JAMIE SHOVLIN (BRITISH 1978-) §
VOTIVE (25TH AUGUST, 19:22) - 2021-22
£882
Contemporary & Post-War Art // Prints & Multiples
Auction: Contemporary & Post-War Art: 11 January 2023 | From 10:00
Description
Pencil on paper mounted on canvas
Dimensions
15cm x 10cm (6in x 4in)
Provenance
Provenance:
To be offered to support The House of St Barnabas (Registered Charity 207242)
Based in a Grade 1 listed townhouse in Soho, The House of St Barnabas has helped Londoners affected by homelessness since 1862. In 2013 the building became a members’ club with a difference; combining a not-for-profit creative and cultural space at No. 1 Greek Street with an Employment Academy for people affected by homelessness. Participants learn their craft in front of house, in the kitchen, the bar, or in the charity’s offices: since opening, 254 participants have graduated from the 12-week programme, many of which have secured lasting employment after graduation.
The House of St Barnabas’ cultural events, music, and the generosity of members are key to the success of the charity, but the building also showcases work by both established and emerging contemporary artists. The permanent collection of visual art includes the works of Banksy and Tracey Emin alongside a programme of temporary exhibitions supporting emerging artists.
The House have kindly been donated 11 works for sale, ranging from sculpture to paintings to support the charity's work. Most of the pieces have been donated by the artists themselves or by the galleries who represent them. Below we take a closer look at the works featuring in our January 2023 sale.
2023 is the year of the house’s 10th anniversary. With your support and dedication, the charity hopes to continue to break the cycle of homelessness.
Footnote
Note: Jamie Shovlin was born in Leicester and graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2003. His first exhibition after graduating was Naomi V. Jelish (2001-4), a fabricated archive of drawings attributed to the titular young girl. His work often features elements of autobiography and family history. For In Search of Lost Harmony (2003-6), displayed at Tate Britain in 2006, Shovlin used his mother’s bird watching as a starting point to examine about histories of amateur and scientific classification.
Shovlin has explored the use of archives and structures that underpin ideas of subjectivity and history through a variety of forms, including Lustfaust: A Folk Anthology 1976-81 (2003-12), another large-scale project centred around a fictional archive of music memorabilia, and Hiker Meat (2009-14), a collection of material related to fictional film of the project’s title. Jamie Shovlin lives and works in London.
Votives is an ongoing series of pencil drawings mounted to canvas that each depict a solitary candle drawn from life. Titled after the date of each drawing’s conclusion, the works form a collective portrait of time and the fixing of an instant in a concentrated act of observation. The series exists as both singular works and as components of a collective display with the life-size images taking the candle as subject matter in reference to its prominent place within art historical symbolism, acting as a metaphor for time, history, life, and mortality.