Commissioned by ARTNOT
Transfer: The relic of a Miracle
On Wednesday the 9th of March I planted some 18 Moringa Oleifera ‘Miracle Tree’ seeds in small pots and placed them behind the curtain in the study room at Nottingham Contemporary. On Friday 18th of March the first shoots of the germinated trees were seen. Of the 18 seeds planted 14 germinated. It was from one of the 4 failed seeds that the ‘miracle tree’ tattoo emerged.
Tags: 2011
The Miracle Trees (Moringa Oleifera)
In March of 2010 John Newling was approached to develop a work in collaboration with Bronislaw Szerszynski of the Department of Sociology and the ESRC Centre for the Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics (CESAGen), Lancaster University.
The work that emerged ‘Synthia II (code / soil / life)’ consisted of a soil constructed by shredding the genetic code (634 pages) of Craig Venter’s synthetic life form ‘Synthia’. Growing in the soil was a Moringa Oleifera tree germinated by Newling in his studio.
Tags: 2011
Extract from ‘The Lemon Tree and Me.’ The full text and images will be published in Spring 2012
The Lemon Tree & Me:
10 Months Later
Monday 17th January 2011: Today I received an email from Jeremy Webster of the Lincoln Collection informing me of the sad news that, despite every effort made, the lemon tree was dead. It was the kind of news that has a visceral affect and, whilst it was remarkable that the tree lasted for as long as it did, it was still unexpected.
Back on Tuesday 24th March 2010, when I received the somewhat bedraggled lemon tree from Jonathan Casciaini I had little notion of the quantity and quality of experience and knowledge that the Lemon Tree and Me project would bring. Now, 95 weeks later, the Lemon Tree and Me is coming to an end. The lemon Tree was with the Collection for 308 days which was a great achievement on their behalf.
It is the closeness of the relationship between The Lemon Tree & Me that has stayed with me and continues to engage my thoughts. The project sought to privilege an intimacy of knowledge gained through observation and experience. Such closeness tried to overcome the material, social and ethical distance that can occur in works that attempt to comment on situations or conditions that are evident but not experienced.
Tags: 2011
Performed on 2nd December in St Mary’s church, Nottingham 2010
A project for Sideshow
Singing Uncertainty (background) The fragility of a longed for certainty
Singing Uncertainty continues the thread of an earlier work. In 1994 Locus+ commissioned the project ‘Skeleton’ for All Saints Church, Newcastle Upon Tyne. A principal element of this project was a hymn book that had been edited to show only the questions that were written in the hymns.
Tags: 2011
Peterborough Soil (final phase)
Permanent work installed 16th November 2010
Project Curator: Gillian Barclay
Project Management: Gillian Barclay, Lisa Helin, Kevin Tighe
The 4 phases of the Peterborough Soil project
Calling / Gathering
Peterborough Soil [first phase]
Phase 1 of the project was the call for people of Peterborough to contribute images of Peterborough to a dedicated website. These images, places in Peterborough that hold a special memory or are considered to be a favourite place in the city, were collected through the website and at the museum. Alongside of the images a short text, in relation to the image, was also welcomed. The images formed the bulk of the content of the 2nd phase of the project.
Tags: 2011
Permanent work installed on 12th November 2010 at the Leyton Crescent recreation ground, Broxtowe
A commission for Hinterland, Curator Jennie Syson
Notes for the Mayor of Broxtowe, Cllr. Pat Lally
In 2009, artist John Newling collected and copied key documents relating to the different history of spaces adjacent to the River Trent and the industrial wastelands of Nottingham. These documents and images had an emphasis on changing values and shifting architectural or ground use. This collection of documents were shredded and transformed into soil.
Tags: 2011