lynnmarie szpak // Profile
lumsden
My practice is concerned with examining the moments and experiences that have shaped my identity.
My work questions what identity is. I study the tangible and intangible debris of my life: old photographs, written records, personal memories and experiences.
These elements form the basis of new works. By examining my own existence and scrutinizing my past and my route in this world objectively, it may give me some clues as to why we exist.
Recent work utilises a variety of disciplines to explore the context of the Dundee housing estates where I grew up.
I employ whatever media best accommodates the subject matter, from sound and film to printmaking, drawing and sculpture. However photography plays a central role throughout my work. I use video and film as a resource for images which I then work into for use as digital/screen-prints/graphic images. These can then be used as works that stand alone or that are inserted back into film pieces.
In my 3D work I make casts of domestic objects and also use old wooden printing texts to form words which then become multiples. My themes question influences that shape identity and personality, questioning what it is that makes me who I am. This has inspired me to create my own multiples based around personal themes of my own identity and language, and aspects of repetition that relate to my life.
Current projects
During August and September 2007 I will be undertaking a 4-week residency at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop in Lumsden, Aberdeenshire. I will be using the time to develop my ideas regarding housing/living and to create a new series of multiple objects. I also intend to combine this work with aspects of the Scottish landscape.
I will be taking up my graduate prize of a one-year rent-free studio from WASPS artists’ studios in Dundee from September. As well as this I will shortly be starting my DCA print studio Graduate Award.
Artist's CV
Lynnmarie SzpakDundee
Scotland
DD2 2PE
T:
E: crisps@mail.com
myspace.com/lynnmarieszpak
Education
2007 BA Hons (2:1) Fine Art/Printmaking/Sculpture, Duncan of
Jordanstone College of Art and Design
2004 HND (merits) Photography/Digital Imaging, Dundee College
2003 HNC Photography/Digital Imaging, Dundee College
2002 NQ Photography/Digital Imaging, Dundee College
Exhibitions pending
DCA Photography exhibition October 2007
White gallery Dundee (FRESH) Graduate show October 2007
Wasps Dundee open studio weekend October 2007
Short-listed for They Had Four Years, Generator Projects, Dundee (TBA Nov 2007)
Exhibitions
2007 Scottish Printmakers Summer Show, Glasgow Print Studio, Glasgow
Digital VD Exhibition, Ice Box Crane Arts Centre, Philadelphia, USA
A one-hour film work involving sixty artists each contributing one minute films
Ardler Community Complex Café, Dundee
Part of the Cultural Pathfinder project
Ardler Fun Day, Dundee
Ardler Trust and cultural pathfinder project
Royal Scottish Academy Student Show, RSA, Edinburgh
Nationwide Mercury Prize – 2007 Art Competition, Hospital Gallery, Covent Garden, London
Members’ Show, Generator Projects, Dundee
2006 Message No Message, Lower Foyer Gallery, University of Dundee Exhibitions Department, Dundee
Nationwide Mercury Prize – 2006 Art Competition, Hospital Gallery, Covent Garden, London
Members’ Show, Generator Projects, Dundee
2005 Members’ Show, Generator Projects, Dundee
2001 Portrait of a Nation, Scotsman Newspaper, National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
Awards/Prizes
2007/08 New Graduate Studio Award, WASPS Dundee
2007/08 Graduate Award, Dundee Contemporary Arts Printmaking
Studio, Dundee
2007 Scottish Sculpture Workshop Residency Prize, Scottish
Sculpture Workshop, Lumsden
Nationwide Mercury Prize – 2007 Art Competition, Winning
Finalist
2006 Nationwide Mercury Prize – 2006 Art Competition, Winning
Finalist
Carnegie Undergraduate Vacation Scholarship
2004/05 Ede Ravenscroft Prize
2001 Short listed, Portrait of a Nation, Scotsman Newspaper
Work Experience
2007 Committee member of Generator Projects, Dundee
Invigilator, New Craft Future Voices, Cooper Gallery, University of Dundee Exhibitions Department, Dundee
Camera Assistant. Member of film crew working for Gregor Marks, documentary filmmaker. Scottish Documentary Institute Edinburgh college of Art. Film to be screened at Edinburgh Festival
2006 Collaborative exhibition management. Message No Message was a
Collaborative group show with students from different disciplines within the art school. I created the poster and titles for the show.
Photography Commissions
2007 The Carellos ,Dundee music Band
Commissioned to desigin new band logo
2004 Dundee College, Dundee
Commissioned to photograph city locations for brochure
2003 Element Magazine, Dundee
Commissioned to produce images for their front covers
2002 Karen Smith Hairdressing, Dundee
Commissioned to photograph models for shop display
Key Skills
Competent in the following: photography, film, sculpture, casting, printmaking, lithography, screen-printing, digital photographic printing, and traditional darkroom photographic printing. Good working knowledge of Photoshop CS