Artist statement
Lisa Stansbie (b.1974) is an artist whose work crosses the disciplines of film, photography, sculpture, installation and digital practices. She has exhibited her work both in the U.K and Internationally.
Her series of works Spitfire Beach (2010 - 2012) used non-linear methods such as hyperlinking and internet search tools to construct narratives, which themselves develop into visual artworks. From a ‘googled’ found list of the top ten best selling Airfix Aeroplane kits a narrative was written and then subsequent works: drawings, photographs, film and sculpture were created based on the story. This methodology of accumulation builds on the notion of creating artworks from artworks to generate new narratives and associations. Presented together, the body of work creates an immersive environment where the viewer watching the film can listen to a narrative via a voiceover, draw associations with their surroundings and relate with a sense of recognition to the objects within the installation. Her solo show Flight at Huddersfield Art Gallery January - March 2012 showcased Stansbie's existing and new work related to the notion of narratives of flight via wings, journeys, travels and aeroplanes.
Recent work investigates the narratives, processes, rituals and apparatus of the sport of open water swimming with a focus on the ‘cult’ of channel swimming, in particular the collective interaction and identity of the channel swimmer.
The work combines both object based sculpture, photography, drawing and films that research the sport by a direct involvement and performance within it. Documentary processes and re-enactment are engaged, with Stansbie as the subject of the study in the video series Acclimatisation (2012). The piece documents the body’s physical response to cold-water immersion and the method of acclimatising (habituation) over a set period of time, a process that is core to channel swimming training. This piece in particular reflects aspects of ‘positive deviant’ behaviour (Ewald and Jiobu, 1985) where there is an over commitment to extending the action (Hughes and Coakley 1991) undertaken by extreme athletes. Sandettie Lightship (2012) and Shipping Lane (2012) are part of a series of sculptural photographs made from the same apparatus that channel swimmers use to feed themselves during a swim.
Stansbie is Head of The Department of Art and Communication at The University of Huddersfield, U.K. Her studio is based in Leeds and she was joint editor and founder (with Derek Horton) of www.soanyway.org.uk an experimental online magazine project centred around notions of narrative and storytelling.Her PhD from Leeds Metropolitan University Zeppelinbend: Multiplicity, encyclopaedic strategies and nonlinear methodologies for a visual practice was completed in 2010 and exists solely as a website www.zeppelinbend.com
Qualifications and training
- 2010 PhD, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds
- 2004 MA Contemporary Fine Art Practice, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds
- 1999 PGCE Art and Design, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester
- 1997 BA Fine Art, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds
Solo exhibitions
- 2012 Flight, Huddersfield Art Gallery, Huddersfield, U.K
- 2010 Totemic Objects, Axis Art Centre: Open Space, Crewe
- 2009 The Wings, Vyner Street Gallery, London
- 2009 Hackamore, Window, University of Auckland, New Zealand
- 2007 The Zeppelin Bend, Alsager Arts Centre, Alsager, U.K
Group exhibitions
- 2012 Channel Swimwear Rules, HMS Queen Mary, Los Angeles, California., U.S
- 2011 A Century of Artists Film, Oriel Mwldan, Wales
- 2011 Portmanteau, Halle 14 (g39 collaboration), Leipzig, Germany
- 2011 Hunter Gatherer, Project Space Leeds, Leeds
- 2010 Borders/Crossings/Journeys Screening, Project Space Leeds, Leeds
- 2010 Archetype:GOING UNDERGROUND/THE CRUEL SCENE OF THE IMAGE, E:vent Gallery, London
- 2010 Art For Everyone, Arts Council England, Great Peters Street London
- 2010 Short Cuts, g39, Cardiff, Wales
- 2009 InCounter, Campbell Works, London
- 2009 Pan-demonium, AC Institute, Chelsea, New York
- 2009 The Text Festival: Poetry Film, The Met Arts Centre, Bury
- 2009 Outcasting Season 7, online, www.outcasting.org
- 2008 Art Tech Media: International Screen Space, Palacio de Orive - Filmoteca de Andalucía - VIMCORSA, Cordoba, Spain
- 2008 Art Tech Media, Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife
- 2008 Purescreen: Hearsay, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester
- 2008 Olympolis, Platamons Castle, Pieria, Greece
- 2008 Sonic Boom, The PictureDrome, Huddersfield
- 2007 Siberia International Film, Siberia Project Space, Hackney, London.
- 2007 Archive H, Harris Museum, Preston UK, Invited artist for Prestival 'Artist Interventions Across The City'
- 2007 Athens Video Art Festival 2007, Multiple locations across Athens, Athens, Greece (more info)
- 2007 Odoo/Current, National Museum of Art, Ulanbataar, Mongolia
- 2007 6 from 4, Leeds Metropolitan University Gallery, Leeds, UK
Publications
- 2012 Sandettie Lightship & Shipping Lane published in Corridor 8 Issue 3 Magazine soanyway print supplement 'Content[s]' ISBN 978-0-9552672-7-7
- 2012 Establishing the Cybertextual in Practice based PhD’s In R. Andrews, E. Borg, S. Boyd-Davis, M. Domingo, and J. England (eds), SAGE Handbook of Digital Dissertations & Theses
- 2011 A History of Background audio CD + booklet. An edition of 1,000 audio CDs
- 2011 The Ghost of Past Crashes (2010) published in www.soanyway.org.uk ISSN 2043-6408
- 2009 Pan-demonium (Exhibition catalogue) by Gillian Whiteley Published by AC Institute New York ISBN-13: 978-0984130900
- 2009 www.slasheconds.org Apprehension. Issue 11:If X, then Y, A Pure Condition: Proposals and Rehearsals 08/2009. ISSN 1751-4134
- 2009 Connecting the Unconnected essay in Telling Stories: Countering Narrative in Art, Theory and Film Isbn13: 978-1-4438-0532-2
- 2009 www.soanyway.org.uk online magazine (joint editor with Derek Horton)
- 2008 www.slashseconds.org. Issue 8: On Curating: Mad Love, Orphan Letters, Open Archives. ISSN 1751-4134
- 2007 The Atlantic Basin Project (Issue One) Canada (more info)
- 2007 www.slashseconds.org The Emperor of The Moon. 'Things That Move'. ISSN 1751-4134
Other
- 2012 Contemporary Art and the Open Water paper, Global Open Water Swimming Conference, HMS Queen Mary, Los Angeles, California
- 2012 Testing the Limits: Contemporary Art and Channel Swimming, In Endurance Sport Seminar, Wolfson Research Institute, University of Warwick
- 2012 'Structures For Digital Collaboration and Interaction' paper in The Higher Education Academy Exploring Collaborative Learning In Media Studies Programmes, University of Winchester, Winchester
- 2011 'Appropriation and The Hack: New Forms of Production' paper, Transitory Network Forum, Salon Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
- 2009 'Fluid Archives' Conference Paper at Thinking About 'Things': Interdisciplinary Futures in Material Culture. An international, multi-disciplinary conference, University College Dublin, Ireland
- 2008 Lecture on practice 'Multiplicity in Digital and Material Art Practice', Nanyang Academy of Fine Art, Singapore
- 2007 Objects and Narratives Symposium, Loughborough University, Loughborough, U.K (more info)
- 2007 AvPhD Symposium, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, U.K (more info)
Web links - gallery/work/projects
