ArtSway, the innovative contemporary art gallery based in England's New Forest, in collaboration with the Arts University College at Bournemouth, presents ArtSway's New Forest Pavilion.

Gayle Chong Kwan's installation The Obsidian Isle explores ideas of collective history, the senses and memory, national identity, landscape and tourism. Chong Kwan documents an island which houses the lost and destroyed places of her native Scotland, referencing the 18th century fictionalized epic of Ossian, as well as her Mauritian heritage, an island whose landscape is being theatricalised and consumed through the global tourist industry.

Examining mass migration and identity, Dave Lewis is extending his research to Venice; posing as a stranger, dressing in clothes similar to those of his father, and exploring ideas relating to identity and black consciousness in the 1960s and today. Lewis presents new work commissioned for the Venice exhibition.

Globalisation and 'Britishness' are recurring themes in the work of Hew Locke. His work focuses on notions of loss of power and prestige, particularly in light of the recent economic downturn. Locke's recent commission for ArtSway—Starchitect—is an installation constructed from cut and painted plywood sheets, featuring sculptural objects which for La Biennale is condensed into one room, presented as a 'treasury', considering the former colonial standing of Venice.

Mike Marshall's elegant and poetic film and photographs are inspired by natural events and the ecology of the natural environment. His new film for Venice—A Prism Splits Light—was filmed in Cyprus, featuring migrant workers from Vietnam and how the land on which they work is utilised.

In contrast, Christopher Orr's small jewel-like paintings embody elements of the Sublime and Surrealism, but feature a highly personal lexicon of motifs that are deliberately anachronistic in the modern, interconnected world.

Sophy Rickett's film work To The River references a natural event—the 'Severn Bore', a mini tidal-wave that twice a year runs the length of the River Severn in south west England. Yet rather than simply recording the event, Rickett instead documents conversations with people who gather to witness the Bore.

ArtSway's New Forest Pavilion presents these artists to the professional and international visual arts community, while promoting ArtSway's pioneering approach to legacy support, partnerships, and the development of opportunities for artists it has previously worked with.

Seminar:
The Arts University College at Bournemouth, Text + Work programme:

Word Matters Three: Who needs art anyway?
Friday 3 June 2011, 10.00h–12.00h
Università Ca' Foscari
Dorsoduro 3246
30123 Venezia

Perspectives on Collecting Contemporary Art: This seminar aims to contribute to discussions around the collecting of contemporary art.


ArtSway's New Forest Pavilion is an international project funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Arts University College at Bournemouth, with additional support from Hampshire County Council and assistance from a range of partners and co-commissioners: Elena Hill, Stour Valley Arts, Oriel Davies Gallery, Barker-Mill Foundation, Bath School of Art and Design, with sponsorship from Howell Wong Costello, Hallett Independent, Hauser & Wirth and IBID Projects. ArtSway is financially supported by Arts Council England, Hampshire County Council and New Forest District Council with additional support from trusts and foundations.