KCAW is delighted to collaborate with The Bomb Factory to create this unique Open Studio and PopUP Exhibition in the offices located at The Kensington Arcade, first floor.

Artists taking part: Jack Laver (The Bomb Factory), Georges Kachaamy (KCAW), Peter Morris (KCAW Public Art Trail 2023), and Dominika Karc (local artist).

Jack Laver Open Studio: 9 to 12 September, 12 - 6pm
Preview Event: 14th of September from 6 to 8pm
Exhibition Open: 14th to 29th of September from 12 to 6pm, Sunday and Monday closed

As part of our collaboration with the Bomb Factory, the residency has been offered to multimedia artist and musician Jack Laver, who moved into the space in July 2023 to create a new body of work, which will be shown to the public at the exhibition. Visitors are welcome to visit the studio ahead of the exhibition opening to see the process of creation and meet the artist.

About Jack Laver

Laver primarily experiments with ink, adhesive and resin, investigating dependency and dissonance through the material passage. Networks of bleeding lines cling together in positions of intricacy.

The works simultaneously maintain their ambiguity, whilst familiarity continually resurfaces in the spatial logic of their abstract assemblages. These vast surfaces, at times, share a resemblance to action painting, or aerial landscape photography, yet retain their sculptural, fluid presence. What we are offered comes from conditions that are far less concerned with human-centered agencies, and retreat from means of categorisation.

The works stand in recognition of materials, a reliance on their performance, as oscillating forms resonate with veins, roots, weather systems, or avenues of fractured river systems that cut through the landscape. Even wider geological bodies of material discourse can be identified. A bridge to that which withdraws from access, hidden by subterranean depths, or the limited perception we gain from our momentary blip of existence. Laver offers nonlinear structures of contemplation that speak to the physical realities of nature.

“UNCONSCIOUS” by Georges Kachaamy

This 5.7 meter artwork is a powerful piece based on the micro and macro phenomena found in nature that have been created using a fusion of automatism techniques and meditation practices.

With no limits, labels, or boundaries, this artwork reflects the dynamic interplay between the micro and macro phenomena found in nature. It is a compilation of over 100 pieces, each of which is created using a fusion of automatism techniques and meditation practices that enable the artist to be in a trance state and allow their unconscious mind to guide the creative process.

The observer’s perspective and location play a crucial role in experiencing the drawings, as they can be perceived and understood from various distances and angles. Every element, from the smallest detail to the larger parts, coexists with one another, dissolving into a cohesive whole. Each piece of the artwork remains nameless and undefined, allowing the viewer to interpret and feel what they see without any preconceptions

The artwork was presented for the first time at Biennale Venezia in 2019.

'Cloud House Wendy House' by Peter Morris

The Cloud House Wendy House was selected by the KCAW Art Committee 2023 edition from over 100 submissions to join the 6th edition of KCAW Art Trail. It is a scale model of The Cloud House, by Peter Morris, simplified and reconfigured as an open-frame Wendy House and public sculpture, created especially for KCAW Art Trail 2023. It spent the summer outdoors, in the serenity of the Napoleon Garden, Holland Park, where it delighted children and adults alike. Now we exhibit the artwork as part of this show to enable more people to enjoy the artwork for longer.

The Cloud House concept is born out of the desire to create a public artwork where children can play, and have their imaginations piqued; and where adults can experience a moment of delight that will remind them of their own childhoods.

A Wendy House is a playhouse named after the character Wendy Darling from Peter Pan, written by JM Barrie, who lived in Kensington. As an object for play, this little Cloud House embraces the joyful spirit of Peter Pan and celebrates the glorious pastel colours of some of Chelsea’s prettiest streets – the area that had a powerful impact on the development of Morris’s’ own creativity and the realisation of dreams.

Dominika Karc

Local artist and a self-proclaimed City Decorator Karc gained knowledge from “How to Behave When Bear Attacks You” survival guide in the city jungle at Manhattan’s Cocktail parties. In December 2019 she volunteered in Eastern Ukraine to help people affected by war. After moving to London in the middle of the pandemic, she started decorating the city with abstract graffiti compositions, increasing at the same time the rare female representation in the graffiti world.

Her main painting focus is abstraction, however, sculpture has a very strong influence on her work. The 2-d compositions often take a multidimensional and almost physical form. Her work uses the principle of the “Imperfect Mirror” to create various shapes and patterns to reflect them at skewed and irregular angles, as perfect symmetry does not occur in nature.

www.bombfactory.org.uk
@thebombfactoryartfoundation

With thanks to AshbyCapital and the Kensington Arcade for donating the space for this residency and exhibition, as part of Kensington + Chelsea Art Week (KCAW) an annual celebration of culture across West London.

KCAW is a not-for-profit, independent, and free festival. With an unmissable and diverse programme of public art installations, exhibits, murals, art tours, events, and talks KCAW showcases an extraordinary range of art and culture across West London to create opportunities to experience this area of London like never before.