The 2008 David Gluck Memorial Bursary, for £1,000,
has been awarded to Alexandra Blum for her
graphite drawings which explore and depict the
ongoing regeneration and transformation
at Dalston Junction, East London.
 
The three diptychs she submitted are part of an
ongoing series of over 100 drawings made
on location. She plans to use the bursary to
expand the series and mount an exhibition of the
drawings in a venue local to Dalston Junction.
 
Alexandra's drawings, together with those of
the other five shortlisted artists, Kate Genever,
Karen Griffiths, Marianne Holm Hansen,
Alexis Soul-Gray, and Julian Walker were
shown at the 2008 ING Discerning Eye
Exhibition at the Mall Galleries. 

 
"Currently drawing is my sole medium. The diptychs I have submitted are part of an ongoing series of over 100 drawings. Made on location, they explore the existing urban fabric and the potential for change at Dalston Junction, East London. A new station, residential development and public square are underway.
 
Apparently circling the cranes, the drawings approach and move away from the construction site, observing the transition between decaying buildings, those in use and the potential of new spaces and architecture heralded by the cranes. I am making the drawings partly to explore and record the process of transformation, and because many of the existing relationships between buildings and the surrounding spaces simply won't exist once demolition is underway.
 
I would use the bursary to expand the series and mount an exhibition of the drawings in a venue local to Dalston Junction. Whilst drawing on location I have spoken to many people, often interested in how and why I am making the drawings, resulting in extensive discussions about the changes taking place.
 
An exhibition close to the site would be a great opportunity to continue this dialogue, give some tangible form to the massive succession of changes in the area and to reflect on what may be lost, as well as anticipating the potential benefits of regeneration. Ideally the show would be in a space readily accessible to a wide range of the local population, rather than a conventional gallery space.
 
The award of a bursary would add weight to my proposal when negotiating the hire of the exhibition venue and enable full publicity to encourage local visitors to the show. The show would also be a springboard towards producing a book of the drawings to create a more permanent record of the process of change in Dalston, a microcosm of the changes taking place all over London as we move towards 2012."

Alexandra Blum
 

 

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