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Alison Aye

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A Good Kick Up My Cocky Arse

March 26, 2025

There is a ‘62 Group’ exhibition coming soon to Farnham. Being a member of said group, I took it for granted that I would be in it. I confidently sashayed to the framer with ‘Jake and Dinos Chapman Have An Idea’ (yes, another prod at the male dominated artworld) the minute I’d cast off. My usual stance is to wait until confirmation before committing to the expense of a frame.

I was rejected.

Seven positives.

1. I got a good kick up my cocky arse. Always good.

2. I was forced (old work wasn’t submittable) to focus. This is the only piece of work I’ve completed in three years. What about last year's Faces? (I hear you cry). Not quite finished yet. 2023’s Faces, then? Not even started. What about that piece in the Royal Academy Summer Show? Made in 2022.

3. I enjoyed the making. The ‘small work’ stipulation proved to be perfectly manageable. I spent Christmas and New Year stitching Ernie Wise’s legs, and enjoyed every minute.

4. I have a new piece of work, framed (not paid for or collected yet, mind) and ready to sell. Well, as soon as I’ve documented the sources.

5. Another artist, hopefully a previous rejectee, has been given a platform. The gallery is small. There is not enough space for everyone. The curators can’t please us all. It can’t always be my turn.

6. I no longer need to take time from my day jobs (I don’t get paid holidays) to deliver, collect work, and pay for train fares to deepest Surrey.

7. It has made me consider, not for the first time, photography. The importance of good photographs was frequently repeated in the instructions. I ignored the advice, blindly doing what I always do, taking snaps with my not-particularly-modern phone.


Joy in the Detail: Small Work from the 62 Group

7th May - 6th September, 2025.

Tuesday - Friday, 10am - 5pm. Saturday, 10am - 4pm.

Crafts Study Centre, Falkner Road, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7DS.

Free.

In Exhibitions, Other Stuff, Unsolicited Advice Tags rejection, art lessons, stitched collage, jake and dinos chapman, picasso, ernie wise, woody allen, tennis legs, crafts study centre, 62 group, farnham, small art, joy in the detail
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'Lying Naked' Rides Again

March 24, 2025

For the second time in seven years, ‘Lying Naked’ is out in the wild.

In 2018 it was sentenced to under-bed prison, after being hung in the National Gallery (for one night) when it reached the shortlist of the Evening Standard Art Prize. It didn’t win. Costly framing was out of the question, so I nailed it to a lump of wood. Last April it was released, as part of  ‘(a contemporary) phantasmagoria’, a group show which coincidentally also had work by Matthew Collings who was one of the judges on the art prize. And now that group show rides again. In Liverpool.

‘(a contemporary) phantasmagoria 2’, continues until 29th April, 2025. Cornerstone Gallery, Liverpool Hope University, L6. 9 - 5 weekdays, 9 - 4 weekends. Hours may change at Easter. Curated by John Bunker and Ken Turner.

Lying Naked, 2018

Hand-stitched newspaper to cloth

38 x 51cm.

Left to right:

1 The Lion Man of Ulm, thought to be about 40,000 years old. Carved from mammoth ivory and discovered in Germany in 1939. Cut from the London Evening Standard, 6.9.18. Photo: Oleg Kuchar/ Museum Ulm. Taken from a book review, by Douglas Murray, of ‘Living With The Gods: On Beliefs And Peoples’ by Neil McGregor (Penguin, 2018). Also a Radio 4 series.

‘Pink Pussy Hat’ from the anti-Trump marches. Cut from the London Evening Standard, 4.9.18. The photographer appears to be uncredited, however, there is a photo of Ian Hislop on the same page credited as J Fernandes/ D Hubbard. Maybe this credit also applies to the hat photo? It was cut from a review, by Melanie McDonagh, of the British Museum exhibition, ‘I Object: Ian Hislop’s Search For Dissent’. I saw this exhibition. The hat was displayed in a glass cabinet as if valued, but the knitter was not named. I would’ve almost accepted ‘we tried to find the maker of this piece’, but nothing.

Feet of Boris Johnson, London 2012. From that photo when he was on the zipwire with a Union Jack in each hand. Barcroft Media*.

2. Torso of Donald Trump with the arm of his granddaughter, Arabella. Cut from the London Evening Standard, 30.7.18. Photographer uncredited.

‘Busting out the moves’ legs of Theresa May, Metro 31.8.18. PA*.

3. Jeanne Hébuterne as Nu couché (sur le côté gauche) by Amedeo Modigliani, 1917. Sold at Sotheby’s in New York for £116m. Cut from the Guardian, 12.5.18. Article by Rupert Neate. Photo: AFP/Getty*. Additional article by Miranda Bryant, London Evening Standard, 15.5.18.

Prosthetic leg with leather boot of Frida Kahlo. London Evening Standard, 17.5.18. Advertisement for ‘Making Herself Up’ exhibition at the V&A. Photo by Javier Hinojosa.

4 Torso of AJ Cook as JJ Jareau (Special Agent Jennifer Jareau) in ‘Criminal Minds’. Cut from the TV schedule page of the London Evening Standard, 29.3.18. Photographer uncredited.

Legs of Kendall Jenner ‘in feathers’ by designer Rick Owens. Photographer uncredited.

5 Torso of Kim Jong-un on a visit to a teacher training college in Pyongyang. London Evening Standard, 17.1.18. Photographer uncredited.

Skirt and left leg of Serena Williams, U.S. Open, 2018. ‘The 36-year-old wore a dress, designed by Louis Vuitton Men’s Artistic Director Virgil Abloh, as she beat Polish player, Magda Linette, in straight sets’. London Evening Standard, 28.8.18. Photographer uncredited.

Right leg of Natalie Portman, who ‘transformed herself into a punk for her film Vox Lux, in which she plays a musician called Celeste’. London Evening Standard, 1.3.18. Photographer uncredited.

*The photo credits appear as they did in the publication from which the images were cut. For the record, I don't accept the name of a company as the credit for a photograph. There was an actual person behind the camera. If you are that person, or know them, please let me know. Also, the information in the articles may be fabricated. I use the Evening Standard and Metro newspapers because they are free. I couldn’t afford to make my work if I bought a more ‘reputable’ publication every day.

Evening Standard Art Prize, National Gallery, 2018

In My Art, Money Matters, Exhibitions Tags collage art, handmade collage, stitched paper, stitched art, lion man of ulm, pink pussy hat, donald trump, boris johnson, theresa may, jeanne hebuterne, frida kahlo, criminal minds, kendall jenner, kim jong-un, serena williams, natalie portman, liverpool hope university, a contemporary phantasmagoria, evening standard art prize
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ING Discerning Eye

November 8, 2023

I’m really pleased to say that Family Affair has been selected for this year’s ING Discerning Eye.

THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT MY WORK IS ANY BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE’S! It just means that this year (I have submitted work eighteen times, that’s eighteen years, and been accepted thrice) one of the judges liked my work. I won’t find out which judge selected me until the Private View on 16th November*.

The exhibition is six small (the work is small-scale, too) exhibitions in one. Each judge mounts their own show. The panel is always made up of two artists (Chris Levine, Julian Wild), two collectors (Tony Adams, the footballer, Ian ‘H’ Watkins, the singer) and two critics or some-such (Peju Oshin, critic, Eliza Gluckman - Director of the Government Art Collection). I’m betting Chris Lavine selected mine, on account of his portrait of the Queen, but who knows?

Numbers are limited for the PV (my +1 is reserved for my friend Cathy, if she’s available?), but the exhibition is free and runs at the Mall Galleries in London, from 17th - 26th November.

Image: Detail from Family Affair.

*Edit: It was Chris Levine.

In Exhibitions Tags ing discerning eye, ingdisceye, small art, original art, london exhibition, london art scene, mall galleries, eliza gluckman, peju oshin, tony adams, chris levine, ian h watkins, julian wild
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How Much?

June 29, 2023

I should’ve thought this through beforehand.

Last month, I had some work (an unimaginable amount of hours in hand embroidery) accepted for a group show a few hundred miles away. A very expensive train journey involving three changes, not possible to do in a singe day on the coach. After much deliberation, I decided not to take part.

Because money.

The price I put on the artwork was £675 (How much?).

The gallery takes 35% (not complaining), which leaves £438.75.

The submission cost was £15, leaving £423.75.

The framing was £145.04 (again, not complaining), leaving £278.71.

The fare to the framer’s was £15.20 (£3.80 x 4), leaving £263.51.

The fare to drop the work at the exhibition (and come home again) would be £140, leaving £123.51.

So, best case scenario, my work sells (the stats say it won’t) and I make £123.51 for a piece of work that was years in the making.

A more likely outcome is I make a loss of £280 in train fares, and valuable time, after collecting the piece when the exhibition finishes. The only upside is I would’ve met some new artists, who may have become friends, which is, of course, priceless.

The exhibition organisers were lovely and went out of their way to try and make this work for me, but in the end it just didn’t add up.

In Money Matters, Exhibitions Tags livelihood of artists, art costs, breaking even, cost of art
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