The third annual open exhibition to be held at the Bargate Monument Gallery will feature a diverse range of new work by emerging artists.

Cut to the chase! - Should art have a message? If it does, how is it best communicated? Should art shout its message from the rooftops or are subtle and hidden meanings more effective? Can visual art communicate in ways other art forms cannot? How can artists be heard through the overload of visual culture?
Why don’t artists just stop dithering and Cut to the Chase?

Cut to the chase! Features work by Siobhan Barr, Christopher Bond, Day Bowman, Deepa Craig, Anne Guest, Ian Kirkpatrick, Bryan Lavelle, Albert Potrony, Alan Schechner, Alke Schmitt, Maaike Stevens, David Theobold and Raymond Wong.

Special projects for Cut to the Chase!

Relay, a new platform brought to you from the creator of Rules and Regs!

Relay challenges 8 artists to create a new work in just 48 hours! An object will be presented to the 1st artists and they have 48 hours to make a response, before passing the object on. Eight artists will participate in the process over the course of the exhibition! Will anyone drop the baton? Come in each week to see how the object has changed.

Testing Grounds, an exciting new event to stimulate the senses!

This informal, exploratory project enables artists to use the gallery for exploration into new areas of work, mixing performance, live art, sound and movement, providing an exciting finale to Cut to the Chase!

Contact the gallery at info@aspacearts.org.uk for booking information. Tickets are free, but must be reserved.

Pratt has held artist residencies with The Experimental Oncology Unit at The University of Southampton School of Medicine since 2006 and the Arches studios. This is the first showing of Faith, an exhibition exploring the value of DNA and the visual appearance of science, in particular the aesthetics of medical imaging. Faith will be touring the South East after this inaugural exhibition at Bargate Monument Gallery.

The most exciting part of this exhibition is the opportunity for YOU to take part. At the exhibition you can collect a sample of your own DNA and include it in the show. DNA samples become the creative material with which the art is made; your participation is required!

Last year a space launched Collectible. For the first time visitors to the gallery were able to purchase the works of some of the most exciting and talented artists working today. This hugely popular show returns for 2009 with a new hand picked selection of artists; some old friends and some fresh faces!

This year’s featured artists are: Kate Aughey, Elizabeth Eamer, Jonny Hannah, Matthew King, Roman Klonek, Little Red, Frederic Morris, Amanda Mulquinney, Stuart Rodda, Ilona Szalay, Sarah Tse and James Unsworth.

Check our website for more special offers and events during Collectible 2

The concept for Catalyst has been developed to push the practice of all the residents from the Arches studios in new directions for the start of 2009. The artists have used this opportunity to start and develop these projects allowing the public a glimpse into their ongoing creative practice. The result of these new developments will be exhibited across two exciting shows.

Catalyst Part 1 > 24th January - 1st March 2009

Showing new work by Jonny Hannah, Stuart Rodda, Lizie Ault, Pauline Pratt, Kate Grenyer, James Maher, Roger Jarvis and Joe Ross.

Catalyst Part 2 > 14th March - 19th April 2009

Showing new work by Chris Cudlip, Ingrid Wheeler, April Mahwinney, Jo Lapage, Stephanie Hood, Tania Robertson, Lizzie Jones, Alys Hawkins and Andy MacCallum.

Alice Williams > Cyclius 9th May - 21st June 2009

At a space we pride ourselves in giving opportunities to new artists to realise ambitious projects, ‘Cyclicus’ is no exception.

Recent graduate Alice Williams has long been exploring the nature of the moving image and how it can be manipulated to affect the surrounding space. For this exhibition she creates a space within the gallery that is transformed by the artist’s multi channel video installation. As you enter the space the combined effect of the videos and light work to baffle perception and create an all-encompassing optical illusion.

This new project is the result of an ongoing period of development for the artist and will give gallery visitors the chance to experience the work of this significant emerging talent at the earliest stages of her career.

Sees Sgt Bargate continue his journey and finds him in a quite different occupation again. This time he’s a train driver from a classic silent movie scene. The question we need to ask is: Is he trying to stop the train or speed it up?

In September 1910 Charlie Chaplin and Arthur Stanley Jefferson, later to become Stan Laurel, set sail from Southampton Docks on the SS Cairnrona to seek their fortunes in America. They landed in Quebec and took the train to New York. What became of these two young hopefuls has passed into Hollywood Legend. Lesser known however is the disagreement between the two stemming from Laurel’s belief that Chaplin stole and exploited the idea of the The Tramp sketch. The two never spoke again. Disagreements aside the setting of Southampton Docks provided the departure point for two of the finest exponents of the silent movie genre and two iconic careers destined for immortality on the Hollywood walk of fame.

Where next will our brave hero go? If you have any suggestions for the future adventures of Sgt Bargate, please e-mail us, we would love to hear them.

Chocks away! As Sgt Bargate departs for his third adventure. But who is this dashing fellow who had undergone yet another transformation? Why, it’s Sgt Bargate, now a daring Spitfire pilot ready to go out and defend our city from invading forces.

The iconic British plane, the Spitfire was designed by R. J. Mitchell who was chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works in Woolston. Much loved by its pilots, the Spitfire saw service throughout the whole of the WW2. It continued to serve as a front line fighter and in secondary roles for several air forces well into the 1950s.

Southampton suffered serious bombing during WW2 but the worst nights were 30th November and 1st December 1940. When 2631 high explosive bombs and 30652 incendiary bombs were fell on the city. During the bombing that night 630 citizens were killed and 1900 injured. 3589 buildings were destroyed and 40000 damaged, it is an amazing fact that the bargate still stands!

Sgt Bargate’s second adventure through English eccentricities and Southampton history sees him in much changed circumstances.

He has taken a lead from Bartletts Travelling Lion Circus, a frequent visitor to the city in years gone by. Although still sporting his fine moustache he is now portrayed with the face of a lion. Possibly from the circus or maybe from the mythical tale of Sir Bevis and the Lady Josian. Sir Bevis, our very own local hero, rescued his Lady from these terrible beasts of Lions who held her captive. They are now tamed and stand guard outside the Bargate to protect the city. In his hand the Sergeant holds Morglay, the magic sword of Sir Bevis. On his death bed Bevis threw the sword and asked to be buried where it fell. The area it landed in is what we call Bevois Valley to this day.

We introduce you to Sergeant Bargate - a handsome and welcoming fellow!

Sgt Bargate finds his beginnings in the history of the building as one of its many uses was as a police station during the early years of the 20th Century. Visitors to the gallery can still see the large wooden police emblem they left behind.

But Sgt Bargate seems to have other things on his mind and is taking a romantic reverie through the history of Southampton. Through the first of his journeys he visits the eccentricities of British comedy and characters from Sherlock Holmes to Basil Fawlty via the Avengers and Benny Hill.

His first adventure features a local boy done good. Alfred “Alfie” Hill was born in Southampton and grew up in Wilton Road, Upper Shirley. Later he changed his name to Benny in homage of his hero, comedian Jack Benny. According to local rumour Tommy Cooper’s mother lived in Shirley - so we will claim him as our own! As for Sid James completing this trio we like to think that as a South African he may have arrived in England on a Union-Castle Line steamer docking at Southampton.

1st October - 2nd November 2008

Billie Cowie

This piece is the final part of the Billy Cowie and Liz Aggiss retrospective commissioned by The Point, complements the recent showing of the projection Men in the Wall at Southampton City Art Gallery.

Visitors to the gallery can expect an extraordinary experience. They will enter the darkened space of the gallery, which is upstairs inside the

Bargate Monument Gallery?, wearing a pair of 3D glasses. A woman projected on the ground in front of them appears to be dancing, solid and real, before their eyes. She performs a short yet captivating dance that ends as the she gradually fades from view. This piece is both exquisite and personal, staying long in the memory after the viewer has left the space.

Billy Cowie is a composer, choreographer and filmmaker who works in a wide variety of art forms. ?Anarchic Dance? a book about his work was published by Routledge in 2006, Cowie’s first novel ‘Passenger’ came out in 2008.

Premiered at Paradiso, Julidans Festival July 2007 Amsterdam, this piece has been shown around Europe and will be shown in Los Angeles in the new year.

?So beautiful & moving a miniature masterpiece?

Alistair Spalding - Sadler,?s Wells.

?The most uncanny thing I have ever seen?

Deborah Levy - Novelist.

?A woman comes slowly towards you from the floor. Her meditative and soft energy involves you into her world and brings you to another dimension of the space. It?s as if you could touch her ? a magical experience.?

Suzy Blok - Artistic Director, I Like to Watch Too (Amsterdam 2007)

www.anarchicdance.com

www.lizaggiss.com

www.billycowie.com