athlete's (often hidden) core of perseverance.
Working to a limited materials budget challenged both artists; Robinson utilised second-hand technologies and outdated software, requiring the avoidance of memory-hungry imagery, and thus presenting a design to Reid that required skilled interpretation. The older technologies ran hotter, requiring consideration of airflow; images below show the riser stand, mesh grid fitted within the base plus 'chimney' which combine to allow warmer air to be drawn into the base and escape from the top. Both artists sourced cost-effective materials; the cabinet wood is actually stained and varnished mdf (more cost-effective than seasoned timber) while mirrored acrylic is used in place of expensive front-silvered glass.
Chimerascope has been exhibited at Gibberd Gallery Harlow (2011), Westminster Hall London, Beecroft Gallery Southend (2012), and is now on permanent display at Essex Record Office, Chelmsford (since 2014). More information on this page
Robinson worked with British Paralympian sailor Hannah Stodel, currently part of the British Sonar Sailing Team based at the National Sailing Academy in Weymouth. Inspired by Hannah's role as team tactician, and the interdependent nature of a three-man crew, she developed the Chimerascope, a series of digital animations displayed on recycled technologies inside a wood cabinet. An optical illusion, creating a three-dimensional depth that would - if real - be longer than the cabinet itself, Chimerascope reflects and refracts experiences of Hannah's training through a kaleidoscope of the shifting conditions and constant change that she and her team deal with; it aims to mirror the illusion of ease we see them bring to competing events that belie the complexity of knowledge and intensive work that underpins what they do. Containing the core of the work within a decorative cabinet reflects the athlete's (often hidden) core of perseverance.
Working to a limited materials budget challenged both artists; Robinson utilised second-hand technologies and outdated software, requiring the avoidance of memory-hungry imagery, and thus presenting a design to Reid that required skilled interpretation. The older technologies ran hotter, requiring consideration of airflow; images below show the riser stand, mesh grid fitted within the base plus 'chimney' which combine to allow warmer air to be drawn into the base and escape from the top. Both artists sourced cost-effective materials; the cabinet wood is actually stained and varnished mdf (more cost-effective than seasoned timber) while mirrored acrylic is used in place of expensive front-silvered glass.
Chimerascope has been exhibited at Gibberd Gallery Harlow (2011), Westminster Hall London, Beecroft Gallery Southend (2012), and is now on permanent display at Essex Record Office, Chelmsford (since 2014). More information on this page
The Lost Property Office (2013)
The Lost Property Office was developed for Metal's On the Line programme linking artists and schools along the South Essex banks of the Thames. Robinson worked with class 8ST at Treetops Specialist School, using a modified scanner as a large format camera. Initially inspired by train and transport lost property departments, the work includes both objects that are special to the group, which they wouldn't want to lose, plus actual lost items from the school's lost property box. The work captures a record of items important to young people in 2013, which may seem as strange and curious to people in the future as we find items from the past. The Lost Property Office aimed to bridge the transition between real objects and the increasing move towards expression through digital and online identities.
Again, a limited budget required creative dexterity from both artists. Robinson worked with Metal's project manager to source (free) timber from their stores, and tracked down a curved bed-head in a charity shop. Reid meanwhile upgraded the original tryptich design to incorporate custom made panel hinges allowing 360 degree rotation. The artists synchronicity was proved by the exact match between Robinson's digital wooden panel edge and Reid's wood stain.
The Lost Property Office was exhibited at Metal’s Chalkwell Hall, during June & July 2013 and reopened as part of The Mayor's Thames Festival, in September. It was featured in the Guardian Education section alongside other works from the exhibition. You can see more in the video created with the children here (not subtitled). |
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HOFS-Centric (2013)
HOFS-Centric, was a temporary installation incorporated onto the former training tower at Hadleigh Old Fire Station between April and November 2013. The tower was dressed in almost a thousand recycled CDs, collected from local groups and individuals, into which patterns were worked, drawn from local references and routes in and around Hadleigh, back-lit at night by a custom-built LED light fitting. Now a hive of artists’ studios and community facilities, HOFS-Centric aimed to be a beacon joining aspects of the HOFS buildings former and current usage.
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Whilst not a direct collaboration between the artists (yet another restrictive budget), Robinson commissioned Reid to make a specialist drill jig, enabling her to drill accurate holes in batches; each CD required four equidistant drill-holes to allow them to be joined in curved lines and patterns. Even with the drill jig, this stage of the work alone took three days, and Reid continued to act as a technical 'sounding board' throughout the project's development and subsequent installation.
You can read more about the HOFS-Centric project here. |