2008-09 JANNE MALMROS
Janne Malmros is a sculptress. Talent in this field is hard to put into words.
One of her referees has done it as follows: (She has) already developed an idiosyncratic sculptural language ... and displays a very subtle awareness of materials, form and the varying weights of different "things".
More prosaically but with real commitment Janne herself writes of her desire to act as an ambassador for Danish Art and innovation as well as for English art and art institutions.
Jannes' Report:
The Slade and I
When I tell people that I am an artist, I am often asked what my paintings are like. When I explain that I am not a painter but a sculptor, I am primarily asked if I use plaster, bronze or metal. I do make use of these materials in my work but I also use a lot of other materials. My work is research based and it is therefore the idea that detects the material and media of a finished piece. The materials I use range from found objects such as parts from racing cars and furniture to commodities like plastic beads, neck ties, shuttlecocks and buttons to pewter, plaster, paper, leaves and feathers. I use the form and the varying poetic weights of these different elements in assemblages and adaptations, combined with drawing, screen-printing and elements of photographic processes to create playful, subtle and quasi-alchemical works.
Before art I studied folklore and dramaturgy, but I could not see myself as an expert in pixies, witchcraft, washing up habits across Europe or as a specialist in the "Mutiny on the Bounty", not that these topics were not interesting, but I wanted to do something that was more hands on. Even though I always imagined myself as an artist I resisted the idea of making a career as one for a while, because I thought it might not be academic enough for me but I am glad to say that I was mistaken in thinking so.
The Slade is part of University College London (UCL), which was the first university to be established in England after Oxford and Cambridge. UCL's main building was designed by William Wilkins who also designed the National Gallery. The UCL is London's leading multidisciplinary university, with 8,000 staff and 22,000 students. Over 140 nationalities are represented among UCL students with overseas students making up nearly a third of the student body. This makes it an extremely interesting and inspiring environment to study in. The Slade is one of UK's principal university departments for research in Fine Art. What attracted me to apply to the school was the fact that it approaches the study and practice of art in an enquiring, investigative, experimental and research-minded way. This means that I can combine my former studies and other areas of enquiry with a practical approach, which is perfect for me.
My time at The Slade has been an enormously fruitful experience. The first year of my studies I shared a big studio with my fellow first year sculpture students. The 15 of us came from all over the world. In the second year I got a bigger studio, which I share with an Australian and a Korean. Our studio is one of the rooms in which William Ramsay, who discovered the Noble Gasses, carried out some of his experiments. I know this because a small amount of Radium was discovered under my desk recently but luckily not enough to cause any harm. It is wonderful to think about the history that has gone before me in the UCL buildings. As a Slade student I can make use of expert advice in other departments. I have had conversations with people in the Biological Diversity Department and the Environmental Institute and I have used the laser cutters in the Bartlett School of Architecture. I regularly visit the science library to browse through their enormous collection. The most recent book I took out from there was one on roots. The Slade has a number of workshops: wood-workshop, boookbindery, print-workshop, computer suites and photography department with a number of black and white and colour darkrooms that I readily use. We have seminars and talks by visiting artists. I have a personal tutor and I am part of a tutor group with whom I discuss my own work and that of other students. In sculpture we have presentations every week and last December I handed in my Critical Studies the written part of my course, in which I had to contextualize my studio praxis. In March I had to present my critical studies to my fellow students and examiners. I am pleased to say that I passed this part of my exam.
I grew up in a family that was keen on Formula 1 and before coming to England I had a job in the Danish Racing Car Association (DASU) this prompted me to contact Clive Chapman whose father Colin Chapman founded Lotus Cars. Both Colin and Clive studied engineering at UCL. One day in Autumn 2008 Clive was showing a collection of Lotus cars in the quad outside the Slade to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his father's death and Lotus' contribution to automotive engineering. I arranged a visit to Clive's workshop and residence in Wymondham to source some material for my artwork. Clive very kindly gave me a lot of parts from old racing cars that I have since made good use of.
In May last year I went on a residency with my fellow students to the German Artist Kurt Schwitters Merz barn in the Lake District where we stayed for a week. This proved to be a great way for me to test out my newfound racing car parts and reflect on time passing.
Last summer I was invited to go on a 3 week residency in Crete with a small group of fellow 1st and 2nd year students from across area (media, painting and sculpture) organised by the Slade and Athens School of Fine Art. The residency was called "Utopia Praxis 1968", quite a big mouthful which required some research to get to grips with. We stayed at the Athen School of Fine Art's residency in Rethymno, which was located on a mountain overlooking the town below. It proved to be a wonderful place to work. I set up a studio outside underneath the inside studios in the shade. The residency included trips around the island, documentaries on 1968, visitors, discussions, presentations and an exhibition at the end, which was opened by the mayor of the town. It was a wonderful experience for me, which pushed my praxis forward.
Also through my position as Student Rep for my fellow students in the Slade which has given me a wider knowledge on how the academic system works and I have been able to influence decisions and give feedback from my peers to the academic staff.
In February this year I was shortlisted for the British Land Public Sculpture Competition in Regent's Place. For which I got a commission to make maquette and a final proposal. Unfortunately I did not win the final but learned a lot from taking part.
In May I was selected to take part in "Sequel" a collaboration between the Strang Print room, which is part of the UCL's Art Collection, and the Slade. My proposal was to search for a forest in the collection. As time was limited I only had approx. 3 hours and 45 minutes for my quest. I was kindly helped by Andrea Frederichsen, who dragged out box after box with prints, from Durer to Turner to constable to Japanese woodcuts to an array of Slade alumni. I photographed all the trees I found, recorded where I found them and where in the image they were located. (Just like a botanist would do when observing a new find). I was interested in trees that formed the main subject in prints but also tree in the background in images. Through a lengthy process I ended up with over 120 very distinct trees from which I made an encyclopedia "Origin of Species". Collaborating with the Strang has been an excellent way of studying and familiarizing myself with the prints and craftsmanship of old masters and Slade alumni in an intimate way. The element of discovery and un-expectancy was exciting. The project turned into a hunt for new varieties not unlike that of a scientist searching for new species, medicine or planets.
I am ever so grateful for the support I have received from the Anglo-Danish Society which has meant that I have been able to devote my sole time on my art practice.
A selection of my recent work will be on display at the Royal Danish Embassy in London for half a year from the 11th May. My degree show, which forms the final part of the exam at the Slade opens to the public on the 11th June. At the degree show I will show a selection of new work in different media including animation, photograms, bronzes, silkscreen prints, drawings and more. The animation is made from thousands of images of all the leaves of a tree in the UCL Quad - a very fine and slender Ginkgo specimen - the animation will look a bit like a butterfly fluttering its wings. I will be showing in the observatory outside the Slade and inside on the ground floor.
I very much hope that you will take the opportunity to come and visit the school for this occasion as it is a wonderful way to see what is happening in the art world right now.
With thanks,
Janne Malmros
For more information please visit:
www.jannemalmros.com
www.ucl.ac.uk/slade
www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/seque
www.utopiaproject2008.blogspot.com
