Stargazer

Stargazer from Alex Pearl on Vimeo.

I am currently making work about the act of staring at the stars. This piece is made with drawings on a turntable. The sound is taken from Greg Fox's "Carmen of the Spheres" (creative commons license) Made using some sort of mathematical method based upon the orbits of the planets in our solar system

Sizemology

Little Death 2 and Protest St Petersburg will be screened on the BBC Big screen
Clayton Square, Liverpool from Friday 13th June – Thursday 26th June 2008, daily at 12.00, 14,00, 16.00, 19.00 and 21.00.


Little Death 2 (excerpt) from Alex Pearl on Vimeo.

New Website

My new website has gone live. The excitingly titled www.alexpearl.co.uk is still in a state of flux but I am notoriously impatient. This and my other blogs will continue as news feeds and testing areas.

Little Deaths - Review

Read a review of my solo show at the Salt Gallery, Hayle (if you want to)

Published

Here is a new magic trick video based on one performed by my mum. Also I have a couple of small pieces in Transition Gallery magazine Garageland.

Little Deaths at The Salt Gallery

Little Deaths, a solo show is now open for two months at The Salt Gallery, Hayle

There & Then

New works from the Automatic Film making Project are appearing as part of There & Then at Airspace Stoke on Trent.

First Ice

A film mostly made under a table in Bedford

The Black Flag Game

A film made with a simple scrolling machine. Also The Black Flag Game has been launched on Facebook follow link to join in

South Pole Explorer

One of a trio of associated films made at BCA Gallery after everyone has gone home.

Residency at BCA Gallery

I'm nearly a month into a 3 month residency at BCA Gallery in Bedford. I'm concentrating hard on making a series of films and objects exploring the idea of an imaginary journey to the Antarctic. The films are all made in Bedford, mostly in the studio, and often under my table. There is also an online journal on the AN website and my other blog http://ajpjournals.blogspot.com/ . This will later be published as a limited edition book.

Click here to see a clip of film made by my aurora machine

First Ice

This is the beginnings of some new films,books and sculptures based around a fictive proposal not to go to the Antarctic (as I imagine its quite cold and probably full of artists). PLAY

RSVP preview

Here are a few installation shots of Portrait and a preview of one of the videos showing from Friday 28th at the Foundling Museum, London (two minutes walk from Russell Square tube).

RSVP

This show will soon be opening in London. To read my diary about the trials and tribulations of a foundling artist click here

Here is a newish surveillance based video which is meant to be viewed on a loop causing narrative disruption

Throw & Catch

A split screen version of a trick with an invisible ball performed by my dad (and Eric Morcambe) It was designed to be viewed on two screens at opposite sides of a room. Play

Magic Tricks

I've been commissioned by Commissions East (makes sense) to make some work to be sited in the Foundling Museum in London. I'm writing another blog on the artist's newsletter site
about the details, trials and tribulations. Anyway heres a film that doesn't look like it will make it. Its based on one of the magic tricks I remember from when I was a child.
PLAY

New durational sculptures

An offshoot of the little death videos, I am starting to make a number of sculptures that are designed to be used and at least partly destroyed. They will soon be appearing as part of Demolition a new show at Site in Liverpool's Albert Dock.

A life - Bury St Edmunds

I've just completed a residency at Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery, I've produced three films, a book and 5 comics. This one involved the least effort. play

Joking Aside

A new show - Joking Aside - is opening at Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery on 5th May - 16th June. Its connected with the Bury festival for which I am also going to be artist in residence. For the residency I'm going to be making a series of films based on people's bad thoughts. These are going to be collected from strategically placed ballot boxes. The resulting films will be on show in the art gallery and on this blog throughout the residency. The show at Bury will include a series of little deaths and a new video lenticular card I am having made. (pictured left)

Little Death 4

Little Death 4 was filmed using 30 matches a slide viewer and a recording from a town high street. It comes with a number of bystander films which concentrate on the experiences of single matches. Click on the picture for a quicktime movie or on this link for Utube

Little deaths 2

Two little tests for a longer series of little deaths using alka seltzer tablets. play

Little Deaths (working title) with sound

Click play to see two of a series of a hundred new films I am currently working on. Now with sound

Found films

I have started a new series of films using footage found either in the background of other pieces or tucked away on old dv tapes. They are very simple quiet little films (mostly). Play

Upcoming Screening

Castlefield Gallery PureScreen #16: Beta Test

08 December 2006 (18:00 - 20:00)

Featuring artists: Samantha Donnelly, Monika Dutta, George Drivas, Karen Guthrie, Eleanor Morgan, Alex Pearl, Kelly Richardson, Tom Schón, Antti Tanttu, Samuael Topiary & EE Miller, Patricia Walsh.

The selection of works, drawn together from the PureScreen open submission call, examines the various ways that artists engage with ideas of action and performance. The content and production methods of the films vary: from use of hand drawn and abstract animation techniques; to cinematic devices used to animate the inanimate; to more ‘traditional’ cinematic aesthetics and ideas, which serve to highlight the avant-garde and experimental.

A wide range of cultural, historical and political references, are deployed in exploring the tensions between action, performance and the audience. Some of the films explore behaviours derived from emotional reactions or situations, while others adopt a more formal approach, with ideas borrowed from performance history and contemporary dance.

PROGRAMME:

1. Marmairein Samantha Donnelly / Manchester, UK / 3’ 04”

2. 6 Goats Monika Dutta / Aberdeenshire, UK / 1’ 30”

3. Beta Test George Drivas / Athens, Greece / 12’ 40”

4. Welcome To Karen Guthrie / Cumbria, UK / 5’

5. Sticky Things Eleanor Morgan / London, UK / 4’

6. Dance Alex Pearl / Melton, UK / 1’

7. Automatic Film 1 Alex Pearl / Melton, UK / 4’ 30”

8. The Sequel Kelly Richardson / Gateshead, UK / 1’ 09”

9. Heimatfilm Tom Schón / Braunschweig, Germany / 2’ 40”

10. Solitude Antti Tanttu / Helsinki, Finland / 4’

11. Gum & Tea Samuael Topiary & EE Miller / New York, USA / 4’ 30”

12. Breath Patricia Walsh / Lancaster, UK / 5’ 55”

Bureau Gallery, Ground Floor, Islington Mill, James Street, Salford. M3 5HW. Bus stop on nearby Chapel Street. Buses from Piccadilly: X34, 36, 37, 12, 26.

PureScreen is Castlefield Gallery’s screening event for artist’s film and video. Curated from open submissions, the programme provides a platform for outstanding recent work and aims to support new and emerging practitioners.

For further info or to join the mailing list please contact: Sophia Crilly, e: purescreen@castlefieldgallery.co.uk

Or visit: www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/Purescreen.asp , for programme details and to download PureScreen: Film & Video Artists Information Pack.

PureScreen is supported by Arts Council England.

Dream for the invisible girl

A two minute dream sequence for the invisible girl. Its made from some old magic lantern slides and a music box found in a barn. Play

Study for the invisible girl (again)

Yet another piece for the invisible girl project. play

Other news & upcoming shows
Current
60 seconds of Play GET THIS! GALLERY, Atlanta USA

Upcoming
Hun gallery International, Hun Gallery, New York (17th Nov)
Purescreen, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester (screenings)
Explore, Aspex Gallery off site projects, Portsmouth Screen06, Portsmouth (solo screening) (11th Nov)
Tulca, Visual Arts festival, Galway (group exhibition in which my work will be available to mobile phones) (From 3rd Nov)
Norwich International Animation Festival, Norwich (18th-21st Oct)

Study for the invisible girl

Plans are a foot for some sort of multi-screen projection of invisible girl films. This is a little sketch of one of the ideas. Play

untitled (smile)

A wind powered flick book with no pictures. play

Untitled (song)

Play. Another longer film (seven minutes). I have a bit more time at the moment and I am revisiting some earlier pieces. Here is the version with updated sound (if it seems the same as before, try refreshing your page).

Study for the invisible girl

play. Another study for The Invisible Girl. It is five minutes long so it might take a while to load.

The Invisible Girl (sketch)

This is a sketch for a new project based on a nineteenth century freakshow. play

New Blog

I have started a new blog purely for my Clockwork protests. It is intended that this will become an ongoing project to which anybody can contribute by asking for a kit and film their own protest on video, using a digital camera or on their mobile. Films can then be sent back to me for editing and exhibition. I am applying for Arts Council unding so hopfully I will be able to pay expenses. If you want to go to the Protest blog click here or on the picture

Protest Film - St Petersburg, 2006

This is the second of a series of films in which a small clockwork protest will be made in a variety of locations around the world. It is intended that eventually a kit containing a clockwork protester and placards will be passed from person to person around the globe and that the resulting films will be sent back to me for screening, This film was edited from footage collected in St Petersburg, Russia. If anyone fancies having a go, drop me a line & I will send you a kit & instructions. play

Smile, 2006

An automated drawing. I have become mildly interested in the smile. It is an incredibly simple but subtle visual sign :) click

Untitled (crawl), 2006

Another short from the Sideshow residency. Other news, Drawing Links show about to open at International3 gallery Manchester and other work in Streaming Festival {the Hague} and Pixeldance, Greece. Also if you have trouble down loading from this site try Youtube and do a search for Rotagavin. Click to play.

untitled, 2006

Another sketch from Sideshow. This is one of a number of ornithopters made for the main films but they never featured (or flew)

Untitled (burden), 2006

One of many tiny films made alongside the main works for Sideshow, Nottingham click to play.
Ps. I have a new site with the Saatchi