Fighting to build, fighting to save. Zaha Hadid at Vitra & John Madin in Birmingham.

Just a couple of weeks ago I made an exciting trip to Basel, Switzerland. Not only was I delivering "Bettina" to her new home but the trip was also great opportunity to see some inspirational architecture.

Back in 2007 I contacted curators at the Vitra Design Museum when I was researching Mary Little. They have one of her chairs in their renowned furniture collection.

This year while in Basel it was an easy journey to Weil am Rhein to visit the museum.

In 1981 there was a serious fire on the Vitra manufacturing site. But every cloud has a silver lining and for architecture lovers the reward has been that the company directors decided to give architectural commissions to world class architects. They decided to make a serious statement and to use architecture to “imbue the site with vitality and a distinctive identity”.

This ambition is really paying off as now 20 years later the name Vitra is even more synonymous with forward thinking design and adventurous spirit.

The Vitra museum is a Mecca for architecture lovers and there are three architecture tours each day. As provenance would have it although the museum had more than a hundred students visiting on the day of my visit I was the ONLY person on my tour.

I had my own personal guide (Muriel Cappelaere).

On site there are buildings by:

• Sir Nicholas Grimshaw (The first building to be commissioned after the fire)
• Frank O. Gehry (His first European Commission 1989)
• Alvaro Siza
• Buckminster Fuller (original dome with a new skin)
• Jean Prouvé (a small petrol station)
• Zaha Hadiid (Her first ever design to be built 1993)
• Tadao Ando
• And now Herzog & de Meuron (The Vitra House)

One of the stories that Muriel told me was the one behind Zaha Hadid’s Fire Station commission. Although possibly a myth I feel that the story is worth repeating.

Apparently Hadid had actually visited Vitra with proposals for a chair design. These were turned down but back in her hotel room after the meeting Zaha Hadid (an ambitious and driven women who believes in her worth) drew up some initial sketches for a fire station.
A beautiful and useful piece of architecture…..

I love this story because it’s a great example of how rejection can be the catalyst for a lot of creative energy. To realise ambition you need energy and lots of ideas. Necessity is the mother of invention….

Zaha Hadid has had to fight extremely hard to have her designs accepted. A prime example of this was her experience of winning the competition to design the Cardiff Bay Opera House (1994) only to have it rejected by the people of Cardiff. A second competition was run which Hadid entered and yet again she won the competition but again failed to overcome the opposition of the public. The project was abandoned by the Millennium Commission.

She is a fantastic example of someone who will push and push to succeed. She hasn’t dumbed down her designs but she has had to learn the politics of how to get her work built. She has ambition and she believes in her work. She is definitely the sort of person to take inspiration from.

So Zaha Hadid has had to fight to have her buildings built. But imagine how much worse it must be to have been a successful architect; to have had hundreds of buildings commissioned all over the world for now in your 80’s to have to fight to save them from the bulldozer?

This is the situation that John Madin, architect of many public buildings in Birmingham now finds himself in.

I moved to Birmingham from Edinburgh back in 1984. Birmingham is my adopted city and I am really quite proud of it.

BUT I am so sad and so disappointed that the city planners can’t keep just one piece of Brutalist architecture.
They have already demolished two of Madin’s Birmingham buildings the Post and Mail building and BBC Pebble Mill Studios. Now they are going for the Central Library.

Like Marmite you either love the building or you hate it. Unlike Prince Charles I happen to love it and have done so ever since I first saw it back in 1984.

I have zig-zagged up the narrow escalators; to study, to research, to read and to use the (yes now scruffy toilets). I have enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere.
Even Alan Yentob had to admit that the space is full of light and really quite enchantingly atmospheric. Not his exact words but he said something similar, before deciding that it still should go! (BBC documentary 2008/2009).

Like Olivier Ruellet I too am an artist who is, “concerned with the emotions brought about by memories and the experience of places” and am also fascinated by the "wanderings of our minds".

Olivier Ruellet talks of inner journeys or ‘in-scapes’ I talk of the ‘place’ I have named “Frillip Moolog”.

But isn’t the fact that it was the first post war civic building to be built from concrete not enough to save it?…sadly not.
Now, in his 86th year, celebrated architect John Madin will have to watch as his Birmingham Central Library building is destroyed.
On 29th November 2009 Culture Minister Margaret Hodges announced her decision to overrule English Heritage’s proposal that the library should be awarded Listed Building status.

My question is-
Having fought so hard to have her designs built, what lengths would Zaha Hadid go to to save one of her own buildings from the bulldozer? How would she react if, within her lifetime, they are deemed of less importance than a city’s redevelopment plan?

Birmingham timelapse from 7inch cinema on Vimeo.

Although Madin’s design for the Central Library was never fully realised the building has inspired many artists. Michelle Lord and Katharina Grosse being just two.

Above image from Ikon Gallery website. Katharina Grosse painting on Birmingham Library building 2002.

The National Theatre on London's Southbank is one of Britain's most famous Brutalist buildings. The Queen Elizabeth Hall is also part of the Southbank Centre and here the council have taken an enlightened approach to buildings and how we interact and use them decades after they have been built. By giving permission to Graffiti Artists and skateboarders to use the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s Southbank as a canvas then they have helped to pass on ownership of the space below the building to future generations.

I wonder if Zaha Hadid could tolerate these forms of artist interaction on any of her buildings?

Giving my CV a Boost by Exhibiting alongside van Gogh at the New Art Gallery Walsall

How far will an artist go to get his or her work exhibited in the right place? What is the right place?

Will saying that I have exhibited alongside a priceless van Gogh drawing in a top UK gallery actually affect how my art is seen? Will it make curators take me more seriously?

Ania Bas was artist in Residence at The New Art Gallery Walsall during the summer of 2009.
There is an interview between her and Helen Jones Exhibitions Curator in the Dec 2009/Jan2010 issue of Artist Newsletter magazine. In it Ania says,

“I call what I do collaborative art. When asked what it means I say that I am working with people, not with canvas”.

The Artists’ CV Boost event took place on Saturday 5th December. It was part of The Weekend Supplement and was just one of the outcomes of Ania’s residency.

Various alternative gallery tours also took place during the weekend of 4-6 Dec. Tours such as; Speed Tours (the whole gallery in 15 minutes), Tours where the public found out more about the Gallery Attendants and tours where the focus was on the view out of the various Gallery Windows. These unusual tour ideas had all been suggested in the course of various conversations (over cups of tea and home baked cakes) that Ania had with hundreds of visitors and all types of staff at the gallery (attendants, curators, technicians and cleaners) during her summer residency.

This excerpt from the Weekend Supplement Brochure explains more about the Artists' CV Boost,

“During my time at the gallery I met a lot of artists. We talked about how difficult it is to show work in good company and how very few artists get to exhibit in great gallery spaces, such as the one we were sitting in.We started talking about solutions; ways that the process of showing work could be more democratic and truly open to everybody. The artists I talked to did not moan, instead, they wanted to do something about it! This is how the Artists CV Boost idea came to life. It is a chance for 24 artists to show their work next to a van Gogh drawing for exactly one minute and instantly improve their CVs. There is no guarantee of fame, recognition or an instant job/commission offer. There is however, hope that showing next to van Gogh will raise questions about explored themes, the quality of the finish and the impact works have on each other when positioned in such close proximity. A minute long exhibition versus the reproductive abilities of the digital picture.”

I jumped at the chance to be part of this project. I happen to live less than 10 miles away but more importantly I really love this gallery, admire the quality of exhibitions and events that take place there and would like to be more involved with it.

I am a great admirer of the work of Nina Saunders and first saw her installation Making Love to Flowers in 1998 when it was exhibited in the old art gallery in Walsall. It has since been shown in the window of the new Gallery.

When the gallery first opened almost 10 years ago I was excited by an early piece by Laura Ford. I felt so inspired by the audio interview with Laura talking about her memories of growing up in a fairground family and of playing in the empty zoo enclosures on her grandfather's farm (it was an old disused Zoo).

"Beast" by Laura Ford is exhibited in the Children's Centre of the New Art Gallery Walsall.

The Artists' CV Boost Event was fun for me. I met other artists, many of whom had travelled up from London for the event but much more importantly it helped me to feel another step closer to exhibiting in a gallery which I have grown to love and which regularly hosts shows by artists who really are movers and shakers in the contemporary art world.

The piece that I decided to exhibit alongside van Gogh’s "Sorrow" is a piece called "Flight". I made it back in 2002 and chose it simply as it is one of the few pieces of 2D art that I have made. Ania had stipulated that all artworks had to be able to hang on one nail.

For "Flight" I assembled Airfix model aeroplanes and then painted them with selected butterfly and moth markings. A very meticulous and time consuming piece of art. But I get such a lot of pleasure from opening the case (which I also made) and inhaling deeply. The smell of the varnish takes me straight back to the day that my dad made a farm set for my brother. The glue and varnish smell is etched in my memory. A Frillip Moolog moment?

On reflection I think that a more symbolic piece might have been this self portrait. An even older piece but one which would have had much more meaning when placed alongside "Sorrow".

My self-portrait was one of several made during a period of recovery after a serious accident and period of depression. This might be the piece that would have interested van Gogh too?

Thanks to Ania Bas and Helen Jones for thinking outside the box and for facilitating an event which has stimulated much more food for thought than I first expected.

This is the photograph that I used to make my self portrait. Images were printed (through muslin) onto watercolour paper. I used colour photocopies and lighter fluid to release the inks.

Frillip Moolog gets dramatic at Solihull Arts Complex with visitors from France and Chicago

The vinyl lettering is in a font called "Synchro". This tied in with the show card which was designed by Paul Wigelsworth.

The G1 exhibition space at Solihull Arts Complex is one where all types of people have had the chance to encounter my Frillip Moolog beings. The gallery opens onto the public library and is within the same complex as a very busy theatre. So it is not surprising that the technicians who installed the show usually work in the theatre. This made it all the more interesting for me as, while we worked together, I learnt a bit about "flying cloths", making automated horses for performances and also setting up lighting. Here Richard was completely un-phased about having to crawl into the cavity wall that we were fixing Madeleine to. Crawling in and out of unusual spaces is all part of the job for theatre technicians.


My first degree was in Accountancy. Even on graduating I was unsure about plunging into the world of finance and at that time did look tentatively into doing a post graduate course in Theatre Studies. But that was back in the 80’s and I chickened out.

I have always said that there is a strong theatrical element to my practice so it is no surprise that admirers of Frillip Moolog are often from the world of theatre too. Benny Semp , a Frillip Moolog fan and fellow artist based in Birmingham actually did his degree in Theatre Studies.
……..“Very witty, cute and sexy in places, nostalgic and thoughtful in others.”……Benny Semp

Cheryl (another of the technicians) spent time making sure that the lighting showed the beings off to their best. I was really pleased with all the interesting shadows that were cast. Shadow puppets ... another form of theatre!

As the ceiling in G1 exhibition space was much lower than the one at Westbourne Grove Church Artspace it meant that for Close Encounters of a Frillip Moolog Kind at this venue the beings were suspended at a level that enabled gallery visitors to get really “up close and personal”.

At the Private View it actually felt like the beings themselves really were involved. They had seemed to be celestial beings while at Westbourne Grove Church Artspace. Now at Solihull Arts Complex, they became more like celebrities.

It’s interesting how many people want to be photographed alongside their favourite.

Aimee Green, the Borough Arts Development Officer and Sarah Miah, the Gallery Officer were really proactive In getting outreach workshops arranged for me.

Through my AllSensesArt business I already have lots of experience of teaching feltmaking but this was a fantastic opportunity to link feltmaking to mixed media sculpture workshops.

I led sessions with children from Forest Oak Special School, Hazel Oak School and also the children who come to the gallery’s Saturday Art Club. I explained how Stan and Russell both had nuno felt (which I had made) combined with ambiguous objects (a vintage bus station down pipe and an aged galavanized draining drum). It then made perfect sense for the children to make their own mini-sculptures which combined felt with various items of kitchen equipment!

This pupil from Forest Oak School did a great job of working with the sculptural qualities of a plastic kitchen funnel. He also has a great sense of colour.

BTEC National Diploma Students came from Solihull College and we had a great session investigating objects and fabrics. They seemed to really enjoy experimenting with these eclectic materials.

Presenting my Artist Talk and also working with the Solihull College students was a great way to remind myself what I’m interested in and what I want my work to “say”.

The show was blogged about by various people including visting members of the public, Southhampton based artist Chantal Powell and it was reviewed on a-n by Becky Evers .

Becky has since asked me some interview questions. This question about future exhibition spaces has been most illuminating….. I think I surprised even myself with my answers.

"You produced a photographic project with the Frillip Moolog creations in ‘Chiptop,’ and have mentioned an interest in non gallery spaces. In the interest of site specifity where would you like to exhibit Frillip Moolog next and why?" Becky Evers

My answer to this question:

Skyscrapers:
Chicago and New York: I watched a lot of old American movies and musicals as a child. They featured sophisticated lives with no responsibilities and definitely quite different from my farm childhood. I also visited Chicago last year to visit SOFA Chicago. My mother trained at the Chicago school of floristry in the late 1950’s.

Someone from The Art Institute of Chicago visited Close Encounters of a Frillip Moolog Kind on the opening night of the show at Solihull. It feels so right for the beings to make a statement in buildings which are making a statement.

Quirky Museums:
I wrote in my manifesto (while still at university) that I wanted to make objects that defy categorization. I had at one point planned to display my degree show as a strange museum with cabinets and a catalogue. My dissertation was on Unusual British Collectors, their museums and how their collections had impacted on their lives.

I have come to realise that I collect people. The beings have their own personalities and I hope that other people will want to collect them too.

Grand Country Houses:
The beings have come from me. These are places that I like to go to. Places with sophistication, grandeur, fantasy, where I can imagine living another life in another time.

Art Deco houses (preferably by the sea):
I would love to own one and live in it myself. I’m a fan of PG Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster stories; carefree, elegant era, spacious rooms.

Film sets: But not as props definitely as stars. I have a growing interest to animate the beings so perhaps this would become much more than an exhibition and more of a performance?

Corporate buildings:
Feedback from the visitors to Close Encounters of a Frillip Moolog Kind was overwhelmingly that people felt uplifted when they spent some time with the beings. Corporate foyer and atrium spaces would be fantastic for the beings.

When people encounter the beings on a daily basis they start to form relationships with them.

If the beings could move around the corporate space/building then this would be perfect. When we encounter an object in another space we look again with fresh eyes.

"I came from France especially for this exhibition!!...Not true of course but I have had great pleasure here today. This will make me happy for the whole weekend." Christophe

What a lovely comment to find at the end of my exhibition. It makes it all worthwhile!