What Is liquid?

Liquid is an artists group made up of the core members Beth Barlow and Simon Kennedy.

DEFINING CHARACHTERISTICS of Liquid:
1. Work(s) produced under the Liquid banner are firmly rooted in conceptualism with greater emphasis placed upon the evolution and subsequent realisation of 'ideas' as opposed to the outward 'appearance' of the work(s).
2. Work(s) produced under the Liquid banner tackle complex and often provocative socio-political themes affecting our daily lives; how we think, feel, communicate and are governed etc...
3. Through the work(s)produced under the Liquid banner, we aim to stretch both ourselves as artists and the perceptions of those who encounter our work(s).
You can find out more about our projects and opportunities by keeping an eye on this site.
To read more on the theory behind the group pop back to see our manifesto, soon to be uploaded here.

Current Liquid Collaborations

The Urban Intervention Toolkit 

Idea: To develop a kit which can be used in urban settings to slightly disrupt and question the movements and behaviours of people. 
The Toolkit was trialled in Manchester. Enhanced and developed into a cumbersome box and taken by train to Runcorn. It is currently on show at The Brindley Runcorn. Exhibition dates August 30th- October 8th 2016.

Small Space 2
Small scale gallery ran on a big scale. The dolls house has been transformed into a white cube gallery space. We are awaiting proposals for exhibitions. If you have a small scale exhibition which you would like to show get in touch.  We can then work together to find the best site for the gallery for the duration of your exhibition. Small Space Blog.

Liquid Artists

This section details a few past works by Liquid artists. If you feel that your work fits with the Liquid Defining characteristics and would like to be considered as a member please e mail Beth at: bethbarlow@bethbarlow.com


Simon Kennedy BA
Sample of past work:
Communisumption: A look at the way we use technology to communicate. Its ups and its downs.

Above:"Chat rules" By Simon Kennedy 2012

Above:"super 3 walk as you talk" 2012



Beth Barlow BA,MA
Synopsis: Beth Barlow is a socially engaged artist who works alone and with others to generate and test ideas with the power to change our world.   

Sample of past work:
Minor Interventions, strings 2008: Photo documentation of real life intervention with string and lead weight. 

Artist's Website: www.bethbarlow.com 

Past Liquid Collaborations

Fiverr Chapter 1/2
Fiverr is an online skills procurement site. The group were introduced to it in Summer 2014 and were interested in how artists could offer services for $5 and not be exploited. Fiverr Chapter 1 explored this online phenomenom through collaborative artistic interventions with Beth Barlow, Simon Kennedy, CarysAnne Hughes and Fiver artists. Each artist was given a $50 budget to help them realise an art work they had no time to do themself.  The work was exhibited at Artwork, Northwich. Chapter 2 hopes to explore how things which work online can be applied to real life for the benefit of local communities.

Norm Exhibition
Norm included the work of artists Jason Shephard, Beth Barlow and Simon Kennedy and looked at what is considered normal in our current society. The exhibition premiered at Artwork, Northwich.

HAZARD Festival in Manchester
Working on from our URBAN NAVAGATORY INTERVENTIONS we took to the streets of Manchester as part of HAZARD 2012 with a giant pointing finger. 
The intervention had a comedy light hearted entry point for passing viewers but engaged people in serious debate about health and safety and how it restricts us or keeps us safe. A few things that came up were:
"It was a lot safter in the 1950's"
"In the 1950's they hadn't rebuilt everything after the war, we were playing in the attics of bombed out houses with holes in the floors."
"The glass bottle is unsafe, someone could pick it up and throw it." member of public said "Well we shall note it down." we said "Why don't you pick it up and put it in the bin, its unsafe." member of public said "We aren't authorised to pick it up." we said "Well I'll pick it up and put it in the bin." member of the public said. "Well we can't authorise that but if you want to we can't stop you" we said.

A few mad products we came up, with assistance from the public, to keep us all safe:

• A tiny net, which could be sourced from local shops, to fish keys out of grids.
• A poster to warn people that "Its not just cartoons who slip on banana skins"
• A high visability vest for buses.
• Straws for children to suck up puddle contents to minimise slip hazards.
• A sensible shoes depot to be placed at the start of any uneven flooring.
• Spray foam to spray around broken glass on the streets.
• Men/women blinkers to stop men/women getting distracted by saucy pictures on the street.

Branded Exhibition
Exploring the power of branding Liquid worked at Northgate Studio and artist Kate Mc Kennan. An open call was sent out and the work of 30 artists was selected to be shown in the form of print runs.

   

Picking Pockets for Picasso and London's Regents Canal Festival
An exploration of the rubbish people carry around in their pockets and what this says about them as individuals and society in general. The exploration manifested itself as a series of collages which hung in the Handel's Court Gallery as part of the opening exhibition. The "Picking Pockets For Picasso" workshop is available for all groups and events and includes the expertise of 2 artists, interpretation and materials.

After the sucess of our conceptual collage piece at Handles Court Gallery we were commissioned to make costumes out of waste for the Regents Canal Festival In London. A bit outside our usual programe but a great chance to go and see how they do things in the big smoke.