. . . N E G O T I A T I N G . N E W . S O C I A L . R E A L M S . . .


A R T I S T S T A T E M E N T


My art practice takes shape through live performance, moving-image, poetry and photography. My practice is site and context responsive. Sites of interest have been the traditional gallery space and other non-conventional spaces such as a fish factory, a discothèque, an allotment and a library. I aim to voice and discuss contemporary dilemmas and themes such as shifting modes of communication and ways of living. My experience of living on a boat and travelling far afield triggers my most recent work. My work is often developed through consultation with my family and the general public. The objective of my process-led practice is to engage, inspire and stimulate diverse audiences to consider new ways of being and coming together.


C O N T A C T

E-mail: charlottejackmanbloom@live.co.uk

Based in London and Cornwall, UK


P A S T P R E S E N T F U T U R E :

Vegetable Drawing Exchange

Vegetable Drawing Exchange (2011), live performance: lots of people, root veg and drawing tools, Vyner Street Gallery, London

























In Vegetable Drawing Exchange, participants are requested to give their time in the simple act of choosing a vegetable and then drawing it. When the drawing is complete, each participant can make a non-monetary exchange: the vegetable for the drawing. Jackman will renegotiate the expectation of fair exchange between the viewer and the artist, the producer and the customer in a gallery-based context. This task-orientated performance opens up an exploration into the value of social labour.

"I began by gathering together potatoes that had escaped the harvesting machines. I collected them from the edges of fields, near my houseboat. They were initially a source of food however they became a significant symbol for escapism from industrialisation. I wanted to bring more vegetables into the gallery to reconsider their purpose and value under an artistic condition," Jackman remarks

Vegetable Drawing Exchange acknowledges the Mother Tongue exhibition title, as a phrase connected to her personal roots. The performance touches upon the lessons learnt through her childhood, on the bread-line in London. These lessons have provided her with the capability to survive and find inspiration from rural Cornwall, which is one of the most economically deprived area in the EU. Her insightful performance work takes form through simple everyday materials and gestures. These formations stir our conscience which leads to the questioning of our own way of being.

The voluntary-workshop tone sets a space of freedom which encourages unregimented conversations between the participants. The topics overheard concern the weighty issues of labour, price and trade, yet they nestle freely amongst general conversation. This participatory exploration catalyses the negotiation of new social realms. During and after the performance, each participant will have the opportunity to re-evaluate the value of labour through their acquisition of a humble but life sustaining vegetable.

Net Works

Net Works (2011), live performance: fishing nets, lots of people, unpicking tools, 3 hours, The Fish Factory, Cornwall


















Charlotte Jackman’s performance event Net Works involves a collective untangling of used fishing nets. This work was developed through experience in Vietnam:

"I spent some time staying in a large fishing community. The men would suspend the nets in their living rooms and untangle the nets. The women would supply them with coffee and smokes. It was a race against the tide. I spent time doing this action and the language barrier seemed to open as the space became more primal and born out of a close relation with their surroundings and each other"

The peice is recontextualised with the UK, yet it resonates with the gallery's previous use as a fish factory. As Jackman's first major performance since graduation, a feeling of freeness is felt through the set up and the fragility between time, materials and each other. Net Works offers an alternative social situation which encourages the creation of new relations. Comments over head include 'its so good to be with people just getting on with something unusual'. The participants get caught up in the meditative tasks, involving sizable nets yet micro-actions. Particpants reflect upon the value of communual action in the UK.