Shiftwork

3 March - 14 April 2018

Billy Kerry <i>Painted Lady Landscape</i> 2016
Billy Kerry Painted Lady Landscape 2016

Shiftwork brings together four artists who through their work tease out a number of aesthetic and political issues concerning Gypsy, Roma and Traveller lives through cultural representation. Some of the works were previously shown as solo presentations as part of the Gypsy Maker project; an innovative and ground-breaking concept devised, owned and developed by the Romani Cultural & Arts Company. The aim is to commission established and emerging artists to develop new work that engages GRT communities and the wider public in dialogue about contemporary art and cultural perspectives. This 2018 project is supported by Arts Council of Wales and is commissioned and owned by the Romani Cultural and Arts Company.

Each of the artists takes a different approach – from the documentary style of Artur Conka, one of the few Roma to have filmed their own community, to the sculptural installations of Daniel Baker which examine migration and free movement. The idiosyncratic paintings of Shamus McPhee have a distinct 'outsider art' feel while complex issues of sexuality and gender are explored in the eclectic work of Billy Kerry. These unique approaches to contemporary Romani culture draw people together by highlighting the links between communities whilst at the same time recognising and celebrating difference. For this show at g39 a number of the works produced during the Gypsy Maker project will be shown, alongside new collaborative works developed in dialogue with g39.

  • Billy Kerry <i>Painted Lady Landscape</i> 2016
  • Daniel Baker <i>Canopy</i> 2015
  • Shamus McPhee <i>Geddie, Gouris and Ganis (Boy, Girls and Hens) 1930s</i> 2015
  • Billy Kerry <Fur Mickey Man and The Painted Lady</i> 2016
  • Artur Conka <i>Recipe series No. 7</i> 2016
  • Dan Baker <i>Analog</i> 2015
  • Daniel Baker <i>Mobile Surveillance Device</i> 2015
  • Shamus McPhee <i>No Mans Land</i>
  • Artur Conka <i>Recipe series No. 8 (Chicken  Mayonnaise spread with Olives)</i>, digital print, 2016

Programme