Eco-Pod Artist In Residency Louise Loudoun Shows Paintings In Blasé House Exhibition
Artist Louise Loudoun has been an artist-in-residence in Grow’s eco-pod for Autumn/Winter 2019 and in this time has produced many new drawings and paintings, some of which are to be shown in an exhibition at Blasé House on Tues 17 & Wed 18 December.
Louise says:
‘When I first knew I was going to do a residency in the eco-pod at Grow, for some reason I knew I would start drawing a lot more. I had a feeling I was going to do quite a few self portraits, and I did. Although you could say I was just using myself a lot, the portraits didn’t necessarily have to be me, just a starting point. I didn’t think I would paint so much in there but inevitably I did and ended up making a good deal of work on paper and the paintings on boards crept in. They go hand in hand but are different and I like that. The show at Blasé House is exhibiting work made during my time in the pod.
I did not anticipate quite what it would be like in the time I have had in the space. I was not always able to get in there in the daytime so it’s been some long nights and I got quite obsessed with getting in there as much as could to do a bit more. I am very thankful to GROW for that time and support as well as Blasé House for letting me do another show. I can make the work but if it weren’t for these people I would not have been able to push it”
As part of Louise’s residency, she also transformed Grow’s 18x3m canalside window with her painting for the V&A Lates event on 25 October called ‘This must be the Place’.
The pod is designed by local environmental architecture practice, Studio Bark and has been used by many different artists since Grow’s yard became its home in 2017. The design principles of this low-impact 'U-Build' pod came out of Studio Bark's desire to make construction truly affordable and self-built, opening up the prospect of self-led construction to a greater proportion of the general public. The structure incorporates a long pop-up hatch window (powered by reclaimed car-boot pistons), a modular (locally sourced) Douglas Fir skin, and modular green roof.
About Studio Bark
www.studiobark.co.uk
Studio Bark is a Hackney Wick based pioneering architectural practice that delivers inspiring, yet cost-conscious environmental architecture with a hands-on approach to research, design and fabrication. Studio Bark have been developing their low-impact U-Build system for the past two years alongside engineering firm ‘Structure Workshop’ and CNC workshop ‘Cut and Construct’. Using modern CNC cutting technology means pieces can be accurately pre-cut to size and assembled using basic tools and with minimal construction experience.
About Louise Loudoun
Louise Loudoun is a painter who has been based in east London since 2006. Her paintings and drawings of strangers and friends, figures and faces, found and domestic objects, sometimes burnt and broken, reflect an urban environment familiar to all. Often executed in commercial paint, applied freely and spontaneously and without preliminary studies, their rough-hewn calligraphy and seemingly casual appearance belie a mastery of balance between control and thoughtlessness, observation and instinct, determination and revelation. They span a tradition of drawing, abstract expressionism, graffiti writing, and hint at a world where dreams and the sublime exists in the everyday.