The Space

Sübalkon (located in Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg) translates as South Balcony. Apart from the fact that there is a walkway on the complex, I think (I could be corrected here) that the name also refers to the position of Hamburg on the cultural map in Germany. Sübalkon is run by an association of artists, musicians, writers and techies (and more) and is what is referred to as an ‘off arts’ space in Germany. Through the collectives’ diversity the space has many guises, events are put on every weekend; live music, poetry, performance, discussions as well as art shows.

Located in the middle an industrial complex on Elbe island, the area reminds me very much of post-industrial sites/neighbourhoods in London - ready for the big cleanup. Wilhelmsburg is undergoing a huge regeneration initiative, there is always a level of insecurity for the inhabitants, what will be the future for the area, and will they be a part of it? In Germany (as in the UK) artists have now become the social face of these regeneration initiatives. In one respect it allows artists to eat and realise their ideas. In the other, the political and moral implications of these collaborations can be rather difficult to swallow. Recently the officially invited artists addressed an open letter to IBA- Hamburg in stimulate debate about the areas future.

We didn't have an 'official' invitation - we were more like graffiti…

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The Black Series

The Black Series an exhibition and conversation between two artists consumed by ‘blackness’ as a space, material and cultural construct. Both artists chart carefully through a dark terrain, constantly moving and searching …

Amanda Francis’ practice is preoccupied with the identity, specifically how context (external conditions and circumstances) affect identity formation. Currently she is interested in probing the stability of ‘Blackness’ as a cultural construction. Acknowledging subjectivity as an individual who inhabits it, each drawing emerges intuitively and organically on paper. Here ‘blackness’ is presented as a nebulous entity, constantly in a state of flux.

There is almost a scientific scrutiny - a pseudo clinical approach, which informs the production and installation of the work. Accordingly several different ways are provided to look at an individual piece. Some drawings require the viewer to move around the image to consider its characteristics. Others are illuminated in order to look through the surface, excavating its structure. What at first appears dark and impenetrable is subsequently revealed as complex and multifaceted. Consequently attempts to isolate and pin down the ‘black entity’ are constantly thwarted. 



Paul Jones’ work stems from questions of memory and imagination. All his work has this strong thread connecting them. Though the viewer may find a myriad of materials and media being used, his goal is to push concepts through the work, balancing the believable, observable world with the unbelievable, the unseen, the unhelmlich. 

He depicts ‘Space’ in detailed ink drawings on used envelopes. The drawings are executed in pencil, half automatic doodles which are then deciphered with ink pen to produce the finished work. 
His works continues to grow intuitively. Using state of the art digital resources, Jones has navigated his gaze within the dark dystopia of strange skull landscapes venting volcanoes, and dark space anomalies. These new works show a continued exploration into Jones’ dystopic spacescapes emanating from ‘somewhere else’. Features of this dystopic ‘space’ encroach and appear as anomalies within our own space and time, like a walking dream.