Yayoi Kusama at Seoul Arts Center!!

안녕하세요~ANNYEONG HASEYO!!!
Morning from sunny Seoul!!!!!!!!! So as promised, I was going to give the Yayoi Kusama exhibition it's very own blog post just because it was simply soooo AMAZINGGG!!!! I've been a MASSIVE fan of her work for years~ more so since having the chance to first see some of her work in the flesh when  I attended the Aichi Triennale in Japan a few years ago... So I was SUPER SUPER SUPER EXCITED when I heard that she had a solo show opening here in Seoul!!!

The exhibition, 'A Dream I Dreamed', opened on 4th May at the Hangaram Art Museum in 'Seoul Arts Center' and will run until 15th June 2014~ so if you are in town it's more than worth a visit!!! She is showcasing a medley of more than 100 pieces including: film, sculpture, installation and painting~ it was really incredible...I'm hoping to whip back for round 2 before it closes because I just need to see it again!! As part of the exhibition you can see her 'Obliteration Room' as well as the awesomely, magical mirrored infinity rooms!

Aaahhh...it was phantasmagorically wonderful...not much more I can say apart from share a few photos that I took during my visit~ her work is phenomenal, her thought processes alongside her aesthetics and expression BEYOND amazes me ...was incredible to see such a GLORIOUS abundance of it in one place at one time!!! 
So I shall leave you with a few snapzzz!
Love and Sparkles,
Emma
xxx

Last Chance to Catch the Show!!!

Hiya!!!
Just a quick one to let you know that the show I'm currently exhibiting at will close this weekend, so there are still a few days to check it out if you happen to be in town!!!
As I previously mentioned, in my last blog post, I'm showing some stuff that I produced during my projects with IAP alongside the fruits of labour from fellow residents artists~ So if you fancy checking it out then pop along to Incheon Art Platform before Sunday 23rd Feb 2014!
In accompaniment to the exhibition there is tonnes of awesome stuff to check out around the rest of the IAP complex including galleries, performance space, art studios, cafe ~ and if you branch out into the neighbourhood of the art centre you also have Chinatown and lovely Jayu Park! Yikessss.....I sound like a tourist board!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, so for you guys in Incheon or Seoul then go check it out at:
Incheon Art Platform, 218-3 Jemullyang-ro, Jung-gu, Incheon, 400-201, S.KOREA.
Wish I was closer so that I could pop in myself!!!
Talking of Korean stuff... I was missing my ULTIMATE favourite snack so much last night that I cracked out my glorious 'Bungeoppang' ( 붕어빵) pan and whipped up some red bean treats...as I've said before the pan was the best find of my LIFE...best piece of kitchen kit I could EVER dream of...worth the excess baggage in bringing this beauty back to England!!! 

Eeeeeeeeeeppp they were totally gourmet!!!
So...I have a box of neon wool and a crochet hook calling my name~looking forward to the crafty work ahead this afternoon!!!
Oooeee and as seen in my ridiculously decorated photo collages here....you can also follow the action on my Instagram: _emma_bell
Ciao for now!!!
Love and Sparkles,
Emma xx

New Exhibition at Incheon Art Platform!

Hiya/ 안녕하세요!!!!
Just a quick one to share some news about a new exhibition, featuring my work, that opened in S.Korea yesterday!!! The show, '2013 Platform Artists - Final Report by 2013 Resident Artists of Incheon Art Platform', will be running 16th January 2014~23rd February 2014 and showcases the projects carried out by all of the artists in residence that participated in IAP's international programmes throughout the past year.
The show presents the work of 42 artists/ 32 groups from 11 countries who participated in both the Incheon Art Platform Residency and the Baengnyeong-do Peace Arts Project during 2013 and the exhibition includes the fields of; performance, visual arts, interactive installation, digital media, literature & criticism, painting and photography. The overall concept of the residency programme, which is an initiative operated by IAP and the Incheon Foundation for Arts and Culture, is to support and facilitate both Korean and International contemporary artists in a creative exploration focused on a response to the City of Incheon and its characteristics. 
As I've spoken about before, my particular project was based around Korea's most Northwestern island, Baengnyeongdo, and I was the first overseas artist to participate in this programme when it  launched in March 2013~ which was a really exciting experience and allowed for a really inspiring chapter of work. The work that I am contributing to the current exhibition is from my series, 'Tales from Blue Truck Island' that I produced both during and post residency with IAP. 
The exhibition will be running in venues A. B & H at Incheon Art Platform until 23rd February so for those of you in Seoul/ Incheon feel free to pop along and check out the show~
It's open daily 10am-5pm (closed Mondays) and you can access IAP via public transport ( Incheon Station- Subway line 1 or Buses 15, 28, 720 to Jung-gu District Office).
*Incheon Art Platform, 218-3 Jemullyang-ro, Jung-gu, Incheon, 400-201, S.KOREA.
Hope you get the chance to check it out if you are in town!!!
Love and Sparkles,
Emma xx

 

'2013 PLATFORM ACCESS' Preview Exhibition!

Hellooo !!!!! 
So, at the end of last week a new preview exhibition opened here at Incheon Art Platform featuring introductions to the work of the artists in residence who will be based here over the upcoming year. The '2013 Platform Access' Preview opened last Thursday and will run until 26th May, so if you happen to be in town you can pop along and check it out!!! You can see most of the works of both the Korean and International artists in Hall B and I have some digital images showing in Hall A which is open daily 10-6pm!!!! Last Thursday IAP hosted an official opening ceremony for visitors to come and listen to all of the artists introduce their work and afterwards there was a party for everyone to meet each other, the IAP team and fellow artists (which included strawberries in cups and cute biscuits!!!!!).
Also all of the promo materials about the exhibition are here which show all of the artist's work and give a bit of background information about their creative practice! 
You can see a sneaky peek of my stuff in the exhibition catalogue in the photo below (the work featured is my '16th Century Wall Weaver' installation that I produced during my previous residency with 'Guestroom Maribor' in Slovenia)
....and I now have my new business cards for whilst I'm here which even have my name on in Korean characters....yeah, that's pretty exciting!!!!!

It's been really great using IAP as a base to begin my research as it's a really nice environment to 

work in and now I am currently in the process of starting with some textile sampling that I am developing from my research so far....Ok, so I shall leave you with a few photos as it's off to bed for me ready for an early start fabric sourcing tomorrow!!!!

Night Night!!!

Love Emma xxx

Hello from Korea!!!!!

Oooohhh Hiya!!!!
So earlier in the week I arrived in South Korea where I will be based for the next 3 months working as artist in residence and developing a whole new bunch of work... The programme is operated by Incheon Art Platform and will involve me engaging in a community and culture influenced project which also includes field research and in situ development of a new series of wearable art works. Right now I am currently based at IAP in the city and later on during my residency I will go off on adventures and experience island life Robinson Crusoe styleeee!!!

Incheon Art Platform is a cultural arts complex located in the lovely sea port city of Incheon and the residency is implemented and supported by the Incheon Arts and Culture Foundation. I LOVE the centre as it's all based in a cluster of 13, restored 1930's buildings so there are galleries, performance theatres, archive resources, artist studios and an education hall all on site so it's an awesome creative environment! There are both 
International and Korean artists based here so there is a lot going on, exhibitions and events galore, so it's an amazingggg place to get going with my project. Super excited about getting started with my new works and can't wait to branch out to embrace island extravaganzas!!!
Over the upcoming week I will be focusing on the aspects of my project that look at Korean culture by researching heritage crafts, the local textile industry and National dress. SUPER excited about learning more about traditional Hanbok and the materials that they use so that's whats going down on the agenda over the next few days!!!

I'm really enjoying being here in Incheon, it's a great city with a lot going on and the history of the place is fascinating so there is a lot to take in alongside settling in, in Korea. At the moment there are 3 other international artists in residence here so it's so much fun to check out the city together either supermarket hopping or going to random places with umbrellas on the ceiling to drink makgeolli! Also imagine my joy when we discovered the purikura machines up some back alley and we also ended up accidentally gatecrashing a dance class full of body poppers throwing out the moves to a bit of K-Pop~what a corker!!! There are so many things that I love about the town, one of my favourites being the Sinpo traditional market which is like a magical arcade full of street vendors, fruit and veg stalls, piles of kimchi and also a shop that has really cute socks!

Chinatown is just around the corner from the artist's guesthouse and it's all colourful and sparkly with plenty of places selling bubble tea which makes me sooo happy!!! Also at the back of the complex is Jayu Park and Palgakjeong Pavilion which is lovely to walk around both in the day to get a view over the port and by night when they have some light installations~there are also lots of ginger cats roaming around up there so obviously I am LOVING this!!!!
Ok, so there are a million more stories to tell and about a zillion photos that I have taken since arriving but I will space them out so it doesn't go into overload!!!!
Right now I've just got home from Seoul so I'm looking forward to getting my slippers on and drinking a sweet potato latte whilst making a start on some embroidery!!!!!Totally my new favourite drink EVER!!!! So I will leave you with some photos and will unleash all of the Seoul juice and other recent joys soon!!!!!
Love and Sparkles,
Emma xxx