Eye, 2022
Hand knitted mohair, nylon, polyester, lurex and wool yarn, rosehead steel flat point nail
194 (H) x 54 (W) x 6 (D) cms

Photography: Ciara Leeming

Fire, 2020
Hand knitted mohair, nylon, acrylic, polyester and lurex yarn, rosehead steel flat point nails
170 (H) x 72 (W) x 6 (D) cms

Photography: Ciara Leeming

Bankley Studios & Gallery, Bankley Street, Manchester M19 3PP
7 – 22 September 2024

The Blackwater Polytechnic is an imaginary educational institution in Essex, United Kingdom, based in a tangible sixteenth-century barn. The campus’s old-world charm belies its cutting-edge focus on ‘the technology of enchantment’. The local artists who comprise the faculty and present their applied research are highly qualified in hands-on innovation, meeting real-world challenges.

Ben Coode-Adams, Dr Annabel Dover, Sophie Giller, Tilly Hawkins, Sara Impey, Justin Knopp and Professor Freddie Robins are set to unveil a diverse collection of art and artefacts. Each piece holds the potential for immeasurable value and could be the key to unlocking the Secrets of the Universe.

If you want to be INTERESTING then you need to be SPECIFIC. Being SPECIFIC means taking account of your CONTEXT. Only by grounding yourself in your CONTEXT do you become universally INTERESTING.

We are intrigued by the ramifications of the word hoard in its archaeological sense—things of value lumped together in a hole in the ground, often hard to find and then unpick. Our neighbourhoods of Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk are littered with them, reflecting the imperilled edginess of our geography. We are the first place where merchants and marauders make landfall. There is opportunity here, along with risk.

As with an ancient hoard of artefacts, it can be hard to disentangle straightforward literal meaning in our presentation. There is no right answer. Better to let the mind and eye soften into poetic associative freedom. There is no need to be distrustful of enjoying sensations and emotions filtered only by our senses. As we are adrenaline junkies for new ways of thinking visually, so we like these chancy visual conversations.

Here at the Polytechnic, we walk the line between collecting and hoarding. We are in thrall to artefacts, both supremely masterfully crafted and improvised, rough and ready. We do not apologise for the density and richness of our presentation. Time is the friend of the thoughtful.

Photography: Ciara Leeming

blackwaterpolytechnic

D-ANGER, 2023
Hand knitted yarn with crocheted mohair suspended from branch

dis-comfort, 2021
hand knitted wool suspended from hand carved cherry wood pole

cou-rage, 2022
hand knitted wool suspended from hand carved cherry wood pole, 1280 × 820 × 70 mm

Photography: Douglas Atfield & Daniel Browne

Craft Kills, held in the Crafts Council Collection, is exhibited as part of 5&20. The exhibition celebrates two shared milestones; five years of the Brookfield Properties Craft Award and 20 years of Collect Art Fair.

This one-off celebration show, supported with funding from London EC BID, exhibits over 30 artworks from Crafts Council collection, with a direct link to Collect. These objects, which form part the national collection for craft, include ceramics, jewellery, glass, bronze and textiles. Many have not been shown to the public for years.

99 Bishopsgate, London EC2
Monday to Saturday 9.00am – 5.00pm
Free entrance

For more information

To download the Artist 5&20 Booklet