For Immediate Release: 09/11/06
Exhibition with Global Reach
Melanie Jackson – Road Angel
Sat 9 December – Sun 28 January 07
In her exhibition at Arnolfini, Melanie Jackson explores how ideas, people, products and raw materials circulate in our increasingly mobile world. She is inspired by news stories, that describe inventive means of getting by, of survival beyond the odds: and uses a combination of animation, drawing, sculpture, film, video and printed matter. How can we make sense of all the places we read about but probably will never get to, and what are the networks that have linked us together
Shown at Arnolfini for the first time, her new animated work A Global Positioning System, 2006 deconstructs a hand-held GPS satellite positioning unit, tracing each component part back to its source. In doing so, Jackson reveals an incredible journey through the rubber trees of Sri Lanka, the tin mines of Congo, and the production lines of China, to the palm of your hand.
The sprawling installation Some Things You Are Not Allowed To Send Around The World, 2003 (originally commissioned by Matt’s Gallery, London) comprises of hundreds of intricate, hand-made architectural models constructed in minute detail from international newspaper pages. The laborious process of its construction is at odds with the news media’s obsession with circulation and speed.
Amongst this Lilliputian landscape are placed a number of monitors and projections, each telling a story of the migrant labour forces who form the engine of production. One of the works explores the presence of Hong Kong’s domestic servant community almost entirely made up of women from the Philippines The animation tells a commonplace yet extraordinary story of a maid who sleeps in a kitchen cupboard; carefully removing the crockery from the cupboard each evening to sleep and replacing everything in the morning on waking. This in stark contrast to the very public showing of their presence on Sundays when tens of thousands of maids congregate in the city banking district, on the most expensive real estate on earth, and spend the day swapping stories, poring over
photographs and eating food.
As a means of exploring this notion of sanctioned and unsanctioned travel, Jackson has produced a poster made up of recent prohibition and restriction guidelines issued by international post offices; literally the things you are not allowed to send around the world. Some listed items reveal something pertinent about the political, religious or socio-economic situations of these countries, whereas some reveal residual superstitions or magical beliefs:
Croatia - spoons, forks and whistles; Israel - blank invoices with headings; Italy - artificial flowers and fruit, footwear; Jamaica – figurines; Kuwait - rubber balloons; Somalia - condensed milk; Tajikistan - corrected proofs; Qatar - musical greetings cards; USA - goods originating in Cuba, North Korea or Vietnam…
A free Family Pack is available at reception.
Editors Notes
Visitor Information
Arnolfini
Open 7 days a week, 10am-8pm every day except Thursday 10am-6pm. Admission free. Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA. www.arnolfini.org.uk T +44(0) 117 917 2300/ 01
For images and further press information please contact:
Katie Dulake, Marketing Manager tel: 0117 917 2315 Email: Katie.dulake@arnolfini.org.uk or Sharon Tuttle, tel 0117 917 2316 email Sharon.tuttle@arnolfini.org.uk
Biographical information
Melanie Jackson was born in 1968 in Hollywood, West Midlands. She studied at the Royal College of Art and the Byam Shaw School of Art. Recent solo exhibitions include Made in China, Matt’s Gallery, London, Videotage, Hong Kong and BizArt, Shanghai (all 2005). Group exhibitions include Made in China, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago (2006), Fascinations, HanartT2 Gallery, Hong Kong (2005) and Urban Networks, East Wing Collection, Courtauld Institute, London (2004). This will be the first solo presentation of the artist’s work in a public UK gallery.
Melanie Jackson teaches at Wimbledon School of Art and is represented by Matt’s Gallery, London. She lives and works in London.
Sponsorship details
The exhibition has been generously supported by the University of the Arts, Central Saint Martins, London, The Henry Moore Foundation and The Esmée Fairbairn Trust. The work Some Things You Are Not Allowed To Send Around The World, 2003, was originally commissioned by Matt’s Gallery, London, and was exhibited there 11 June – 3 August 2003.