Artist statement
Concepts
Julie Brixey-Williams is a British artist who lives and works in London, where she has exhibited regularly. Her work explores the relationship that the body shares with space and architecture and the gestural marks that we leave behind. Working in various media, including photography, video, installation, performance and drawing, she uses movement and gesture as a starting point to create hieroglyphs that explore sites, choreographing actions within them to form sketches for final work or developing performance-led pieces, which often involve the viewer. Julie’s most recent project was an in depth exploration of the collaborative process which culminated in a limited-edition book “point and place”. This won a won a Birgit Skiold Award for Excellence at the ICA Artists’ Book Fair (www.pointandplace.net), and is now held in the Tate Gallery Artist's Book Archive, Millbank, London.
She is currently expanding her collaborative performance work within a live context and is happy to be approached by other artists. During 2004-5, Julie worked as the Artist-in-Residence to The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, completing several pieces of work, including a series of prints for Queen Charlotte’s Hospital and calligraphic drawings based on anaesthetic machine outputs. She has worked closely with dancers over the past eight years including two days with Adrian Heathfield and Lloyd Newson (DV8) where she performed a short work amongst gallery visitors at the Tate Modern, ‘Arabesque’, a dance drawing performance commissioned by the Campaign for Drawing at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the book ‘locationotation’ which was published in 2001.
“Generated by a physical exploration of space and architecture, I seek to transcribe space through gesture, rendering movement in visible form. Through this process, which includes filmed improvisations, the dynamics of thought and emotion are expressed, allowing new two-way experience with the space and transforming it into body history. Being both in and out of the space suspends predictable reference points and takes you to a place you don’t know –the gap. It is a leap that liberates. By suspending normal patterns of movement in a space by jarring a complacent place, even the viewer is allowed to improvise and become thoughtfully aware.”
Julie also works as a freelance arts project manager and has led workshops for Asia House and The Big Draw. (details on http://www.lonsas.org.uk/artists_details.asp?id=3257#), and offers creativity coaching for adults and young people.
She is an member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors.
Influences
An initial interest in 1970's performance art and the body extensions of Rebecca Horn led to an area of dance research including Laban, Yvonne Rainer and Anna Halpin, exponents of the use of ordinary movements as art. Architects, such as Dan Graham and Diller and Scofidio are also inspiring for their alternative use of objects and the viewers in space, and the contractual relationship that this reveals between the body and architecture.
Career path
• Species of Spaces –setting up of networking group for Visual Artists who use process and performance
Selected commissions and residencies
January 2010 Three day residency Barbican Library, recording and translating gestures made by visitors to the library.
2003/04 Artist in Residence to The Association of Anaesthetists of GB and Ireland, funded by the Leverhulme Trust
May 2003 selected to take part in workshop with Lloyd Newson (DV8) and Adrian Heathfield at Tate Modern, culminating in a solo performance - My World Picture
October 2002 Commission for the Campaign for Drawing - Arabesque at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Summer 2002 Artist in Residence at Springhallow School - working with autistic children
September 2001 locationotation - publication of a limited edition artist's book. Copies held at The British Library, Laban Centre, Kingston University and Alec Finlay's private artists' book collection.
Current and forthcoming events
- June 2013: Lines, The Strand Gallery, London (more info)
Public realm
- 2012 ARBS, Royal British Society of Sculptors, London SW& 3RA
Qualifications and training
- 2002 Insynch Dance + Choreography course (P/T), Hounslow College, Hounslow
- 2001 MA, Art and Space (Distinction), Kingston University
- 2000 BA Hons, Fine Art Sculpture, 1st Class
Employment
- 2012 Creativity /Life Coaching, Freelance, London
Solo exhibitions
- 2010 Drawings we have lived: the body, space and gestural mark, Barbican Library, Barbican Centre, Barbican Centre London EC2
- 2005 U Hang, Nan Tait Gallery, Art Gene, Barrow-in-Furness (more info)
- 2005 Traces of the Invisible, The Association of Anaesthetists of GB +I, London W1
- 2004 Your tummy's like a handbag and they're looking for your keys, Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff
- 2002 Arabesque, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- 2001 locationotation, Laban Centre, London
- 2001 locationotation, Start Gallery, London
- 2001 I may arrive hereafter, Street Performance in 2 Telephone Boxes, Kingston-upon-Thames
Group exhibitions
- 2012 What is line and how does it travel through space?- online exhibition, Frost Museum, Miami, Florida USA
- 2011 cabin:codex, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Scotland
- 2011 Prospero's Library, Studio 75, London E2
- 2011 Hard Times, a2 Dominium building, London W13
- 2011 Polyply6 'the second line of long-and-short,facing' with Libby Worth, The Centre of Creative Collaboration, London
- 2010 There is Beauty in the City (touring), Air Gallery,Stoke on Trent; Gijon, Astirias; Leiden, Netherlands, Stoke on Trent, Astirias, Netherlands
- 2010 Line Journeys, Collyer Bristow Gallery WC1R, London
- 2009 Artists who do books, Kaleid Editions Redchurch St, E2, London
- 2009 Place Identity Memory - international exhibition of artists’ books, Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries + touring, Scotland
- 2008 Glasgow International Artists' Book Fair, Concert Hall, Glasgow
- 2007 London Artists Book Fair, ICA,The Mall, London SW1, London (more info)
- 2006 Mark, six eyelash drawings, Dartington College Gallery, Devon
- 2004 Fashion Doll, Heriot Watt University, Galashiels, Scotland
- 2004 The Figure and the Face, Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham, Surrey
- 2004 Secret, Royal College of Art, London
- 2003 Secret, Royal College of Art, London
- 2003 Disco, Michael West Gallery, Newport, Isle of Wight
- 2003 Drawing the Process
- 2002 Artfutures, City of London School, London
- 2002 For Site, Chisenhale Dance Centre, London
- 2001 Fresh Art, Business Design Centre, Islington, London
- 2001 Open Screening, 291 Gallery, London
- 2001 January, The Old Post Office, Kingston-upon-Thames
- 2000 the body: the building, Foyer Gallery Kingston University, Kingston-upon-Thames
- 1999 24 Hours, The Loading Bay, Brick Lane, London
- 1997 Contemporary Art Medals, Simmons Gallery, London
Live/Performance
- 2012 'Step Feather Stitch' as part of OPEN Ended, OPEN, Ealing, London W5
- 2011 Polyply6 'the second line of long-and-short,facing' with Libby Worth, The Centre of Creative Collaboration, London
- 2009 Tai Shani's - Tetragrammaton's Home in the Abyss: Reduced to 6, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- 2008 Tai Shani's - Tetragrammaton's Home in the Abyss: Reduced to 6, Royal Academy GSK Contemporary Season, London
- 2008 my site | in space 4 – Question your tea spoons -performance, Resistance Gallery, Bethnal Green, London
Artist talks
- 2013 Exploring the Collaborative processes of point and place, Middlesex University On Collaboration II, Middlesex University
- 2011 Creativity in retirement, CSP, Bedford Row, London
- 2010 Anaesthetic: a temporary block of sense, Central St Martin's, London WC1B 4AP
- 2005 Shooting Ducks series, Space Studios, London
Residencies
- 2010 Drawings we have lived: the body, space and gestural mark, Barbican Library, Barbican Centre, London
- 2003 Traces of the Invisible, The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, London
- 2002 Enchanted cloak, Springhallow Autistic School, London
- 2001 BAD, BAD artists' collective, Rotterdam
Public commissions
- 2002 Arabesque -Commission for The Campaign for Drawing, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Projects
- 2013 Choreographic input/collaboration with dance artist Christopher Matthews, Lima Zulu Project Space, London, N4 1LZ
Competitions, prizes and awards
- 2011 Picker Trust award, towards Step Feather Stitch, performance, Various
- 2007 Birgit Skiold Memorial Award for 'point and place', ICA London Artists Book Fair, London
- 2006 Stanley Picker Trust, Towards binding of point and place, artist’s book, London
- 2003 Leverhulme Trust £7000, Residency at Association of Anaesthetists of GB + I, London
Educational experience - secondary
- 2009 Head of Art, Ealing College Upper School, London W13
Site specific
- 2008 my site | in space 4, Resistance Gallery, Bethnal Green, London, London
Publications
- 2013 Every Breath You Take by Wuon-Gean Ho in Printmaking Today Vol 21 No.4 2012 p24-5
- 2012 Step Feather Stitch: an unfaithful reading artist with Libby Worth in Choreographic Practices Vol 3 2012 pub Intellect ISSN 2040-5669 pp43-64.
- 2012 The Role of Time in Exploratory Drawing: Tapa, Pyrography and the Expanded Field - paper by Kendal Hayes p37 + p51
- 2012 Magic Power Presence: contemporary interpretations
- 2011 From Portrait to Self-Portrait-Antonio Nodar-Contributor
- 2007 point and place -collaborative book project ISBN 978-1-904118-09-1
- 2001 locationotation –artist’s book project ISBN 1-904118-00-3 2001 edition x 25
Web links - gallery/work/projects
Web links - article/press
Personal website
