Briana McCarthy

Semillero Presentation - July 4, 2024

Semillero is a student-led research group where members present and discuss their current interests and discoveries within their art as research practice. As part of the postgraduate show program, our group led a tour for two invited guests, Hannah Olukoga, Assistant Curator at The South London Gallery, and Gareth Bell-Jones, Curator/Director of Flat Time House, followed by research presentations by myself and fellow students Charles Meek and Owen Herbert.

The presentations were to be under 10 minutes, but I was still quite nervous to speak because I had committed to reading some of my poetry. While I had shared poetry in my work and on my website, I had never read any out loud to an audience. My talk was focused on my recent discovery that the way I wrote was evolving alongside the evolution of my artwork: as the poetry became less manipulated the narration in the visual work became less rigid (read further discussion here). I managed to shake the nerves out of my voice by hyper focusing on the words.

The discussion that followed was lovely. I was congratulated for reading my poetry. Someone told me I was brave. It was quite embarrassing and uncomfortable, but it was nice to get those affirmations. Three of us presented, but a great deal of the discussion focused on grief and questions around how to share such painful experiences. This was, in part, due to shared concerns as Hannah revealed she was a death doula. I did feel a bit guilty, like I was stealing attention, but on reflection, grief and honesty are seductive subjects. When a space feels safe, people are eager to share. Those interested in the honesty bit expressed a difficulty in making themselves vulnerable in that way. I was asked how I did it and the answer was murky. I was trying to explain the need to share to people that needed to keep things close. These feelings seem to be the antithesis of each other, but now I understand each side as different types of protective behavior. I didn’t necessarily expect such a rich discussion, but the invited guests showed genuine enthusiasm for the event and there were student attendees, who hadn’t been to a Semillero before, who contributed quite a lot and joined us for later Semilleros. Overall, it was a hearty and confidence building experience.

Reflection on Salon Style Display

There is something satisfying about viewing work hung salon style. The volume of work is impressive: a visual feast. However, if you have a taste for something particular, the feast becomes an irritating, dizzying puzzle. 

My work, Mourning Jewelry: Snake and Mourning Jewelry: Hand, stands out a bit, as hanging sculptural pieces among, mostly, paintings. Because of, and despite this, I found one piece very quickly and spent a great deal of time looking for the other. I even knew where the, seemingly, missing piece should be hanging as it was neighboring a piece by MA coursemate and sculptor, Owen Herbert. Owen had posted a photo on social media, but even with that clue, it took me a good 5 minutes to track the artwork down. In the end, I found it by the gallery entrance, hung high up the wall. I had glanced toward the ceiling throughout the exhibition, but I realized that was really all I’d done. My focus was at the height of my eyes, then a little above and a little below. So much work in a small space looks impressive for teh gallery, but doesn’t quite do justice for the artists. 

Generally, I’m not too put out by the arrangement. This exhibition was a non-judged open call and they communicated that it would be hung salon style. I’m not too keen on how the chain lies for Mourning Jewelry: Snake; I’m not certain why it couldn’t have been hung more cleanly, as Mourning Jewelry: Hand was. It’s likely with the volume of works to be hung, that there were different people installing in each section: different concerns.

Curation of so many varied works seems difficult, and I wouldn’t have been surprised not to catch any hint of arrangement outside of size and shape, but there is some. My work, in both areas of the gallery, is clearly hung with some of the same artists. If there is a thematic arrangement based on the descriptions provided by the artists, I don’t really see it in relation to my work, but Mourning Jewelry: Hand is directly next to a painted hand. I’m not greatly keen on the bright orange color scheme surrounding Mourning Jewelry: Snake: it feels discordant. In the future, if I know work will be hung salon style, I will submit larger work and give more consideration to the possibility of surrounding work detracting from my own. Some of my work needs space and quiet to be heard clearly, and that is not the language of salon style display.