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education programme : AMBIGUOUS SPACES : Catherine Bertola Paper “Looking at Lace”
Intro Before talking about the research, I would like to introduce earlier works to provide background and context to my practice. Past works have involved creating installations and objects that subtly intervene with the spaces in which they were located. Each work is made in direct response to the architecture, history and function of the given place, using materials and imagery familiar to the site. The thread that has run through and underpinned my work, is an interest in traces of human presence and activity, and the sense of mystery and intrigue that such remains invoke when discovered. Hidden marks can be found all around us: fingerprints left behind on the surface of a light switch, dust that collects in the corners of rooms holding within the layers a history of that place, fragments of buildings long since abandoned and devoid of human presence–these are the things that have informed and shaped my work. If walls could talk... was created in 56 Linosa Close, Liverpool as part of the Further Up in the Air project, a series of month long residencies in a vacant and soon to be demolished tower block. The piece was made by cutting around the leaves of the embossed wallpaper that decorated the abandoned flat, and then peeling them back to reveal the bare concrete structure of the building. Spreading from the corner of the room like damp, it appeared as if the leaves of the wallpaper had come to life in the absence of any occupant. I have created many other works in similar demolished or semi derelict sites, with each location being carefully selected for there unique qualities and resonance. Scratching at the Surface was and still is, sited on the gable end of a building that contains within its surface a solitary upstairs wall of an earlier demolished domestic building. By literally scratching through the accumulated layers of paint and debris that still clung to the surface, an intricate wallpaper pattern was formed, that crept across the surface. Through reintroducing decoration to this neglected deteriorating space I attempted to instill a sense of grandeur and importance, suggesting how it may have once appeared during its original habitation. These site-specific pieces have existed as both temporary and permanent works, relying on the architecture and history of a space to provide both material and context for the work. Which brings me to the project I am currently researching for Fabrica, which is a gallery space, and not at the time Frances Lord and Liz Whitehead approached me a space in which I was familiar with working. Although Fabrica is not exactly a white cube, but a deconsecrated church and although stripped of pews it still retains some of the original features. At the time I began discussions with Frances abd Liz, I was going through a process of reevaluating my work. I was at a stage where I was being asked to recreate the installation in different galleries, which became a very dissatisfying and frustrating process. So I began to go back and question what I was interested in, drawing on strands and ideas that had come from creating these site specific installations. Particularly the process and labour involved in the production, and how that related to the domestic and the role of women within that arena My first approach to dealing with Fabrica, was to use familiar tactics and approaches, by responding to the architecture and history of the building itself. I felt that this approach was not going to enable me develop the work and use some of the ideas that I had begun to research. I decided to look outside the gallery and discovered this amazing archive of photographs, prints and painting of 19th century women associated with Brighton. This eclectic collection of people fascinated me not in terms of their appearances is per se, but their individual histories. The women ranged from serial murders, soldiers, academics, business women, courtesans, political and social activists. All breaking the mould in terms of the belief at that time of how women should be, examples of which can be found in imagery and literature, from the time such as the writing of Mrs Beeton and Mrs Panton, who’s texts informed women on every issue from cooking to dress codes, to decoration and etiquette. I wanted to try and recreate these portraits using a traditional female pursuit such as embroidery. I’d already begun to make work where I played around with these ideas in pieces such as Flights of fancy-Manchester circa 1900 (2005). Where I took found photographs of empty interiors, from Manchester City Archive and superimposed myself into these little worlds, undertaking the ritual of drinking tea and imagining what it would be like to have lived in that world. It was around this time, that Nottingham came on board-and Nottinghams history with lace, although it was machine made lace, things seemed to make sense in the first instance because lace is the epitomy of femininity. made by women and for women. The first hitch was that creating portraiture in lace is practically impossible so I had to think of other ways of creating monuments to these women. So began to look more closely at lace garments and designs and the symbolism, history and function within this. With the help of Clare Browne at the V&A and Jeremy Farrel at Nottingham textile museum I gained access to there amazing lace collections. One of the first things I wanted to understand was how lace is made. What interested me about lace is not only the meticulous repetitive process and the parallels with my own methods of making, but the economy around lace, as lace makers were often the breadwinners. I became interested in the relationship between the maker and the wearer, in terms of the similarities ad parallels in their roles, status and how that measures up against the prescribed and expected ideals presented at the time The area of lace making that I am most fascinated by are prickings. Pricked are the vellum templates from which lace is made. They are the skeleton of the final object, the point at which the lace is transformed from the design to the garment, from the hand of the maker to the body of the wearer. It is this transaction I am interested in and how that can be used to symbolize the opposing position of the makers and the wearer. This is simply an introduction to my work and the development of this particular project, describing the journey I have made. The exhibition is due to take place at Fabrica in April 2006, touring to Nottingham Castle Museum and Gallery in January 2007. Currently awaiting the results of a funding application. Catherine Bertola
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