The following is an edited transcript of the seventh in the series of The Empty Gallery Interviews, a collection of anticipatory dialogues interrupting the process of making, exhibiting and viewing. The series is hosted by art writer Claire Nichols who here interviews artist Matt Blackler prior to his solo exhibition, show four. The interview took place on 8 April 2010, live in front of an audience in the empty gallery at SHIFT.

CN: Thank you everyone for coming. Today I’m interviewing artist Matt Blackler who will be having a solo show that opens on Friday 23^rd April. For those of you who haven’t been to The Empty Gallery Interviews before, it’s a series of anticipatory dialogues with artists or curators before they exhibit their work, before their work becomes real in the gallery. We always start off with the same question within the series:

CN: How did you start to conceive of the space in relation to your upcoming exhibition?

MB: I suppose the way I conceived it was, I really liked the idea of presenting a project on it’s own and just being able to, as a solo project, curate that space. And just very simply show that one work and give it as much space as you would want to. It’s a project that I’ve been working on on and off for one and a half years. So, it was a great time to actually finish the work and head for something certain. So parts of it were changed or refined to make sure it would be best suited in this space. The main project is the piece of sculpture but then there are a select amount of drawings. So, it’s one project and one large work. It’s a machine that I built from scratch, it’s taken quite a while to build because I had to learn how to design, pattern, cast and then machine down all the parts. The machine moves close-to-imperceptibly slowly. It pushes paint through a chamber to then fall onto the floor and it winches itself up at the same time. It’s actually…quite chunky and quite over-engineered. It’s only so big (gestures), a metre or so large but it’s also hung on an engine hoist so that gives it quite a presence. I chose to put it onto an engine hoist because the machine has several capabilities, it can drag itself along or winch itself up and it was deciding which one would be best in a space this size. If it did drag itself along it would take the whole space up and there wouldn’t be anywhere anyone could go without a lot of paint.

CN: Do you think your studio space, or site of making, will translate onto the exhibiting space?

MB: I think it’s an interesting point because it’s partly the process of the machine, the way it’s open so you see every part of it. The aesthetic process is given to the viewer. It’s very pared down as well, very selective. What you see in the piece suggests what my whole practice is, or how I do things. But there are certain amounts of things that are not known, which I quite like -that point where there’s an honesty, a belief that you know what’s going on but there’s also a certain amount of things that have been taken away or selectively changed so that you actually never know the full story.

CN: Is the work likely to evolve in construction?

MB: I think it will be finished to a certain amount but in terms of it’s installation I think there are certain questions on how I install it that I haven’t decided on. And I think that will have to be within the space, making sure that it works, especially lighting. It’s not part of the work, but it’s a very big part at the same time. So that, I think, is going to be the biggest part of installing it. God knows what’s going to happen. And the piece itself will evolve through the time that it’s shown. The process is continually moving, albeit very slowly. Over time it will change where it’s been, and the end product or result of the process will come through. I quite like that, the continual process will come through.

CN: How have you engendered the viewer’s experience inside the work you are making?

MB: I do want to bring viewers in, I want the work to be quite open for viewers to actually enjoy or indulge in certain parts of it. There’s also a double side to that, in making a machine that moves on the edge of perception. It is working or it might not be working. Half the people may say it is working and half may doubt that. In fact at any point you might not know if that’s true or not…because I might change that, whether it is working or not. There are several ways I could do that, one is to take a small piece of metal out and although the machine seems like it’s working, it is in fact, not. I don’t know when or if I will do that but it’s nice to think I have that option.

CN: Can the work you are making exist in another space?

MB: Well, certain parts of it have been finished and altered to this space. In terms of its size and how it is. It should hopefully fit this space perfectly. It would exist in another space and it could exist but certain parts may be altered in terms of lighting or even in terms of how it operates, it might drag itself along it might do other things. The project is and can be evolving. This is the mark one but there’s a lot of opportunity to change the whole machine to suit another space or to suit another function.

CN: What are the implications for you as an artist of vocalising your ideas publicly within the gallery, before the work goes on display?

MB: I think it’s quite fun really because I could describe whatever I want and no one can see it. I like it, you’re allowed to see it how you want from the impression I’m giving of what you will be seeing later, with a little bit of doubt of whether it is working or not. Because in the end it might not work but if I don’t tell anyone, no one’s going to know.

CN: With the interview becoming a press release do you see this as a way of reformulating people’s reading of the work?

MB: Yeah, I do hope so. I think it can add another slant to it. It’s nice to see that as another way of approaching the work. You could approach it without the press release and then look at the press release as well afterwards to re-appraise what you have seen. I would be happy with either way. It could give it another dimension beyond what you perceive visually. It could draw you in or make the work that you have seen or are seeing more interesting to you. It might not. It might put you off.

Transcription by Amy Smith

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