Tag: Installation

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Holding Space

Holding Space Installation Photos by Jo Hounsworth

Problem 1 Performance Photos by Greta Zabulyte

HOLDING SPACE
The Launderette, 145 Cheltenham Rd, Bristol, BS6 5RR
January 2026

Nine established artists from across Britain come together at The Laundrette in Bristol for a captivating exhibition exploring the relationships between objects, bodies, and space.

Holding Space brings together sculpture, sound, drawing, and performance to investigate the delicate and vibrant threads that bind us to objects, environments, and each other. 

At a time when knowledge is contested, the climate is shifting, resources are strained, and movement is increasingly restricted, Holding Space stands as a collective commitment to community. It asks how, by thinking and making together, we might creatively imagine a path towards a shared future.

Working together through regular online dialogue, the artists have explored themes of care, community, and connection. In a rare moment when they gather in person, you are invited to join them for a weekend of interactions to investigate ways that ideas can be realised through form and action.

Artists: Abi Spendlove, Alice Sheppard Fidler, Anno Mitchell, David Bradley, Ellie Shipman, Helen Acklam, Melissa Pierce Murray, Simone Hesselberg, Stevie Ronnie.

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Multi Authored Poem

Photography by Milena von Schulthess

POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair 2024 – Abi Spendlove

12.09.2024–15.09.2024

Multi Authored Poem

The Olivier von Schulthess Collection was collaborating with British artist Abi Spendlove for the eleventh edition of the art fair. Abi Spendlove’s work is characterized by its focus on the process of melting colored ice, which is particularly evident in her so-called Ice Drawings. These works reflect not only her deep fascination with the different materials and their constant, fluid changes, but also her fundamental interest in the dimension of time and the subtle but powerful effect it can have. By combining these elements, Spendlove creates artworks that are both visually stunning and intellectually profound, inviting us to reflect on the transience and transformative power of time.

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Washed Out

Washed Out, 2022, Installation at Robinson College, Cambridge. Cotton, copper, steel, river ice, marigold, madder, chloropyllin, turmeric.

Immersions: Into the River Cam, curated by Mattie O’Callaghan and Holly Pines. Washed Out was installed above Bin Brook, a tributary of the River Cam, which runs through Robinson College in Cambridge. The work was made from river ice collected at Bin Brook and a selection of natural dyes. The sculpture, titled ‘Washed Out’, references the history of women’s labour and the washing of linen that happened upstream in The Cam.

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Underfoot

Photography by Greta Zabulyte

Underfoot

Departure Lounge, Luton

10th December 2020- 30th January 2021

Underfoot explores the underground river as it flows beneath our feet, focusing on the movements – seen and unseen – made by nature, people and time.

The Lea flows mostly unnoticed through Luton, beginning its journey in Leagrave Park, snaking through housing estates, behind allotments and underground beneath the Central Library and the Thistle Hotel in the heart of the town, eventually connecting with the River Thames in London.  
In preparation for this exhibition, Spendlove undertook specialist training to enter, wade through and explore the dark underground river culverts, where she collected video footage, photographs and found materials to inspire her new work. By turning the city inside out conceptually, she draws our attention to the things which are so often overlooked as we go about our daily lives.  
Much of Spendlove’s work is made on the floor. Working with frozen water taken directly from the River Lea, she allows the ice to move and melt on paper with ink, forming unique shapes that stain the paper and seep into the floor. The resulting patterns have been painted and traced onto acetate to create a large-scale installation which covers the entirety of the gallery floor. Mirroring the artist’s making process – moving and walking across the artwork as it was created – visitors are invited to walk over the paintings and navigate paths through them. 
The soundscape that accompanied the exhibition was recorded during the artist’s underground walk across Luton.  The sounds of her feet dragging through the river water echo in the gallery space.  Pathways, layered journeys and layers of time are laid out as a template for contemplation, encouraged by the presence of bean bags in the space which invite visitors to stay a while.


Spendlove’s exhibition at Departure Lounge coincided with the screening of her film A River Runs Under Your Feet at The Hat Factory Arts Centre opposite the gallery for the month of December, as part of their #FactoryWindow film programme. Funded by the Luton Arts Fund, this video collage about the river features footage from Abi’s underground exploration of the Lea. 

Supported by the Luton Arts Fund.