Out of Hours: Jananne Al-Ani – Bringing to Light/Timelines

Thanks to our special relationship with Towner Eastbourne, we are very pleased to be able to enjoy an exclusive out of hours viewing of two current exhibitions: In Bringing to Light, artist and guest curator Jananne Al-Ani has chosen works from the Towner Collection by a broad range of artists, displayed with two further works of her own, Excavators (2010) and Black Powder Peninsula (2016). The curated selection draws upon propositions highly relevant when viewing Al-Ani’s ambitious new moving image work Timelines (2022) - presented alongside this exhibition in an adjacent gallery - such as looking at the world from an aerial view, notions of landscape (in particular, when viewed through a lens), space, light, pattern, and contested geographies.

Jananne Al-Ani is a London-based, Iraqi-born artist working with photography, film and video. Her practice is concerned with the power of testimony, representations of landscapes marked by conflict, and the legacy of British power and influence globally.

Four BMN members will each give a short presentation about a piece they have selected, bringing their own perspectives as artists to the work to encourage further thought and discussion:

Loupe Cooper is an artist and writer. Drawing and painting primarily from life, she has recently been working in monochrome using white gesso, iron ore and woad, the ancient pigments being particularly appropriate for her reflections on the passage of time and close observation of nature. @8loupe8

Kath Dawson has been painting seriously since she retired from gainful employment and went back to art college to take the degree she dropped out of in her teens. Her subject matter could be described as the interaction between geography and history, so it should come as no surprise that almost all her recent paintings are on the theme of Ukraine. She is currently doing the Turps Correspondence Course - which seems appropriate for a painter working in oil. @kathleendawson.paint kathleendawson.co.uk

Steve Johnston says he paints because it's the only thing that helps him make sense of a world he struggles with/in. In addition to being a prolific printmaker, Steve has been working for quite some time in collaboration with two other artists on a highly ambitious installation which consists, so far, of 500 stellated dodecahedra. BCJ (Bartholomew, Crocker, Johnston) are currently scouting sites to creatively disrupt in the coming months, with their epic Field of Dreams.

Liz Purkis says she focuses on anything that comes out of the Earth: fossils, rocks, archaeology; and how we humans interpret and seek to understand our place on the planet. She uses any media that suit what she is trying to convey – monoprinting, installations with wire, found objects, acrylic, clay; and is now exploring the potential of stone carving. Liz gets her flow from being rooted in her immediate environment – feeling that being on the coast where the Earth meets the Sea is pretty much as ‘elemental’ as her opportunities will ever get - and, of course, there is so much material to play with. @giz2058

6-7.30pm. All events are free for BMN members. Non-members £5, please email bluemonkeynetcat@gmail.com for payment details. BMN is not for profit and all funds go towards paying our speakers and organisers.

Blue Monkey Network is run by artists for artists, in partnership with Towner Eastbourne, and is entirely funded by membership subscriptions and donations. Many thanks to all our supporters.

Image - Christine Binnie speaking at Out of Hours: Peggy Angus. Credit: Rohan van Twest.

For more information visit https://townereastbourne.org.uk/whats-on