firstsite contemporary art colchester

Emily Cole, Stratford, 2005

18 January – 16 February 2006
Emily Cole
Artist Space

Norwich-based painter Emily Cole will spend four weeks in firstsite’s Artist Space to develop her current practice. Working gesturally in paint and fluorescent colours, Cole intends to create a series of works documenting journeys from Colchester to surrounding locations.

Using digital photography and video Cole records specific trips from one location to another. These images act as source material for Cole’s paintings, which capture a variety of scenes we experience; countryside, railway stations, villages and cityscapes feature equally in her work. Cole travels by public transport such as bus and train, recording incidental aspects of her journey as significant moments.

Cole’s work depicts truthfully the landscape as it is experienced. Inspired by American photographer Ed Ruscha, Cole makes visible the beauty in less obvious scenes; emphasising road signs, railway workers, motorway tunnels and train station architecture. Through neon paint she invests the tradition of landscape painting with new vigour. Window frames and windscreens recur to frame the painted image and remind us of how we often see the outside world. Hung as series and in sequence Cole’s paintings reference whole journeys, and all that they can encompass.

Cole will spend time at firstsite talking to people in Colchester about their individual journeys, before undertaking their trips and using them as inspiration for new work. Alongside this Cole may experiment with sound and animation in her practice. She has also created a new painting to be hung on the front of the Minories building that takes her use of fluorescent ground to a new level: this larger painting is best viewed under the luminous light at night.

Artist Space presentations sit somewhere between an exhibition and an open door on artists’ studios – new approaches and thinking will be evolving and not yet resolved. During residencies, artists will spend time discussing their work with firstsite staff and inviting visitors into the space to reveal their working processes.

Click here to view a firstsite paper essay about Emily's work.

	Emily Cole, Stratford, 2005 18 January – 16 February 2006 Emily Cole Artist Space Norwich-based painter Emily Cole will spend four weeks in firstsite’s Artist Space to develop her current practice. Working gesturally in paint and fluorescent colours, Cole intends to create a series of works documenting journeys from Colchester to surrounding locations. Using digital photography and video Cole records specific trips from one location to another. These images act as source material for Cole’s paintings, which capture a variety of scenes we experience; countryside, railway stations, villages and cityscapes feature equally in her work. Cole travels by public transport such as bus and train, recording incidental aspects of her journey as significant moments. Cole’s work depicts truthfully the landscape as it is experienced. Inspired by American photographer Ed Ruscha, Cole makes visible the beauty in less obvious scenes; emphasising road signs, railway workers, motorway tunnels and train station architecture. Through neon paint she invests the tradition of landscape painting with new vigour. Window frames and windscreens recur to frame the painted image and remind us of how we often see the outside world. Hung as series and in sequence Cole’s paintings reference whole journeys, and all that they can encompass. Cole will spend time at firstsite talking to people in Colchester about their individual journeys, before undertaking their trips and using them as inspiration for new work. Alongside this Cole may experiment with sound and animation in her practice. She has also created a new painting to be hung on the front of the Minories building that takes her use of fluorescent ground to a new level: this larger painting is best viewed under the luminous light at night. Artist Space presentations sit somewhere between an exhibition and an open door on artists’ studios – new approaches and thinking will be evolving and not yet resolved. During residencies, artists will spend time discussing their work with firstsite staff and inviting visitors into the space to reveal their working processes. Click here to view a firstsite paper essay about Emily's work.