Studio

  Tender Vessels  is a short experimental artist film. In relation to the theme of the sea – During the isolation and strange dis-connected times we find our selves in -  the internet has become the wide open ocean of this post COVID epoch, no longer able to find connectivity in a physical way we dive into the ‘on-line’ ephemeral hoping to make a connection that is tender and human. Finding connectivity through lap top, phone and screen is the new way to reach out and touch each other – we, the vessels alone yet together in the shared experience of isolation under a liminal sky. Keep Swimming 

 WEB SITE WITH BIO AND IMAGES  ON LINE INFO - PRACTICE AND SHOWS  ~ Click 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V1WdygV_fI&t=562s

Great to have my short experimental artist film selected for this via Elysium Gallery. Many thanks. https://www.instagram.com/p/CCkz4LjD7yj/

http://www.chapelartsstudios.co.uk/laboratoryofdissent2019/?page_id=388#Julia-Keenan

I have been invited to take part in an on-line show relating to the house, this is a response to the current 'lock-down' situation although the works do not necessarily have to be about that. It is more an exploration of the home as a conceptual space. I am in the bedroom. I have enjoyed selecting this/these works in relation to the show ‘Housebound’ specifically the Bedroom, a private place of intimacy. The work is undoubtedly feminine and I enjoy using materials that relate to ideas softness and vulnerability, however there is an intentional ‘phycological edge’ to the work. There is a constant tension between the sculptures made and their rather more glamorous image based portraits which have all been subjected to the filtering and enhancing process of the ‘social media experience’. The line between where the actual work begins and ends is always eluding me. Through the materials manipulation in the studio and the various apps available, ideas around t...

Dear R, The work you are interested in showing was made a few years ago and I have hunted out some old journals to remind myself of the thought process and how it came about! Obviously my practice has matured and moved on since then but it has been quite interesting to re-engage with that early work and process. At the time I was very interested in researching Freuds uncanny and how combining familiar materials could be suggestive or subversive. The fragility of the delicate painted and decorated eggs – somehow tragic yet endearing combined with the addition of the teeth [feelings of revulsion – elements of the body] brought about the curious work. I suppose it was a comment – or a suggestion – the connection to the fabulous Faberge eggs – highly valued – thinking about that and the hierarchy of things we deem as one more valuable than another.  They do have some kind of presence though almost like small reliquaries.     I enjoyed the tensio...

Artist Julia Keenan Saturated Space - Context Ring Around the Bath – On Mutability ‘Remember me when this you See 1903’ Antique Edwardian in Memoriam Cowrie Shell Through the exploration of a closed set of relevant materials a new series of sculptures will be presented as images. These will be shown as a collage within a small free-standing tin bath within the gallery space. My research revealed that during difficult times Spencer sought solace in the areas of quiet, between the bathtubs and through the everyday rituals of mundane tasks. Many of the paintings in the chapel reflect these tasks of existence through which the regulatory and familiar aspects of life restore faith and hope when perhaps all around was chaos. For many religions and beliefs water plays a leading role in rituals and practices, which is reflected through the choice of ‘vessel’ to show this series of works. The bath is a place not only for cleansing and immersion but that of relaxion an...

Next Show - at the Stanley Spencer Memorial Chapel - a National Trust Property in the South West of the U.K. Artist Julia Keenan – Saturated Space Ring Around the Bath ‘Remember Me When this you See’ I will be making a new series of sculptural images which will be collaged into the bath, taking inspiration from the painting within the chapel which depicts the bathtubs. My research revealed that Spencer sought solace in the areas of quiet, between the tubs, and his Christian faith was reinforced through those everyday tasks and routines. The bath [immersion in water] is a place of relaxation and contemplation where the mind can wander.   Utilising materials from the everyday my intention is to create a ‘ring around the bath’ - the flotsam and jetsam thoughts of a life. A visualisation of the traces left behind of an experience, a bath ring of memories. The choice of collaged objects will echo, in a collective sense, references t...