Waiting

Dave Williams performing Waiting, 23 November, 2007.

3: Waiting, by Dave Williams

23 November, 2007, at 9.30 pm, in the Alice Yard Space

"The size and shape of the space around us figures the shape of what we feel we need to get out of and how far away from it we think we need to run. The shape of the space around us, therefore, prescribes not only what we move like but what we form ourselves into in order to reside in, or escape it."

-- Dave Williams


Bio: Dave Williams is a Trinidad-based performance artist and choreographer who uses elements of dance to re-present archetypes and stereotypes of our circumstance. In an attempt to manipulate the way we perceive, reference, and interpret our responses and actions, he is now exploring media beyond the stage.

At the Proverb opening

At the opening of Proverb, a video work by Mario Lewis; photo by Georgia Popplewell. More photos from the 19 October event here.

2: Proverb, by Mario Lewis

19 October to 9 November, 2007, in the Alice Yard Space



Still from Proverb (2005), a video work


In Proverb ... Mario Lewis presents an installation meditating on the diasporan experience, commenting on "migration, history and belonging", and what he calls a "hybrid film" explores "the passing of time, estrangement, [and] alienation as a poetic construct"....

Leading on from what seems to have begun as an exploration of the UK which was perhaps also a search for his own place within the scheme of things, Lewis has created a new context that selectively combines the fruits of his research, thoughts and encounters from two different times and places in his life.... The video is a visceral representation of alienation, at the same time playing with the medium of the moving image.

-- Asako Yokoya

(Proverb was first shown at the 198 Gallery in London from 21 January to 4 March, 2005.)



Bio: Mario Lewis studied at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana and Goldsmiths College in London. He has participated in numerous international exhibitions, including the Santo Domingo and Dakar Biennials (2003 and 2002), and Latitudes (Paris, 2004). His solo shows include Blind Spot (2002), How Yuh Like Meh Now (2003), and Proverb (2005). He returned to Trinidad in 2005 with the aim of establishing a foundation for research and development of visual arts in the Caribbean. He spearheaded the Galvanize programme that ran in September and October 2006.


Proverb opens on Friday 19 October, 2007, at 7.30 pm, in the Alice Yard Space. Mario Lewis will engage in a conversation about contemporary art in Trinidad and the legacy of Galvanize 2006 with artist Adam Williams and architect Sean Leonard. All are invited.

At the Rack opening

Architect Mark Franco looking at Rack, a drawing installation by Adam Williams. More photos from the 14 September opening here and here.

1: Rack, by Adam Williams

14 September to 5 October, 2007, in the Alice Yard Space



Detail of Rack, an installation of drawings on paper suspended from clothes hangers on a makeshift clotheshorse


Conceived from an accident, the "rack" is both the presentation of my artwork and the artwork itself. First and foremost, this piece is about the unexpected excitement that came out of it being assembled. It also brings many of the qualities that work has in a studio space, which are lost when on display. This means I can share with my audience the experience I have with the art.

In straddling the line between work in progress and final display, I want to see how people will respond to the work; whether they view it at a comfortable distance, or actively move the hangers around and view each piece.

-- Adam Williams


Bio: Adam Williams was born in Trinidad in 1982 and grew up here and in Barbados. He attended the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) in Toronto from 2000 to 2004, studying both figurative painting and drawing and ceramic art, but did not graduate. He is currently enrolled at the Creative Arts Centre at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, completing his BA in visual art.

He also studied piano with Nancy Jackman and music theory with Graham Newling. He attended the Hartwick College Summer Music Festival and Institute (HCSMF&I) during the summers of 1998 to 2000. At HCSMF&I he participated as a student and as a councillor.

He currently works out of his home, where he has a ceramic and painting studio. He also teaches ceramics and piano.

Physical plan of Alice Yard

Conceptualised by Sean Leonard.





Last updated 28 August, 2009. To download a larger version of this plan, click here.

What is the space?

Conceptual sketch of the Alice Yard Space, by Sean Leonard

Alice Yard Space is a small gallery in the backyard of 80 Roberts Street--a nine-by-seven-by-ten-foot concrete and glass box designed by architect Sean Leonard, which opens in September 2007. It is just large enough to fit an artist's installation, a video work, a few drawings or paintings.

Since September 2006, Alice Yard has been home to a series of weekly Friday-night "Conversations", bringing musicians, artists, writers, and audiences together for informal performances and interactions. The gallery now creates the possibility for another kind of conversation, by offering contemporary artists a space to show a carefully selected piece of recent work, or even work in progress.

The concept evolved from a conversation between Sean Leonard and artist Christopher Cozier, and through a series of drawings in a sketchbook they shared over a period of six months. They conceived of a modest space where artists can experiment with ideas and works not normally feasible in a commercial gallery. They are inviting other artists to join in their sketchbook conversation, as it were, and also inviting viewers into the process. Alice Yard Space asks questions about the relationship between artists and their community, outside the conventional bounds of the art market (but not oblivious to commercial concerns).

From 14 September, 2007, Alice Yard Space will host a regular series of artists' projects, instigated by Leonard, Cozier, and writer and editor Nicholas Laughlin, in conversation with a collaborative of three young artists, Marlon Griffith, Jaime Lee Loy, and Nikolai Noel.

Click here for a detailed physical plan of the space.