foreword

The intention behind this programme was to commission a series

of artists who shared an interest in collaboration, exchange or
interaction with a defined or random group of participants. The
artists were selected both for their similarities and differences.
They were linked by their interest in collaborative practice but
were divided by both their methodology and approach.

The five projects that took place as part of Group Process

highlight the divergent nature of collaborative practice as
well as the difficulty in defining a set of common principles
or ambitions. There has been a significant amount of critical
debate about this area that tends to focus on terminology,
authorship, motivation, benefits or on quality of work. While this
programme further contributed to the debate, both through
the commissions and an accompanying symposium, its main aim
was to offer a cross section of practices that could be labelled
‘collaborative’ as a form of inquiry that did not necessarily seek
any conclusion.

This publication is both a document of the project’s development

and an opportunity for the artists to share some thoughts
about what collaborative practice means to them. Papers from
the symposium, which included contributions by WochenKlausur,
Barbara Steveni and Dave Beech can be accessed via the Radar
website at www.arts.lboro.ac.uk/radar

It is by nature of the work that thanks must go not only to the

artists but also to those who collaborated in the making of
the work. The participants ranged from academics to asylum
seekers, a youth group to elderly residents of Loughborough, all
of whom enabled the work to progress or to come to life through
participation, collaboration or interaction. Each participant
was involved in a different type of relationship with the artist,
had different expectations and had varying degrees of input.
However, without them the work would not have been possible.

Nick Slater
Director, Radar

2 3
 LISA CHEUNG

4 5 VELO-REL-LA
 Velo-Rel-La is a mobile music station
powered by a bicycle. Velo-Rel-La was
transported around Loughborough
to community centres, the University
and various streets and squares
playing music chosen by guest DJs.

Velo-Rel-La has enabled a broad

spectrum of people to participate
at the different venues. At each
event, passers-by have been invited
to select a record or play their own
tunes from their own iPod. Energetic
volunteers have cycled the music
station to its next destination, as we
as pedalled to produce the electricity
to power the turntable and speakers
at each event.

6 7
Lisa Cheung is interested in art
as a social space, taking as her
inspiration everyday life and
people. Her practice encompasses
communal dinners, lighting
installations, limited edition
chinaware, mobile kitchens and
performances. Her work is site
specific, situated in museums
such as the Victoria and Albert
Museum, art galleries, disused
shop fronts, café counters,
council estate parking lots, army
bases and gardens.

Previous exhibitions include

Gasworks Gallery, London
(2001), Chinese Arts Centre,
Manchester (2000, 2003). She has
participated in group exhibitions
at Spacex Gallery, Exeter (2004),
Firstsite Gallery, Colchester
(2005), Plymouth Museum and
Art Gallery (2006, 2007), A
Foundation, Liverpool (2007) and
Tatton Park Biennale (2008).

8 9 Velo-Rel-La in the foyer of the University Students’ Union.

Lisa Cheung
I try to find a common point we might
share. It usually is something quite simple
that comes from everyday life, perhaps a
hobby such as gardening or an enjoyment
like eating, cycling or music. That’s the
beginning of a potential collaboration.
Sometimes this point is a personal interest
of mine, or its something that I’m curious
about and want to know more. So I look for
people who may share the same fascination.

My projects try to create a space where

something personal can be shared in public.
For instance, in Velo-Rel-La, I asked
passers-by to share their favourite music
(that is usually played privately through
headphones) with everyone else on the
street. Also, they had to cycle hard for
the music so others, as well as themselves,
could enjoy it.

10 11 Lisa and Javier braving the weather to take Velo-Rel-La into the town centre
Velo-Rel-La took place in a range of locations over an eight month period.
It became a focus for Christmas festivities and summer fairs.

The relationship that develops can be

lasting or rather temporary. All aspects of
this bond are interesting to me, especially
when I do projects in public spaces, where
personal encounters are rare. My projects
try to create environments where exchange
and interaction may occur. A temporary
community is formed no matter how
fleeting: a person cycles, someone else nods
their head to the music and others cheer on
12 the cyclist to finish pedalling the song. 13
 PUBLIC WORKS
MYVILLAGES.ORG

14 a ball is a ball is a ball

15
 A new collaborative product, devised
and designed collectively by a group
of staff from the Sports Technology
Institute (STI) at Loughborough
University together with eight sport
enthusiastic young people from the
nearby village of Barrow-upon-Soar,
and Kathrin Böhm from public works /
myvillages.org.

The product is part of an ongoing

project called International Village
Shop, a cultural platform for the
exchange of locally informed produce
across a pan-national network of
producers and places.

The International Village Shop is a

shared initiative by the artists and
architects collective public works,
the artist initiative myvillages.org,
the art commissioning organisation
Grizedale Arts and the artist group
‘Somewhere’.

16 17
The International Village Shop in other places

The shop as a market stall during the annual

village fete in Höfen, Upper Frankonia, Germany.

The permanent Honesty Box at Lawson Park,

the base of Grizedale Arts, in Cumbria, UK.

Interested individuals from both groups

met to discuss theproject at the Sports
Technology Institute. Everybody was
invited to bring an item that tells
something about their interest and
involvement with sport. The items
included rugby shirts, water bottles,
rubber bands and ballet shoes, and
conversations ranged from talking
football, explaining infra red screenings
Kathrin to accidents and enjoying dance.
(International Village Shop)
A one hour shop as part of a public talk at the
Studio for Urban Studies in San Francisco, USA. For the production of new goods for
the shop we invite local groups to
collaborate on a product development
and production process. The copyright
and authorship for the product are
The shop as a shelf in a waiting room at a
shared, and each group can use the
veterinary’s in Wjelsryp, Friesland, Netherlands.
outcome for their purpose and interest,
once the collective phase has finished.

Through Nick Slater’s links at the

university, we approached the Sports
Technology Institute and Alison
Johnston, a resident and youth worker
in Barrow-upon-Soar with an open
18 19 invitation to take part in the project.
 Ash, STI
I was intrigued by the previous work you
had done, and interested to understand
the creation process used to reach these
outcomes. Allied to this I saw it as a
good opportunity to think without too
many limitations on design specification.
The collaboration with the guys from
Barrow was also of interest as it
provided a few up to date thoughts on
the wants and needs of children today.

A second workshop at the local sports

hall in Barrow-upon-Soar was more
hands on. A random range of sport
related material and equipment was on
offer, to explore and build new games
and products in 3D collage style. STI
staff and teenagers worked in smaller
groups to develop and refine new
product ideas, from Three Threats game
kits to Surprise Balls, targeting games,
the Human Bike, to name but a few.

A joint reflection of the material

brainstorm developed several main The STI group started to build first
themes, including. 1) To develop prototypes: A wall based, double-sided
something that can be played across targeting wall which can be played with
sports, a kind of Multi Sport, that any sports ball, with the individuals discs
everybody could engage with. 2) To have moving according to the impact.
something that looks like one thing but
turns into something completely else, e.g.
a ball on a slowly releasing string that
extends when skipped around one leg. Or
a ball filled with helium which wouldn’t
move on impact. 3) Something that is
fun and can be played with intuitively.

20 21

Testing some of the prototypes at the STI lab,
using the high impact ball kicking machine and
high resolution movement camera.
Alix, participant
I got involved with the project as not
only was my Mum working on it but
also because I thought it would be a
really good experience. I decided that it
would be good for me to do sport as it is
something I don’t normally do.
I stayed involved in the project because
as I began to get more involved with the
experiments and the project as a whole
I realised it wasn’t all about sport, but
also about being creative and thinking of
materials and equipment to use.
22
Testing the Impact Wall at Loughborough
University Gym. The wall was so far the most
successful prototype, but as an object too large
and complicated to produce for the traveling
shop. The idea was later used for a joint public
art proposal for a new Sports Park on campus,
which happened independently to the project.
The refining brief for the new product began to
focus on the main elements which kept appearing:
multi sport, playing with a ball and surprise.
John, STI
For me, contemporary art is often very
theoretical, philosophical, obscure ... I
enjoy much of it, but I am still confused
and uncertain of lots of what I see and
read about. I would like to be involved
with, and understand better, how
cotemporary art works.
This project was an opportunity for me
to see first hand how a contemporary
artist, who does not work in the more
conventional mediums – painting,
sculpture, performance, film etc, goes
about the business of producing art.
I enjoyed the first few sessions very
much. I’m not sure I learned much
more about contemporary art, but the
experience of working with an entirely
different approach to creating ideas for
products was new and exciting.
In order to fulfill my own goals for
the project, as above, I have to see the
project through to its conclusion. 23
24 25
 Sarah, STI
Initially it was curiosity that involved
me in the scheme, I was intrigued to
see how art, sport and the community
could be combined to create a product.
The idea of no particular direction and
the fact that the design process would
be a natural course with varied input,
maintained my interest.
Working with such a great group of
people and seeing the enthusiasm and
imagination generated by the children
to make simple everyday objects become
obscure sporting products, ensured
I wanted to see it through. It was
refreshing to go through such a relaxed
26 and unpredictable design process.
More mobile and less technical
prototypes were then tested again on
the main green in Barrow-upon-Soar,
and it was the moment when everybody
started playing with the Basketball Bag,
which became important for the final
product idea. The group put a football
into the basketball skin, and immediately
changed game, now passing the ball
instead of throwing.
The idea for the second skin for balls
was born, reflecting on the concept of
multi-ball and fun, but also the strong
and renowned tradition at the STI that
involves ball technologies.
A last session to test and use various second
skins for footballs, from wig to fake cow fur,
27 neoprene, and so on.
28 29
 yvonne drÖge wendel

The final product ‘a ball is a ball is a

ball’ was launched as part of a one-
day International Village shop at
Loughborough University in June 2009,
together with a short documentary that
showed the process and background to
the product. ‘a ball is a ball is a ball’ is
now available across the International
Village Shop network.

30 31 item store

Item Store was a custom built space
conceived as a place that opens up
our relation with objects. It presented
a variety of ‘objects-in-waiting’
– shapeless, yet still appearing
‘designed’ and rather tactile, having
no features enabling categorisation.
Yet they offered enough stimuli
to invite ideas, discussion,
interpretations, and negotiations.
item, to art object, and so on.
32
The objects’ form and colour were
similar, and their display unit
was as attractive as the objects
themselves. Every object in the store
also had a label, which both offered
and denied the object a role, and
prompted a range of possible uses,
images, histories, or even instruction
manuals. The same object could
embody a range of functions, from
fashion item, to toy, to collectors
item, to art object, and so on.
The combination of handling and
casual interplay offered by Item Store
was intended to develop a relational
awareness between people and
objects that might renew our attitude
to – or even ethics of – materiality.
33
Yvonne Dröge Wendel is concerned
with the relationship between
people and objects, and the
quest for challenging new ways
of relating to things. She sets up
experimental encounters and aims
to capture what it is that objects
actually do. Dröge Wendel’s
original focus was familiar,
everyday objects, and in 1992
she married Wendel, a decorative
cabinet, whose name she officially
bears. Later she began to use
objects that were more neutral
in their significance, objects
with fewer or with no readily
identifiable characteristics.
Active participation by the user
is central to her recent work,
creating objects and scenarios
that await the meanings that they
will acquire in the perception of
the viewers.
34
Previous exhibitions include: 200
Years Prix de Rome, Kunsthal
Rotterdam (2008), Deutschland
Deutschland, Museum van Bommel
van Dam, Venlo (2008), Carried
Away-Sonsbeek- Procession
in Art- Museum Contemporary
Art Arnhem (2006), Reality.
Odense.10.55’, Brandts
Kunsthallen, Odense (2004),
Disorientation by Beauty,
Lustwarande 04, Tilburg (2004),
Hit and Run, Platform Garanti,
Centre of Contemporary Art,
Istanbul (2002), Upstream-
Universal Pattern- Upstream
Foundation Amsterdam (2002),
To actuality, AR/GE, Bolzano
(2001) Kuona, National Museum
Tanzania, Dar-Es-Salaam (2001),
For Real, Stedelijk Museum,
Amsterdam (2000), Artcom,
Smuggle 2000, Hedah, Casino
Luxbg, Aachener Kunstver (1999),
City Pity, Workhouse, Liverpool
Biennial (1999), City Pity, DAAD
Galerie, Berlin, Wasanii, National
Museum of Kenya, Nairobi (1999),
Une legende a suivre, Le Crédac,
Centre d’Art d’Ivry, Paris (1996),
Voorwerk 5- Wooden Sticks, Witte
de With, Rotterdam
In 1992, Yvonne Dröge married Wendel,
a decorative cabinet inherited from her
mother. She added Wendel to her name,
to become Yvonne Dröge Wendel, and
went on honeymoon to Portugal with
the cabinet.
Yvonne Dröge Wendel
Nick Slater from Radar approached
me in June 2008 to ask if I would be
interested in taking part in the Group
Process project. He paid particular
attention to my interest in objects and
surroundings that “have an emotional
value and relational ability”. He was
interested in my exploration of the
relational possibilities of objects.
I was excited about the idea of taking
part, and at that time I was working on
a new project called Item Store. I had
just finalised a first phase of this project:
the making of objects as tools for a
specific form of interaction. A central
theme in my work is my fascination
with ‘things’. How do people and things
relate to one another? What is the most
enriching experience between ‘object-
subjects’ and human-subjects?
With Item Store, I was aiming to build
an environment that could become a
platform for dialogue on contemporary
attitudes towards objects. As the title
implies, Item Store refers to the logic
35 of the shop as a primary – and easily
grasped – site for the negotiation of
relationships between people and
objects. For this project I was striving
for exchange and collaborations with
specialists from different working fields
– so Nick Slater had come up with the
right question at the right time.
When I began working as an artist
in 1992, I dealt with objects that
had identifiable values and meanings
associated with them. The work Dröge-
Wendel (1992), was my marriage to
a piece of Wendel furniture. In 1994,
my Renault 16 TL was consecrated in
Rome (La Benedizione Della Macchina,
Prix de Rome, 1994). These are highly
literal ‘relationships’ that enact or
exaggerate some latent relationship I
perceive between people and things.
But with time, and in search of greater
clarity, I realised that it is the supposedly
‘neutral’, ‘empty’, ‘open’, or otherwise
undefined objects that might instead
begin to activate the questions I was
asking. I began to look for objects that
were more neutral in their significance,
objects with fewer or with no readily
identifiable characteristics.
 The Black Ball (2000) was moved by
the public through public space, with no
guidance from me, and was transported
to a variety of specific locations –
within elegant buildings, through busy
and hot southern streets, through the
English countryside, or becoming part
of busy night life. Individuals and local
communities became actively involved in
the performance. It created a mesmerising
and dynamic ball game, a sculpture
people could interact with spontaneously
as it rolled along on its journey.

The Black Ball can be what you want

it to be. It can be a sculpture, it can
be a toy, it can be a friend, it can be a
tool, and it can be a block. It can be
quiet and it can talk. When using the
term ‘relational’ we tend to think purely
about relations between people. But
what about the relational qualities of an
object? With the Black Ball I wanted to
make an object that can listen. One that
works with me to discover new sets of
relations. I was not interested in making
La Benedizione Della Macchina, Prix de another ‘new’ object, an object that is
Rome, 1994 convinced about itself. Nor an object
that imposes a fixed attitude, colour
or form. Rather, I was interested in an
object consisting of a permeable mass
that gives myself and others the freedom
to place emotions into it: an object that
shows a capacity and willingness to
listen and to absorb feelings.

In my recent work, I have looked for
objects and surroundings that do not
necessarily want to express anything
specific. I am searching for objects
that have relational abilities. My Black
Ball (2000–ongoing), which is 3.5m in
diameter and made from felt, is a good
example. It is open to a wide range of
interpretations and can be whatever
the public wants it to be: a sculpture,
a toy, a friend or a tool. When I began
working on Black Ball, I primarily
wanted to make an object that could
listen, an object that works with me to
discover new sets of relationships. I was
not interested in making an object that
is convinced about itself, that tries to
impose a pre-existing or fixed attitude,
36 such as the chair example above. I was
interested in an object that shows a
capacity and willingness to interact, to
adopt and to absorb feelings. Instead
of thinking of the object’s wants and
demands, I was shifting towards the idea
of designing the object’s own relational
system: its memory, its capacity to
listen and absorb experience. When
designing a participatory working
process, the challenge and excitement
lies in designing the right constellation
of constraints. If this constellation of
constraints is built in the right way,
the process will go smoothly. It will be
transparent and will not require much
interference from the artist. Within
the context of a group process the
object takes on the lead, so I prefer to
substitute my presence and control for
the object itself, and what it can do. By
having specific qualities, objects evoke a
specific kind of interaction – they carry
the ‘code’ for the interaction. My role
is to follow that process and document
the situations that are created by the
interaction between object and audience.
In the case of the various adventures of
the Black Ball, people in the street can
get involved and choose to invite the
ball to stay overnight. They can roll it
through the streets or take it on a boat
tour, and so on. I stand as far back as
possible and let the object do its job. The
Black Ball works as a tracer, making the
creativity of the people visible and subtly
revealing underlying notions of a specific
37 location. At the same time, it works
as a link between people and cultures.
Through its travels, the Black Ball now
can tell a story about the people of
Istanbul, Newcastle, Odense or Bolzano.
With Item Store, I wanted to make
objects that have similar capacities to
instigate collaboration, and the same
unassuming nature as the Black Ball.
Like the Black Ball, these objects should
be open to a wide range of possible
interpretations. I wanted them to be
objects that do not try to express a
certain attitude, objects that can listen
and absorb.
38 39
Text on the window of the Item Store:
‘Looking for objects that are open-
minded, flexible and willing to take on
a wide variety of different meanings
and functions. Are you an object that
is tired of the short, pre-determined
and competitive life span? Are you
tired of being limited to expressing one
specific thing and being seductive solely
through your surface material, colour,
and form? Are you looking for a more
durable and enriching experience with
humans beings? Get away from pushy,
shouting and talking objects- develop
your capacity to have an open ear for
humans and be part of a high quality,
un-demanding, pleasant and sustainable
environment. Be part of the Item Store!’

In addition, I wanted these objects conversations also identified several

to evoke discussions about objects in
general, about what they are, what they
can be and should not be. The challenge
was to design objects that can evoke
memories and produce awareness about
the way we experience and approach
objects. Could the objects of the Item
Store – their materiality and physical
presence – enable me, and others, to
produce new thoughts? Is it possible to
make objects that allow us to think with
them and through them?  for its achievements in the field of
I also wanted to identify those areas
where my field of interest – the
relational abilities of objects – overlaps
the fields of interest of the academics
at Loughborough University. I began
scanning the university departments,
like I would usually scan a specific
town location, looking for research
areas that could somehow link up with
the intentions and objectives of the
Item Store. Furthermore I asked two
theorists living in the Netherlands,
philosopher Louise Schouwenberg and
anthropologist Emilie Gomart to work
with me during the preparation period.
Our discussions were brought together
in two texts: ‘My Darling Objects’, by
Emilie Gomart and ‘Just Enough’, by
Louise Schouwenberg, both of which
40 are published on my website. Our
contact areas in which the exchange of
ideas about the Item Store could make
sense within the Loughborough setting.
Discussions with Maartje Hoogsteyns
and her publication ‘Artifact Human
Being: Research into the Debate about
Materiality within Material Culture
Studies’ also provided me with new
entrance points.
Loughborough University is well known
sports. Sports technology is all about the
ultimate match – the perfect interaction
between the athlete and the object. It
concerns high-tech materials, the right
moment of touch, precise contact points,
and so on. Hoogsteyns’ research is all
about that and made me look at terms
like ‘affordance’ and ‘very prepared’,
also led me to investigate the field of
material culture studies theories of
Daniel Miller and Bruno Latour, I here
realised that many of the questions I
had been struggling with for years are Looking from the point of view of Sports
discussed in the field of social science technology, the object-human relation is
and can be very relevant in the field of all about the ultimate match, the perfect
sports science. interaction between the athlete and the
object. High-tech materials, the right
moment of touch and precise contact
points are essential.
41

These objects were made to evoke
discussions about all objects, about what
objects are, what they can be and should
not be. We want new and better things
all the time. We spend a lot of time
buying and cherishing our things, so why
not stand still for a moment to look at
things in general, and ask fundamental
questions about them?
What are really our beliefs when it
comes to things? Are things merely
carriers of meaning, or indicators of
identity, or is there more to them? What
do they actually do or make us do?
Would you wear a t-shirt that
is produced by a young child in
Bangladesh? Is the chair you are
sitting on going to change the way you
think? Can a sculpture change the way
inhabitants perceive a neighbourhood?
What kind of meaning do we attach to
the things that surround us? Can you
make us some new labels?
42
John Edward is now hosting one of the
objects of the Item Store and keeps it
in his office at the department of sports
technology. His task is to educate this
object and to turn it into a toaster.
Back in the Item Store, the objects
were prepared with labels attached
to them. The specific qualities of the
objects were carefully designed, so
that the objects would serve as an
interface and initiate this process of
exchange. For example, I use Neoprene,
a special fabric used in diving suits.
In my objects the fabric feels highly
designed and purposeful, but at the
same moment extremely indeterminate.
The objects’ shape and weight is a
sort of approximation of ‘thingness’: I
wanted to transmit the sense of them
being ‘just enough’ to be objects, but
no further information about them or
their purpose. Throughout the project,
and based on the input of the public, I I had a conversation with a woman
would then alter the form of the objects from the Department of Criminology,
as well as their labels. Slowly, the store and asked her about how objects
filled up with new labels and new ideas. are viewed and discussed within that
They served as visible traces of the department. The well-known ‘Broken
conversations and encounters, but also Glass Theory’ states that in a clean and
of new ways of looking at things. The well-maintained environment, people are
Item Store was a means of collecting the less likely to commit crime.
(for me) unknown ways of looking and
approaching thing. 43
The collaborative aspect of this project
placed the input of highly trained
researchers and the general public
on the same level. Clare Bauling, a
student at the Department of Fine Arts
at Loughborough Univerisity, assisted
me throughout the project. After the
opening, which had been extremely
busy, we were now eagerly awaiting
our academic ‘invited guests’. Due to
exams, time constraints, and despite
the interest of those who replied to our
invitation, many couldn’t make it to the
Item Store. Most of our ‘customers’ were
students and passers-by, and those who
attended the presentation we gave at the
University’s Department of Materials,
who made microscopic images of our
materials and discussed their specific
approach to the material.
44
We also gave a presentation at the local
market in town. Here, people were
puzzled about the objects and tried
hard to identify them as merchandise.
Potential customers walked by several
times before approaching us and
questioning us about the objects. An
interesting confusion always arose
because we had taken away the
possibility of an answer to the question:
‘what is this?’ People tried all sorts of
approaches to the objects then, a far
more experimental response.
45
What I am now asking myself is why
a project like this works well with an
uninformed audience in the streets,
but not with an invited academic
audience on university grounds? In my
future projects, I now want to focus
on interdisciplinary exchange and how
to make it work. This is because the
exchanges that we had when preparing
this project, and when speaking with
the invited academics, showed exciting
new developments in the way academics
discuss matter, that there is a new
awareness for the materiality of objects
in our daily lives. In a way my work
attempts to transmit a more instinctive
awareness of these highly theorised ideas
that nevertheless exist as a latent part of
everyday experience. The Item Store is
an attempt to do this through discussion
and paying attention to everyday
physical and psychological experience.
I want to do this by focusing on the
materiality of things and by making
objects that can serve as tools for
thinking and feeling about this subject.
 parfyme

46 47 the backpack factory

 Parfyme (perfume) is a four person
collective spread across Copenhagen,
Bergen and New York. They were
in Loughborough in January/
February 2009 during which time
they researched and developed a new
piece of work.

Parfyme have developed and carried

out a wide range of projects over
the last 8 years. The projects take
place in public settings and usually
begin with a dialogue with a range of
communities.

It is the unpredictable element in

social encounters between people
from across the spectrum that
interests Parfyme. With works that
are often streaked with humour,
Parfyme want to introduce us to new
ways of interacting with others and
interfacing with the public realm.

48 49
Parfyme focus on practical
research, activities and
‘immediate’ actions carried out –
without too much planning they
see art as a tool that can be used
for many things: as an ‘excuse’
for personal contributions to
our surroundings, a way to
communicate serious issues,
simple fun and good deeds!

Recent projects include Volt,

Bergen, Norway, Pancevo Biennial
Serbia, Uturn Quadrennial for
Contemporary Art, Copenhagen.

Parfyme (Pelle and Laurids) initially wanted to find out about what the staff
and students thought about Loughborough, offering a slice of Danish sausage in
50 51 return for suggestions on how they thought the University could be improved.

Pelle and Laurids set up their stall in the bus shelter
outside the Students’ Union.
Parfyme
We like to think of our work being part
of a big messy conundrum. Our world.
This is the condition and awareness we
are working in as we are confronted
with everyday problems and beautiful
possibilities. We aim to explore the
possibilities within socially constructed
structures: the state, money, social
groupings, universities …
Meeting the people who are intertwined
in these structures is always fun, who are
these people? This is why we always seek
interaction between people, to develop
relationships – the social structures (must)
have a human face.
52
Parfyme called the work they were developing The Backpack Factory as they carried everything in a
custom built backpack using the contents to set up a stall or film or record conversations.
When we interact with people it is most
often in a very immediate way, since we
are physically present in our work. It
starts out with a general conversation,
people often ask what we are doing
and that interest might lead to further
conversation. Maybe we offer coffee.
Sometimes it might be a more direct
procedure where we ask passers-by
for help – ask them to redevelop the
specific thing we are doing, like we did
in Loughborough with The Backpack
Factory. It is important for us to be
open to people and to put ourselves a
bit on the line, trying to contest mental
barriers of what is possible. By moving
our own private lives and activities
People wrote down their ideas and posted them in the ideas bag. outside, hopefully we can challenge the
perceptions of what the public space can
53 be used for.
54 55

Pelle and Laurids also made a bowling alley out of tape and
old coffee cups and cans. Again they encouraged discussion
through play, inviting staff and students to have a go at
various locations around the University.
56 57
With The Backpack Factory we wanted
to investigate the public spheres around
the campus of Loughborough University.
The students, the administration, the pizza
vendor should be heard! We confronted
Loughborough University with our factory
and its possibilities to change, serve and
collaborate with the institution.
The students wanted more
entertainment, cleaner toilets, cheaper
beer … In other words, no radical
claims. So we tried our best to work
it out. Addressing the demands to the
University administration has a more or
less obvious outcome. Nevertheless let’s
try. It was funny when the University
suggested that we get a real commission
for putting up an art piece, a sculpture,
when we said that we would like to
build a small shed for storing the
bowling game. There are systems and
processes to go around, or it is simply
illegal. Cleaning the toilets is definitely
not allowed without having insurance.
We learnt that student initiatives have
a hard time due to the bureaucratic
structure imposed, a year span of
hearings, estimations and so forth, and
when a project of some kind finally can
get under way the specific students that
got an ‘idea’ has long left to pursue a life
outside of the University.
Pelle and Laurids’ travels took them all around the University,
including the swimming pool.
We are interested in a platform where it
is not about finding the perfect solution,
which we don’t believe exists anyway.
Instead, we want to create situations
where different things can happen,
situations that could work in reality and
be more than an example.
In our six month project, The Harbor
Laboratory, we opened up the thought
of having an area in the middle of the
Copenhagen harbor where everyone
could be part of the development and
explore the potential of the harbor. One
could start out by borrowing a paddle
boat for free and think about it. People
often need to sniff a bit before they let
the bag of ideas rip. Paddle boats are
great for sniffing, and for seeing the
harbor.
The Harbor Laboratory project got a lot
of time compared to the two weeks we
walked around Loughborough. To have
58 and give time is important.
We doubt a lot, and we think that is
good. Interacting with other people is
as much a question of us being affected
by others. We don’t possess any uniform
divine ‘truth’, but hopefully we can
affect others as they affect us.
There is an interesting relationship
between control and dynamics in
situations of action. Too much control
seems to limit any dynamic, but too
little might limit it as well. As we’re
constantly working with the dynamics
of such situations, for example building
something in the street, we think a lot
about control.
There is always a story to tell. Success
and failure are equally important,
especially from a learning perspective. It
is a goal for the future to have our work
implemented further in society, so it will
be less about showing examples. We see
art as a tool. Not as a traveling fair.
59
 yara el-sherbini

60 61 universality challenge
Universality Challenge is a game show
which playfully explores universal
experiences by examining our view
of the world. By asking ‘Does the
film Free Willy explore Free Will?’, ‘Do
they drink Um Bongo in the Congo?’
and ‘Gil Scott-Heron said, “The
Revolution will not be televised”, Spell
Panasonic’, the game show touches
on art, life and popular culture.
62
Using the recognisable format of the
classic British TV show ‘University
Challenge’, participants went head
to head in front of a live audience
in a battle to be the winners
of ‘Loughborough Universality
Challenge’. The quiz show brought
together a University team and a
local team, with Yara as host.
63
Yara El-Sherbini (London) utilises
humour to playfully explore art
and life. Her practice straddles
live art, video and installation,
using recognisable formats within
contemporary popular culture
(board games, game shows, pub
quizzes, and auctions) to explore
ideas around what art is, can be
and who it involves.

Her work has recently been

shown at Modern Art Oxford, The
David Roberts Art Foundation
(London) Delfina Foundation
(London), BAC! International
Festival of Contemporary Art
(Barcelona), Fringe Festival
(Melbourne), National Portrait
Gallery (London), Ikon Gallery
(Birmingham), Khoj Live 08 (Delhi),
Art Dubai (Dubai), Centre d’Art
Contemporain (Geneva), ARCO
(Madrid), and Palazzo Papesse
(Siena).

Universality Challenge took place inside the University’s Students’ Union.

Yara El Sherbini asks the questions.

Yara El-Sherbini Another example is a work called A Pub

Quiz. The pub quiz is a participatory
In Universality Challenge, I collaborate live art work and is dependent upon
with my participants by creating a on the active engagement of teams of
frame work; a series of questions, players to complete the work.
which they subjectively answer, actively
engaging with the format of the game-
show. The work is reliant upon a
competitive engagement between the
two teams playing, creating a constantly
shifting work that reflects the players’
knowledge, so while my questions form
the overall content of the show, it is
the teams participation, and how they
choose to answer the questions posed
64 65 that completes the work.
66 67
The two teams competing for the coveted trophy were made up of
Loughborough students (LUFBRA) and local residents (Up 4 It).

I see the artist-participant relationship to

be dependent on each other. Universality
Challenge provides a context to pose
questions in front of a live audience,
creating a space where the audience
and participants consider the issues and
ideas explored within the work and
have a fun, irreverent engagement with
68 contemporary art. 69
 Team Up 4 It prevailed and were presented their prize by Yara.

It’s both necessary to be in control and

to give up control. The frame work of
the game show is controlled, with much
of the game show scripted. However to
allow the work to become true to form,
the participants engagement needs to be
improvised.

The participants produce the live game

show on stage with me, an intentional
outcome of the process, that encourages
the challenging of ideas.

70 71
Published on the occasion of

Group Process
December 2008 – June 2009

Radar
Loughborough University
Loughborough, Leicestershire
LE11 3TU
T: +44 (0) 1509 222 960
Email: radar.info@lboro.ac.uk
www.arts.lboro.ac.uk/radar

Symposium, 29 January 2009

Speakers: Dave Beech, Barbara Steveni,
WochenKlausur, Public Works,
Yvonne Dröge Wendel and Lisa Cheung

Radar Staff
Nick Slater, Director
Jo Mardell, Programme Co-ordinator
Gail Hodson-Walker, Marketing Assistant

Acknowledgements

Radar gratefully acknowledges the

support and involvement of Maggie
O’Neill, Gillian Whitely and Mel Jordan in
both the development of the programme
and with the symposium.

Thanks also to Loughborough University

School of Art and Design colleagues for
supporting the development and the
production of the work, particularly in
relation to Lisa Cheung.

Radar gratefully acknowledges the

financial support of the Mondriaan
Foundation for Yvonne Dröge Wendel’s
work and towards the costs of the
publication.

72