Location: One Thoresby Street, Nottingham, NG1 1J
NMG R&D Bursary recipients Seema Mattu,Tom Harris and Sean Roy Parker will meet in person for the first time for an improvised audio-visual performance, collating elements of their independent work made over the winter. This informal affair will marry Seema’s rendered animations of fanciful landscapes (which are set inside her developing narrative), with Tom’s generative approach to music-making, and a selection of excerpts from Sean Roy’s journal. Herbal drinks will be provided.
Informal welcome and herbal drinks from 6 – 6.30pm. Performance to begin at 6.30pm.
Release Room has been developed with the support of an NMG Development Programme R&D Bursary scheme, looking to support Midlands-based artists to be ambitious in developing their practice. Event supported by One Thoresby Street.
Sean Roy Parker is a visual artist, fermentation enthusiast and food writer based at DARP artist community in Shipley, Derbyshire. His work examines the lifecycle of materials, complexities of multi-species responsibility, and problem-solving through collaborative action. He practises slow and low-tech crafts using leftover consumer debris or natural abundance to explore feelings of eco-anxiety in late-stage capitalism, and redistributes resources through flexible care structures like labour exchanges and artswaps. In Summer 2021, Sean Roy delivered a learning project for Liverpool Biennial on bacteria called “A Processing Medium”, and last summer undertook a residency at Pols in Valencia, Spain, researching anarchist, anti-gentrification solidarity with the peasant farmer network. His substack newsletter Fermental Health holds his journals, essays and research reports.
Supported by NMG, Tom received a research bursary to put together two ‘listening events’ at Primary and One Thorsby Street, inviting people to explore their senses in a mindful environment, becoming conscious of the way we listen as opposed to hearing alone. Midlands based sound artists were invited to participate through an open call, submitting their music to be shared at the event, the events also featured performers Anna Peaker, Machine Woman and Brad Lvirdis. With support from Roger Suckling and Pete Ellis, Tom was able to bring together a body of musical work to exhibit at One Thorsby Street, the work resulted in a 90 minute sonic adventure, mapping out an internal journey externally through sound. This work was mainly produced at Carrington Street Studio’s Nottingham/Camp FR between 2018-19, with finishing touches being made during this research period allowing Tom to complete this eclectic collection of music to a high standard.
Seema Mattu is a gender-expansive Valmiki artist, whose practice is framed as a theme park – known as SEEMAWORLD. Within SEEMAWORLD, vessels and portals are built and evolved – giving viewers access to the realms she constructs. Through the welding of 2D and 3D mixed-media, themes explored include: the system of caste, queer sorcery, fan labour and gender taxonomy.
Projects and exhibitions include: Eastside Projects, CCA Glasgow, Fotomuseum (Zürich, CH), Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), LUX, Berwick Film and Media Festival, IKON gallery, New Art City and QUAD. She is currently participating in Film London’s FLAMIN Fellowship (2021-2022), is a recipient of New Midland Group’s Research and Development Bursary (2021-2022) and, as of December 2021, a QUAD International Digital Fellow (2021-2022).
@seemaworld_
