This exhibition brings together the work of three young artists at the outset of their careers. Although the artists engage with different media and subject matter, there is a core of romanticism at the centre of each which clearly derives from the desire at a very early stage to ‘want to be an artist’ whatever that phrase may mean. It questions who qualifies the title ‘artist’; whether the ‘artist’ is someone who must make art; at which stage in one’s career one earns the right to be called ‘artist’ or whether the artist is the one who must name him or herself.
One thing is certainly evident in the practices of all three newcomers, they take their work with the wherever they may go, be it Paul Chisholm’s travels to collect dust from famous sites, Medley-Whitfield’s field excursions to collect personal or scientific data or Wood’s obsessive notebooks which never leave his bag and record his life and loves. ‘The studio’ is the place where all three end their journeys rather than where they begin them. In their various practices, readymade objects and materials are used because of their metaphorical and connotative values, and their delicate nature allows space for reflection and contemplation.
Extract from press release for the show “ to be an artist “ @ the redchurch st gallery, London 2007 written by Yves Blais Curator
