Projection - Valerie Inns

Valerie Inns

So, forced to sit in the back seat of the car and released from the angst of my passenger seat driving, the rest of the space being crammed with artwork, I had time to muse a bit quietly – and unusually, seeing we were on our way to hang my show in John Jones’ Projection space.

‘Am I too loud?’ just popped into my head. It’s years since I had thought about this book by the pianist Gerald Moore and I don’t really remember reading it. The book is a bit of a classic and Moore became a famous accompanist for singers such as Elisabeth Schwarzkopt, Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau and Victoria de los Angeles. Moore raised the status of accompanists to that of a musical partner with the soloist. He achieved this by being sensitive and highly empathetic to each soloist’s musical personality, adapting to and eliciting the best from them.

I always felt my work on paper shouldn’t be framed; its physical nature felt confined by the act of framing and glass seemed to suffocate it further. However the surface of the work is delicate and the materials easily damaged, it needed protection if I wanted to exhibit. A grant and a curator’s recommendation brought me to John Jones. My work needed supporting, protecting and the image allowed to assume its full potential and strength and to claim its individuality. This all needed to be done invisibly. Much like a voice. Much like the way some art is made, giving way to the material, an equal partnership. There’s a satisfaction and professionalism in that supporting role that requires intelligence, sensitivity, experience and respect.

The hang went surprisingly smoothly and quietly. We put up a mixture of sculpture and drawings and hopefully, despite the show’s small size, viewers can get a sense of the development of the work and its relationships.

So we came home and this time I sat in the front, but still in a reflective mood, and pondered the slow learning curve that has been my framing and display experience, and how making art is a constant learning process.

And today a music quiz came on the wireless.
“Who wrote ‘Am I too loud?’”
“Gerald Moore!” I shouted, feeling smug.

Valerie Inns is the latest artist to show her work in the Projection space at John Jones. Projection, is a space for solo exhibitions which aim to increase the exposure of mainly unseen artists as one aspect of their professional development. This show is a selection of responses between work on paper and sculpture that demonstrates a fascination with materials and their eloquence. Valerie's work will be exhibited until the 30th June.