The Creative Quarter moving forward

With a huge thanks to Becky Ford and Monika Capala, the brand strategy for the Creative Quarter is coming together and the project is starting to gain some momentum.

Using people and situations

As an artist in the tradition of Jeremy Deller, I have been using people and situations as a medium.  I view my role as an artist, as the instigator/facilitator. Deller's practice is based around the bringing together of concepts, projects, mediums and he regularly breaks conventions, works cross platform and cross media. My own practice is similarly varied, and I have been learning free myself from the constraints of traditional art practices.

Reflection: Jeremy Deller in relation to my work.

I claim not to be a politically motivated artist, however, most of my current work involves engaging with themes of war, social injustice/inequality and social regeneration, which are highly political.  When Jeremy Deller was interviewed by the New Museum about his Iraqi project “It is What It Is” ,   “… he strenuously asserts that this isn't a political project—to which you might well ask, What could be more political than selecting which voices will represent Iraq to an information-hungry public?" Ben Davis, 09.  Deller too does not primarily seem driven by a political agenda, he instead simply attempts to “encourage conversations about our world” Deller J, 09.  In a similar way, my work does not intend to preach, rather open the doors to dialogue and engagement with difficult subjects.  I went to see Deller’s retrospective show at the Hayward Gallery and sat down with an Iraqi artist, Bassim Mehdi as part of the project.  The project attempted to create a dialogue around Iraq as a subject. Deller originally toured the exhibition across America with a number of objects including a bombed out car, an Iraqi civilian and an American Marine. 

Amna Suraka: reclaiming the prison for art & culture

When I went to Amna Suraka in 2009 it was barely more then an empty shell of the prison and torture chamber it had been.  When I returned in 2012, it had become the location of and a symbol for Kurdish art and culture. As Amna Suraka had primarily been used to oppress the Kurds in one of their cultural capitals: Sulaymaniyah.  This subversion is a wonderful example of art being used to bring hope and make a positive change.

Peace for Luton, news article

Extract from news article:

Luton artist, Ben Hodson and creative director of ATP Media, has recently returned from an incredible trip to Iraq.  The 26 year old travelled with fellow director and storyteller Ian Rowlands, 49, to Iraq last week.  The purpose of the trip was somewhat unusual.

With the help of local Iraqi artists, they literally painted the side of a mountain on the site of a dramatic peace project on the turn of the millennium, created by internationally renowned artist, Ismail Khayat. Ben explains “When Ismail initially did the project it was about bringing peace to two opposing Kurdish factions in the north of the country” “It appears that his intervention as an artist kicked off the peace process and he is widely credited with being instrumental in bringing the two opposing sides together. 

Ben is the creative Director of ATP Media, who as a team are working on a documentary to tell some of these stories and many more from Iraq.  The film will look to show how creativity and people can help to bring about positive change, even in the most difficult of situations. 

With this dramatic re-enactment and performance the agency hopes to use it as a symbol for peace for the country, the region and the world. “Art is not the answer, but it’s a great start.  It starts dialogue and helps people engage with difficult subject matters in a way that can bring hope and be constructive.” says Ian. During the trip Ben exhibited a solo exhibition of artwork that was made in Luton, UK. I am passionate about showing the beauty and common humanity in every culture, ours is no different.  “As we have exhibited a number of Iraqi exhibitions in England and Wales, it is great to show British people and culture to the Iraqi people themselves."

Visual Art pop up gallery

I facilitated a pop exhibition of art work by local artists in and aroun the streets of Luton, specificallt over the duration of the Love Luton 2012 Festival.

Exhibition in Iraq <> Exhibition in the UK

This part of the project is concentrating on two main stages. Firstly, I have put on a solo exhibition in the Ismail Khayat gallery in Iraq. Secondly, I will be exhibiting in a group degree show in the UK. The juxtaposition of these two exhibitions and the dialogue they create is where this part of the project lies. I also have a couple of exhibitions scheduled for October 2012 in the Crypt Gallery off Trafalgar Square and The Exhibition Hall at Stockwood Discovery Centre in April 2013. I will also aim to show some of the new work I have created. These, however, fall outside the time frame of the MA.

Our Farley, Documentary Film Project

As part of my on going research into visual peace making and artist intervention, I have been one of the main organisers of a summer film project.  The purpise is to use a creative skill (in this case filmmaking) to give people a voice and address some of the tensions in the Farley ward of Luton.

With this project we will aim to use film making to bring encourage further community cohesion. We will run a series of workshops training young people with the ability to make documentary films. We will then ask them to use these new skills to get footage for an overall documentary of Farley. The documentary will then be shown at a premier where the entire community will be invited. The subject on the film will be on Farley looking at its positives and also some of the challenges but from the point of view of the inhabitants. The project will be aimed at 16-21 year olds but will hope to have an effect on and represent the entire community. 

On the first day we will put on taster giving a brief overview of the project and all the aspects to all who come along, we will then choose 3 groups of 5 people who will be given provided with some basic camera equipment and will allowed to progress to the rest of the course. We will then do 4 days of training over the next two weeks while the groups will still be creating their own footage. The training will cover technical skills, but will also look at subjects like understanding other peoples perspectives. We will then take away the footage and make the film, seeking to be true to the themes and words of the people of Farley. The young people will have an opportunity to contribute their thoughts to the final edit of the documentary before the public showing.

Show Luton to Iraqi's

Previously in the UK I have showed people what Iraqi people are like: their lives, their places of work and their homes. I have been attempting to go beyond the media and address some of the stereotypes and assumptions. However, there are direct parallels with what I have been doing and early photography’s relationship to colonisation.  I have been researching concepts that touch on colonial and post-colonial theory in art.   I would never support a colonial perspective or celebrate its effect on the world, yet I have regularly mimicked/reflected their actions in my own work. In as much as I have photographed distant and ‘exotic’ lands and brought them back to England to present them as an artefact.  In an attempt to reject colonial patterns developing in my own practice, I have intentionally taken work back to Iraq that was created in Luton and showcased my own culture to local people.  It has become a cultural exchange. The exhibition is part of an on going aim to tell stories and challenge perceptions through my work. 

Video of solo exhibition in Iraq

As part of the exhibition I got local people to give their views of the work and how they felt about the work I had been showing in Luton and the rest of the UK.

I collected feedback at the exhibition and the general response was very positive. I have documented the English speaking interviews in this video.  The gallery has now mounted the work and is touring it around a number of galleries and locations in the region. It was important that the subject of the exhibition was from Luton, this is both because it is where I live and because of the tensions the town is facing.  

Artist portraits for Peace for Luton project

Reflection: Using people and situations as a medium?

I now see myself as an artist in the tradition of Jeremy Deller, Since pursuing a higher level of reflection and development in my practice while studying for this MA, I have begun to use people and situations as a medium.  I view my role as an artist, as the instigator/facilitator.  Deller’s practice is based around the bringing together of concepts, projects, mediums and he regularly breaks conventions, works cross platform and cross media. My own practice is similarly varied, and I have been learning to free myself from the constraints of traditional art practices.

Primary Research - It is what it is - Jeremy Deller

Jeremy Deller's work "It is what it is" is one of the most important works for my research, so when a retrospective came to the Hayward Gallery, I made an effort to spend some time at it.  As part of the work, Deller wanted people to start a dialogue around the subject of Iraq.  I spent a length of time with Bassim Mehdi, who is the director of the Iraqi Artists Institute.  We have subsequently developed a relationship and we are looking at working together in the future. 

Moment to Shine Micro documentary

Moment to Shine from ATP Media on Vimeo.

I have contributed footage and help produce the Moment to Shine microdocumentary

Reflection: Iraq exhibition

British people have ideas, pre-conceptions and stereotypes about what people are like in Iraq and the Middle East.  Equally people who live in these areas have ideas, pre-conceptions and stereotypes about what British people are like. I aimed to show some common humanity and the beauty and dignity to be found in every culture and society. There are three collections of work I exhibited in Iraq; Firstly, a project called Lutopia, which is reproductions of large scale photomontages, depicting everyday scenes from Luton in the UK.  Secondly, the portraits of everyday people living in the town.  Thirdly, there are prints showing some of the exhibitions and events in the UK, that showcased work by Kurdish and Arab artists and photographers.  The project attempts to challenge sensationalist or traditional art responses to war and war zones. I tried to address the cross cultural notion of the “other” or foreigner by showing common humanity.

Overview and main changes to proposal

In 2009 I travelled to Iraq. I collected a large amount of data, images, video and audio. From this large database I created art work, curated a travelling group exhibition called Iraq – The Forgotten Story and creatively supported a charity. I went on to create and exhibit a number of projects for the first half of my MA. For the final major project I have brought this large body of work to an ambitious conclusion with a return trip to Iraq in June 2012.  The project has resulted in two main outcomes;

1)  Exhibition in Iraq <> Exhibition in the UK

2)  Peace for Luton, mountain installation and reenactment.

The outcomes are showcased in this studio journal, the rationale, the final major project work and subsequent degree show.  The cultural exchange exhibitions were initially set out in my proposal, however, the Peace for Luton project has developed after persuing some of my initial research and following leads I had in Iraq.

Interviewed on BBC 3 counties radio

What am I?

I have asked myself numerous times; What am I? A photographer/designer/filmmaker/creative director/businessman/philanthropist/technician/lecturer/ and the answer that always sits best with me is artist.  Everything I do is an extension of my creative practice.

Exhibition: Different Departures

I have helped print and exhibit the undergraduate degree show for the Art & Design department for the University of Bedfordshire

Different Departures Degree Show Video

University of Bedfordshire Degree Show 2012 from ATP Media on Vimeo.

I directed a short video on the degree shows for the undergraduate degrees at the University of Bedfordshire