CoExist: Conversation

CoExist: Lydia

Two spaces, two artists, two specialisms.

What happens when the process is presented as the art work?

How can the two spaces be utilised to explore the working relationship between two artists and their specialisms?

Through documenting the decision making of production/installation/curation and presenting this to the public, how is the dialogue between viewer and artist opened up?

I am still interested in our initial idea of presenting a fictional archive of performative props that also function as sculptural objects but for the NewRed space i'd like to focus on the dialogue that occurs between us in the exploration of ideas. Is it possible to document parts of this conversation and have this in the space either through video, audio or text? Or do we go along the lines of the gun table where we show the process of producing the archive but not the archive itself?

 

CoExist: Elise

If we were to split the two situations apart, I would understand it that NewRed would be a space where ordinary forms of documentation like audio, film and text can be utilized to capture raw data from the collaboration. When this data is compiled in its varying forms we can then try and understand it as art or not and only till then can we start to understand how this may work. I would also like to see or even emphasise how this does not work as I sometimes feel that only until you become comfortable with this aspect of any practise can we truly begin to appreciate the thin boundaries.

The Arts Centre can be the space that we can exploit in testing certain theories or ideas that would have been conceived through the process. In this case I would see "props" as an active part of how we explore the various ideas that you have mentioned above; however I agree in a sense that there is more to be had within this investigation than the simple displaying of performance props as static white cube art. The props are there to encourage us to further explore the boundaries which will mean we will have to consider how we visualise these key aspects.

We are two artists, in two situations, with two very different styles. But it’s not so much about that and somehow it is. I am more interested in what our “love child” would be like. The work need to take on a life of its own in order to either prevent from become torn between both parents (you and I) or becoming a space that houses two very different agendas. I think we are at that stage where we may need to consider this as an interesting avenue, for example we may decide to create a “super” artist as our collective. Or it could be merely a project. By “super” artist I mean a purely fictional artist that we all aspire to become, with their own website, forum, political agendas and stands for things that you and I are a bit hesitant to commit to. But this fictional artist, our love child would take on the aspects that either one of us as individuals can barely think about let alone committing publicly.