About.
BARRYSYKES.INFO is designed and built by me, Barry Sykes, to host documentation of a selection of my art projects.
My artwork is the product of various self-set tests, processes or situations, devised to tease out overlooked or untapped information. Over the last few years it has been concerned with survivalism, error, charities, magic, crime, tourism, lies, a Billy Joel song and my own moral compass but it mostly boils down to trying to quantify experience and tracing a line around the unacknowledged or uncertain - doing this by making, adjusting or enacting.
Recent work has addressed my relationship to the law, common sense, appropriate behaviour and the tolerances of others and has led me to shoplift, sell defence secrets, impersonate a police officer, forge other's artwork, make a series of sculptures bindfolded and donate a miniscule ammount to charity. I have exhibited in Plymouth Arts Centre, UK; Chapter Arts, Cardiff; Artsway, UK; Kunstfabrik, Berlin; Platform, Finland; a design studio, a spare bedroom, a miniature museum and a forest.
As well as works made in the isolation of the studio I regularly contrive projects that generate from discussions with other parties: colleagues, commissioners, institutions, locations etc... using the making process to uncover something of this context and relationships involved in its coming about. This hyper-awareness of internal workings and expectations allows me to question the hierarchies involved, notions of success and failure and ultimately my own use value.
Bibliography.
02.2011 Interview, Hayden Kays' 'I the God' blog
01.2011 Exhibition Review of 'Recreate A Nervy Pistol? (An Early Retrospective)', Arts Culture website, by Natalie Craven
01.2011 'Exhibitions of the Week', The Guide, The Guardian, by Skye Sherwin
11.2008 Artist Profile, ArtRabbit.com, by Dani Admiss
03.2008 Exhibition Review of 'Tree Hugger', Vasabladet newspaper, by Lisbeth Rosenback
03.2008 Exhibition Review of 'Tree Hugger', Sunnuntaisoumalainen newspaper, by Katya Pesonen
09.2003 'Static Pamphlet', static-ops.org, (review of Exhibition of Findings, Czech Centre, London)
08.2002 Create 24/7, (review of Resolution Way )
06.2002 Time Out, (preview of Resolution Way )
06.2002 Evening Standard, (preview of Resolution Way /Deptford X)
07.1998 The Big Issue, (Artist's profile)
Talks and Presentations.
Aswell as numerous talks on my work at various colleges and galleries nationally and internationally I have also presented a number of other specific public presentations
During 2010/11 as part of my residency at Plymouth Arts Centre I am delivering numerous talks based around my practice, under the banner 'Keep Him Talking'. These include lectures, readings, interviews and text pieces, delivered to fellow artists, students, gallery visitors, radio listeners and ten year olds. For an archive of these please visit keephimtalking.blogspot.com
06.2009 Artist's talk to the directors and executives of Arena BLM media planning company, London
10.2008 'A Sort Of Open Secret', A cryptic illustrated lecture about my career and finances.
08.2008 'Hello Sebastian ... Did You Say A4?' Reading extracts from this publication for a Resonance.fm podcast from the Publish and be Damned book fair, London
04.2008 'Itchy Park 5: Be the change that you want to see happen tomorrow, Today!', Limehouse Town Hall, London
03.2007
'Itchy Park 4 - Duality', Limehouse Town Hall
12.2004 'Lessons in Boredom and the Outdoors', Chapter Arts, Cardiff (with Sean Parfitt)
09.2004 Lessons in Boredom…, Artists Talk, PS1, New York (with Sean Parfitt)
03.2004 JG Ballard's ‘The Smile', White Out , Spike Island , Bristol
07.2003 All I Can Remember I Know, Artist's Talk, CBA Studios, Deptford
Visiting Lecturer at The City Lit, Adult Education College (twice a year since 2003)
06.2002 Artists Talk with commissioned deaf signing, The Place, Letchworth
Writing and Book Projects.
2011 'Some Questions About Artists Residencies'. Commissioned text for 10 year anthology of projects, Platform, Finland
2009 'On The Nude Beach'. Commissioned essay for 'The Earth Not A Globe' Exhibition catalogue, Rokeby Gallery, London
2008 'Hello Sebastian ... Did You Say A4?'. Limited edition compendium of a written collaboration with i-cabin gallery, London
2008 'The Newpaper' contributor to edition 3 of this mock free-sheet devised and edited by Eleanor Brown
06.2007 'The 2007 Almanac of Political Art' Devised by Sophie Hope, edited by Leigh French, Adam Jeanes & Simona Nastac
2004 'Staying Alive: Lessons in Boredom and the Outdoors, Incorporating the world's longest list of uses for vinegar'. Designed and edited by Simon and Tom Bloor (with Sean Parfitt).
2002 'All I Can Remember I Know – in five days', Artist's Book project.
2002 'Clip City', review for Italian website designboom.com.
2000 'Parallel Lines', devised and edited and designed, collected writings of the Chelsea MA.
Catalogues.
05.2010 'No Soul For Sale', Edited by M. Catelan, M. Gioni and C, Alemani. Deste Foundation
10.2006 'Museum van Nagsael - 11 Years, 132 Exhibitions', Veenman Publishers, Netherlands
06.2006 'Deja Vu', Proartibus, Finland
09.2002 'MAIS4: The Good The Bad', Independants, Liverpool Biennial.
