Melanie J. Alexandrou: • Exhibitions

Monday, 29 April 2013

The Aftermath Exhibition

In January I took part in The Aftermath Exhibition at Bar Lane Studios, York

organised by Jade Blood;

THE AFTERMATH EXHIBITION

Saturday 12 January - Saturday 16 February

To welcome in 2013 we will be putting on a special

exhibition and program of events that play with

the concept of the dreaded JANUARY !!!

Work on show by the following artists;

Melanie Alexandrou, Jade Blood, Steve Humble,

Sophie Polyviou and Chalky The Yorkie.

In response to the theme I created new work entitled:

Hibernation and Torpor

(the animals have got the right idea)

A look at how other mammals in the

UK spend the bleak winter months.

Maybe we can all learn something here.

Also feat. a cautionary tale about butterflies.

I made linocut and typewritten fact sheets about the 3 mammals in the UK that hibernate; the dormouse, the bat, and the hedgehog.

Accompanying these were blank fact sheets that visitors where invited to fill in about themselves, including information such as hibernation preparation, hibernation temperature and duration and hibernacula. (Photographs of the filled in fact sheets coming soon)

Unbeknownst to some, certain butterflies also hibernate. Species include Brimstone, Comma, Large Tortoiseshell, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock.

Sometimes butterflies make bad choices. Sometimes they pick a room in your house as their hibernacula. This is very bad for the butterfly because as soon as you light your fire or turn your heating on the butterfly will wake up, thinking it's spring, when it clearly isn't. They waste valuable hibernating energies flapping around which they need to make it through the winter. If you find a hibernating butterfly in a unsuitable place, you can put it in a dark, unheated room (or shoebox with air-holes and exit slot), and give it some food (sugary-water-soaked-kitchen-towel). Then hope for the best.

More photos of the exhibition (inc. 12 Days of Christmas by Steve Humble (see above), Fake Tan Salon by Sophie Polyviou, yard sale by Chalky the Yorkie, and an installation by Jade Blood) and launch night (which included ping pong, records, balloons and chocolate wafer sticks):

Tuesday, 17 July 2012

A New Wild Life

14th July 2012 – 6th August 2012
According to McGee, York

"After a successful run in New Visuality's first collaboration with York’s ‘According to McGee', Melanie Alexandrou, Olivia Streatfield-James and Rosemary Milner are given more room for a fascinating trio show. With 3 weeks and the 7 white walls of a city centre white cube, these emerging and increasingly collectable young artists have accepted the gauntlet with bold style, each artist distilling their respective skill to its muscular, vigorous essence. The result is a timely celebration of craftsmanship and intuitive observation. Wildlife is at last living up its name." - According to McGee,