The Belgian Synesthesia Association

Blueprint 2012

Wout Lecocq

Anthone de Knut

Laureyns Amant

Boudewijn Beerblock

Jana van Wamberghe

Cornelis van Agast

Guido de Brune

Joris Ghuuleke

Pieter Speeck

Lucrece Spillebeen

Milan Diksmuide

Curated by Neil McNally

Thursday 5^th July

Preview: 6pm-late

Thursday 12^th July

Curators talk: 6pm

Exhibition continues:

Friday 6^th – Sunday 15^thJuly

Opening hours: Thursday – Sunday, 12 – 6pm daily

A number of years ago Neil McNally went on a poetry reading tour of Belgium. He ended up in the Flemish town of Ghent.  At a loose end and with a few hours to spare he visited the Museum voor Schone Kunsten.  Face to face with Hieronymous Bosch’s St Jerome at Prayer (c. 1500) he suffered a bout of something akin to Stendhal’s Syndrome and synesthesia and passed out. He heard colours, smelled sound, tasted touch.

Rescue came in the form of a Belgian synesthesia associate , who recognised the symptoms, and rushed to his side to offer sympathy and advice on this condition.  McNally has been indebted ever since. In honouring this moment of identification, this exhibition will show the work of several self-taught Belgian synesthetes who are members of the association.

Synesthesia is thought to be a perceptual experience in which stimuli presented through one modality will spontaneously evoke sensations in an unrelated modality. The condition occurs from increased communication between sensory regions and it is involuntary, automatic, and stable over time. It can occur in response to drugs, sensory deprivation, Dutch oil paintings, or brain damage.

Synesthetes are thought to be the people of the future. For most people, the name Tabitha does not taste like pickled walnuts dipped in Dijon mustard; a symphony by Mahler is not cerise and salmon pink. This neurological condition, although little understood, is surprisingly common among artists, writers, left handed people and Belgians.

Their work will be curated in the spirit of the writings of Pessoa, Baudelaire, Poe, Rimbaud, Nabokov and Huysmans, and others who have sought to explore the syndrome. 

Neil McNallys' The Belgian Synesthesia Association was selected for Blueprint 2012, a curating competition selected by Ruth Claxton (Artist and Associate Director, Eastside Projects, Birmingham), Gordon Dalton (Artist, Curator, Mermaid & Monster, Cardiff), Paul O'Neill (curator, artist, writer, Bristol). 

Blueprint is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Summer Residency Artist 2012 Announced

The range and ambition of the entries we received for our Summer Residency Callout was truly impressive. Selecting the winner was a tough job and we are very grateful to Martyn Cross, Joe Deighan and Ruth Piper, all studio holders at BV Studios, for the benefit of their insight, experience and enthusiasm in helping to choose Owen Clarke as this year's Summer Residency artist at Motorcade/FlashParade.

Owen has been an integral member of Motorcycle Showroom and shows his work under the pseudonym 'Jugovic'. He will be able to enjoy the two months of August and September with unlimited access to our lovely 1000 square foot space, plus one-to-one mentoring and peer critiques.

Part of his proposal is to construct 'an ambitious architectural installation'... we can't wait to see how his project develops.

The residency will culminate in a show of Owen's work opening on Thursday October 4th. We hope you can join us then, and additionally in welcoming Owen to the space on August 2nd, with a special performance event from last years Summer Residency artists Sullivan & Flint.


See more of Owen Clarkes work here: jugovic.co.uk

The Summer Residency is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

TRY IT... You'll Like It.

The University of the West of Englands' MA Show

Seila Fernandez Arconada 

Sinead Breslin

Jason Brown

Anwyl Cooper-Willis

Shelley Davis 

Christina Denyer

Elizabeth Dismorr

Bernard Fairhurst

Gavriella Kalafati

Thomas Martin

Lucie Smailes

Sarah Stockley

Michelle Trepka

Friday 8^th June

Preview: 6pm-late

Exhibition continues:

Saturday 9^th – Sunday 15^thJune

10 – 6pm daily 

TRY IT... You’ll Like It: a cutting edge contemporary fine art show presented by final year Masters Degree students from the University of West of England. The work includes a wide range of media from painting and drawing through sound installation to sculpture and video. This is a fantastic opportunity to see a wide range of innovative artwork from early career professional artists practicing in the region. 

http://tryityoulllikeitshow.blogspot.co.uk/