The Degree Show Support Centre

The Degree Show Support Centre - 2009

The Degree Show Support Centre ran for the installation of the 2009 GSA degree show, a week before the show started. I adapted a display cabinet to contain variations of tea, coffee and biscuits, and also made cushions for the 3 booths that are part of the 1st floor corridoor in the Mackintosh building. People could visit, come sit down and were looked after with tea and biscuits. At the end of each day i wrote inside the mugs people had been using, and everything written inside the cups were little snippets from conversations had with people over the course of the week. In the degree show i displayed the now defunct centre with all of the cups on the display cabinet with the new writing insde them.

Travelling Tea Set - 2009

Travelling Tea Set - Train journey from Glasgow to Leeds - Lois Whitehead - March 2009

'This Tea Set was designed to inspire conversation & bring people together.

A friendly gesture, that hopes to work as a tool to encourage social interaction and get the brain thinking a little.

Exchange stories, information and opinions happening over a cup of tea or coffee with a new acquaintance as you both make the same journey.'

- Taken from the handout sheet I wrote for the project.

Travelling on trains is part of my yearly routine. My Dad, Nick Whitehead, is the Leeds district secretary for ASLEF, the train drivers union, and because of this He and the members of his family are entitled to free train travel with a privilege pass. Each time you travel for free you have to fill in a box on your pass and you use this box as your ticket.

So train is my preferred method of transportation on long journeys and I travel down to Leeds every other month or so to see my family.

On this occasion there was a family party on Sunday the 16th that I wanted to attend, so i took the chance to try my Public Art Project out for the first time on the journey down.

I hopped on the Edinburgh bound train from Glasgow Queen Street with my Suitcase in tow.

The train was quite busy and I had to sit next to a woman in a two

seat section.

I offered her a cup of tea, but she seemed hesitant and so declined. She asked me about the project and eventually asked me the question "But how is that art?".

Coming from an institute where I am constantly surrounded by other artists and tutors who accept all the ideas as art without me having to explain why, I find it hard to understand when people from a none art background question my ideas.

I told her that the work was in the ideas. Hopefully that there were questions thrown up about social comfort levels, roles of the care and being cared for. That I want to open myself

up to disclosure and trust of the people I meet. She looked at me, smiled and returned to her book.

So I lost hope a little bit.

The next train I had to get was from Edinburgh to York. I was one of the first on the train and managed to secure myself a table seat with no-one else currently sat there.

Slowly people started boarding the train and sitting down, but no-one sat next to me.. And then..

Two men looked around anxiously for a seat..

"Are these seats taken..?" they asked.

"No, sit down" I ushered.

"Would you like us to move your case up on the storage for you?"

"Well actually, I was going to offer you a cup of tea.." I said as a threw the suitcase open revealing its luxurious contents.

And that was that, we were sat together enjoying tea, talking about my work, their jobs, where they grew up, families, relatives, friends, the recession, farms, car crashes, vegetarianism, ex boyfriends..

We had a thoroughly enjoyable train journey together and exchanged email addresses and have both being in touch to say thanks for the company.

The project will continue, hopefully later this week, as I ride the train to and from central station, to places such as Edinburgh and Ayr..

Images & Ideas : Lois Whitehead

Cup Art - 2009

These are examples of some of the work I've been doing. I have been investigating the idea of creating comfort, and how through the level of comfort people are prompted into conversation and feel that they can open up. The idea of sitting down with a cup of tea whilst you clear your head and relax or coming in to someone's house for a cuppa and a chat was the first way i thought to start creating this comfort level. I started writing in the inside of teacups, writing personal stories from my life as a way of starting the idea of divulging personal information.






Images & Ideas : Lois Whitehead

There are some things you will never know.. - 2009

There are some things you will never know.. Part of 'Beers Barnes Circus' an exhibition of 4th year work in the Barnes Building, Glasgow. February 2009

The Work started as a take over of an empty space in the building, an office formally occupied by our dearly missed tutor Tanya. I wanted to follow on from what I had created in the shutter space, a small haven, a sense of myself. An entirely different environment from what existed before or anywhere else in the building.

The space transformed from this...

 

  To This...

On of the problems I encountered with this transformation was how to hide the private and confidential files that were left in the space before me. I decided to hide them behind a white curtain. but to also label this as being a curtain that stopped you from viewing the confidential information. I didn't want to be dishonest in the work.

The space fast became like a retreat, with the stress of the installation getting to the other members of the class, my space seemed to be the warm and welcoming escape from all of that. we all had cups of tea, sat in the cosy chairs and had chats.
At the same time I was using the space to make and document my own ideas and thoughts. This created a problem and confusion in the spaces function.

Examples of work made and displayed in the space..

I started to focus on the theme of the private/public and ideas about confidentiality. I was having quite personal conversations with people and hiding some other personal information.
I started making a roll of confessional wallpaper, the pattern was one that I had been drawing repeatedly and taken from my wedding dress that I was using as a possible idea for my public art project. In between each section of the pattern i started writing a couple of short sentences about a personal incident in my life. I chose to order them specifically so that the most personal was at the very top where you wouldn't be easily able to read it and the least was at optimal head height, then the medium towards the bottom.
As the exhibition drew closer I began to panic about the room and its overall effect on the viewer. I felt it needed to change. I took almost everything out. I started to play with the objects that created the most tension. Trying to create a relationship between object and material. Hiding personal and intimate details behind pattern.

This was the result (and what existed for the final exhibition) of that panic..

  

I wasn't overly happy with the final result of this, but I chalked it down to experience. It was a chance to experiment and try out a few different ideas, And I definitely gained some insight and good ideas for future work, so it wasn't a wasted effort in any way.

Images & Ideas : Lois Whitehead

The Ex Exchange - 2008

The Ex Exchange - The White Space, GSA Barnes Building, Glasgow - Lois Whitehead, 2008













The Ex Exchange was a projected I organised and created through reflecting on my own circumstances and trying to find ways to relate that sitiuation to other people.
I wanted to continue with the idea of the social as an art event and also with interaction between artist/audience and audience/artwork.
I wanted the event to be accessible to everybody and not just for the entrants, so the final event took place as an exhibition of all the items with their labels so that they were able to be viewed by others.

'The Ex Exchange is an event taking place on the 27th & 28th of Novmber in the White Space at the Barnes Building.
The aim is for you the people to bring along anything left over from your past relationships and to exchange them for other peoples left over things. The idea is to make some positives from what seems like a negative situation. You can cleanse yourself of the old memories and hang ups you have from your ex and to get something new out of it. And to enable that to happen for other people.
The process goes like this..From Thursday the 27th, 10:00 - 19:00, you will be able to come to the Barnes building and drop off whatever item you bring.You will be asked to fill out a small label to be attached to your item telling us a little bit more about it.In return for your item you will receive a voucher and an invitation to join us the day after,friday the 28th, for the actual event.
On Friday the 28th at 18:00 The Ex Exchange begins! All the items will be displayed and there will be food,drink and music.Everyone is encouraged to browse all the items, if you see something that you like you bring it to the desk and hand over your voucher to take your new item away with you!
All items brought will be accepted, nothing you want to bring is the wrong thing to bring. Your relationship could have lasted 1 week or 1 year but we still want you to take part.Examples include : T-shirts, Books, Photoframes, CDs, Toys, Films, Underwear, Posters.. Etc. Anything that belonged to your ex, was a gift or even just reminds you of them.
Please come down on both days and get involved!



-- Text from postcard for 'The Ex Exchage'













Voucher presented to people who took part in the exchange.

Images : Merry Swarbrick
Ideas : Lois Whitehead