COCO CRAMPTON_

COCO CRAMPTON_

The Minories, 24th February

I was lucky enough to attend a talk given by artist Coco Crampton. She talked us through some of her previous works, as well as the exhibition that was currently at the Minories. 

‘Donkey rides’ which was one of her first art instalments, were made from bookcases used to hold penguin books. The idea of this was to suggest the main purpose and original use had been taken away, and created with a new purpose. She is reinterpreting the design. 

Coco uses many different traditional crafts- looking back to move forward. She likes the use of ideological environments, the visitors feeling led around by the exhibition. 

For her Graduate show, ‘Nomadic Dwelling’ It was all about breaking down the inside and outside, allowing nature to enter our daily lives. Creeper, slow wave sleep and hmmmm were amongst the instalments in this exhibition, representing early forms of communication. 

‘Handles on romance and other girls and also common tongue’. This was Coco’s recent exhibition. A common fabric used was denim and tin. She used tin as a building block- tin is convenient, stocked, economic, factory made, taking something for granted, is part of our daily lives (not desired until times of need). Denim was used because it is durable, treatable,sturdy, desirable. Its a trend but was created for the working masses. The reoccurring motifs in this exhibition were tubular steel units, however each from had a different scenario. 

The 1st room was about controlled chaos in the setting. It was almost uneasy- Theatre or real Life?

The 2nd room was more of a domestic and private setting, withheld suggestion of participation. There was a direction to the conversation flow- much like Chinese whispers. Its a setting you

cant enter but can observe, leading to desire. 

The 3rd room is more of a propositional setting, perhaps suggesting people meeting for the first time, maybe in a cafe. The circular forms become inviting and inclusive. what was functional has become ornamental or an image. The table on the wall now becomes an artwork purely because of its placing.

Coco suggests there are many ways to interpret her work, however there are no right or wrong answers.

Handles on romance- Taking something that has a strong associative quality and function then putting it into another view or changing the use. This makes us question the intention of the piece. 

And other girls- strong feminine associations. Craft, sewing, female designers. Denim and tie dye reminiscent of a period in history- fabric of liberation

And common tongue- Language, vocabulary (tables are very common). Tongue represents talking, togetherness, not for the exclusive. 

colour palette- connecting the rooms together by using the same colours.