MITCHELL BOULD

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MITCHELL BOULD is a collective art practice, who has investigated drawing and collaborative processes through cross-disciplinary and often interactive projects.

Originally founded as a partnership between Trish Bould and Belinda Mitchell in 2000, the collective currently has three permanent members. This core group generate projects through which further collaborations are extended, enabling Mitchell Bould to work with those from different contexts and professions.

More recent projects, ‘Line and Thread’ and ‘dys-lineation’, have been undertaken though the involvement of Kathy Oldridge who has now joined the group. Kathy is currently studying MA Fine Art by Project at Winchester School of Art, she has a strong interest in collective working methodologies and considerable knowledge and experience of problem solving in group situations.


Trish Bould / founder member. Studied Woven and Printed Textile Design, Manchester
Polytechnic 1974 - 77; Textile Technology, University of Manchester Institute
Science Technology 1977 - 78; Drawing Wimbledon School of Art 1997
-98; lectures in Fine Art and Textiles, Winchester School of Art,
University of Southampton.


Belinda Mitchell
/ founder member. Studied Interior Design at Kingston Polytechnic
1986-1989 and Visual Art, Winchester School of Art 1995-96; designer for
Hampshire Council Architecture and Design Services 1992-2000; lectures in
Interior Design, University of Portsmouth


Kathy Oldridge / student MA FA By project WSA 2006-2008, studied Visual Art, Winchester School of Art 2002 – 2006, Mathematics and Statistics, Warwick University 1976 – 1979. Background in strategy and communication development, Planning Director Leagas Delaney 1986 – 1993, Global Strategic Planner United Distillers 1993 - 1997. Co-founder of BLUEdOOR with clients including Unilever, BBC, Ferrero Rocher, British Airways 1997 – 2006.


About The Practice

Working within projects has enabled MB to investigate aspects of drawing process relevant to a particular site and groups of people and to apply this knowledge to create interactive art works and exhibitions

Through our activities we have developed different ways of working together and of engaging the viewer/participant in our working process. Such ways of working have involved collective and group activities, developing knowledge of drawing practices in other professions and disciplines such as Architecture, Archaeology, Textiles and more recently Dance and Cultural Geography.

Working across disciplines has meant: finding ways to share and breakdown disciplinary language, identifying fundamental attributes and actions within processes, developing fluid ways of sharing knowledge and generating ideas. Focusing projects within a particular site has also enabled us to build an understanding of architectural space through its physical and social construction.

Projects 2007
Jan-June 07.‘dys-lineation: drawing a sensory experience of space’Portsmouth University.
The project investigated our ‘sensory experience of space’ by examining issues appropriate to disability arts and drawing. As a part of the project, an exhibition and performance was presented 18 -22 June, School of Architecture, Portsmouth University. The exhibition further developed and represented aspects of an educational project run earlier in the year. Within the project Mitchell Bould investigated the idea of drawing as a performative activity through which we represent our experiences. The exhibition was an installation which included 5 new artworks shown in relation to 3 works by John Adams and a performance by Sign Dance Collective.

The project was undertaken through collaboration with: the School of Architecture, Portsmouth University, Sign Dance Collective and the artist John Adams. The project received funding from Arts Council England.
Citations: The project is documented in the paper: Baker K., Experiencing Space and Collaborative Design, presented in Lisbon, May, 2007: ENHSA-EAAE Architectural Design Teachers' Network Meeting. Title of conference: Teaching and experimenting with architectural design. Advances in technology and changes in pedagogy.

26 Jan – 2nd March 07 Site Works: Line & Thread. Exhibition, University College of the Creative Arts Epsom.
Like the thread in a woven fabric, the drawn line acts as a link or pivot connecting people and places. During the refurbishment of a new gallery at University College of the Creative Arts, Epsom, Mitchell Bould presented drawings and documentation from recent projects. The transitional space of The Gallery refurbishment was harnessed to investigate and represent the active role of drawing.

During the project MB developed and installed works which were created through the interactions with those involved in the refurbishment (workmen, staff, students, administrators) and through working in and with the space of the gallery as it was being renovated.

The exhibition brought to light fragments of a collaborative process and investigates how architectural drawings, which appear precise and linear, are deeply textured and interwoven with the many activities that go into making a building.

The exhibition included an Installation and 3 new works, alongside works from previous projects, including Site Works, within the social fabric of a building: a dialogue through construction and Drawing Spaces.

Citations:
The exhibition provided the venue for the 4th seminar in the Context & Collaboration series. http://www.contextandcollaboration.com/. Context and Collaboration is a series of seminars and online forum funded by the AHRC and coordinated by Lesley Millar Reader in Craft, UCCA Epsom.


Projects 2006
May- ongoing. Drawing Spaces is a collaborative research initiative establishing links across
traditional subject boundaries and bringing teaching and research closer together.
Initiated by Trish Bould, Belinda Mitchell and Colin Harper in September 2005.
16 May – 27 June. Part one: An interactive and site specific work, Hartley Library University of Southampton Drawing Spaces: Picturing Knowledge explodes the process of creating an artwork in the public space of a library, inviting contribution and providing access into what is usually a closed activity. The work, places drawing and art making at the centre of research activities, in the University Library creating a dialogue between different research practices.
The Curatorial Lecture: Sites of Interaction and Exchange 11th May 2006, brought together speakers from Oxford Archaeology, University Libraries, Hampshire County Council Architecture and Design Services, with staff and students of Winchester School of Art. The lecture addressed the authorship of the work and made comparisons between the different interactive sites of: a lecture theatre, a library and drawings. These sites where presented as hubs of interaction and exchange, engaging with public performance as well as private study

Projects 2000-05
July 05, Shaping Places is a national pilot organised by the Kent Architecture Centre and supported by SEEDA and CABE. The project investigated opportunities to promote the built environment as a resource for schools and piloted a series of projects which were used to provide a model for further projects in schools.. The publication Shaping Places details projects and methodologies as a resource for primary and secondary level teachers. Mitchell Bould undertook a Shaping Places project to redesign St Thomas Square in Ryde IOW. Funded by Arts Council England, CABE and SEEDA
Citations
: The project is included in the publication: Shaping Places ISBN 1 901509 71 0 http://www.architecturecentre.org/documents/publications/shaping_places.pdf written and complied by Eileen Adams, published by Kent Architecture Centre in 2006.

Jan 04- Jan 05: Trish Bould gained Research leave with partnership funding from AHRC to undertake the project ‘Within the social fabric of a building: a dialogue through construction’. The project investigates how to represent the role of drawings that were made during the development of Osborne School by applying knowledge about the construction of a fabric on a loom. Comparisons are made between the actions of a loom and the actions of an architectural drawing. The project has been funded by: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the University of Southampton.

Jan 05 Site Works: Artist Book ISBN 1 873451 53 9. published by the Winchester Gallery with an essay by Victoria Mitchell, Lecturer in Critical studies Norwich School of Art and Design funded by Arts Council England, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Hampshire County Council.

30 Sept. -30 Nov 04. Site Works: Exhibition. The Winchester Gallery, A two-year research project by Trish Bould and Belinda Mitchell. Art works explore how architectural drawings, which appear precise and linear, are deeply textured, interwoven with the many ideas that go into making a building. The drawn line can be seen to take on addition al dimensions and volume as it links different groups of people, becoming the focus for a community. 20 pieces exhibited including: 1x glass installation,( 4.3m x 9.4m x 1m , 60 layers of glass); 1x video projection(2.3 x 2.3m); 1x installation approx 3m x 4m; 2 x video works; 1x hung work 5.4m x 1m; 3 x photographic collages; 11digital prints. The art works were developed through funding from Arts Council England.
Completed June 04. Drawing in the Built Form: commissioned permanent work in the central atrium of Osborne School. 24 glass panels spanning 36 metres. The art work is presented as pages from a book marking the route to the library and providing access to the interior construction of the building. The piece is a celebration of the broad authorship of the redevelopment, in which over 400 people participated. Osborne School was awarded a RIBA prize in June 2004.

Feb 03 Twenty Kinds of Drawing a group exhibition shown at the Millais Gallery Southampton February 2003 and touring schools in West Sussex, Berkshire, Oxen and Surrey across the year. Exhibition organised by SATES (Southern Arts Touring Service).

April 02 – April 04 Lankhills Art and Architecture Project a major research project investigating the role of drawing during the construction of a new building, in collaboration with Hampshire County Architects and Llewellyn’s Building Contractors. Funded by Regional Arts Lottery Funding (RALP), Hampshire County Council, Winchester City Council and The University of Southampton.
Jan-March 2002 Narrative Spaces, a three month residency working with 3 dimensional drawings and installations: Lankhills School Winchester


June 2000. Interchanges Making Narratives: A site-specific exhibition June/July 2001 in Winchester Station Walkway. The work engaged the viewer in constantly changing narratives through exhibition of fragmented photographs in a public walkway. 2000 Leaflets were distributed through stations in the southern region. The project was funded by Funded by Attic Theatre, Winchester City Council, Hampshire County Council and local business partnerships.

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