unconditional line still27

Jerwood Drawing Second Prize Winner, Elisa Alaluusua

The winners were announced on 15 September of the Jerwood Drawing Prize 2015. The Second Prize of 5,000 was awarded to Elisa Alaluusua for her 7-minute video, Unconditional Line. She completed MA degrees at Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Lapland before commencing her PhD at CCW. Her prizewinning video drawing depicts the take-off and landing of a flight.

Alaluusua said, ‘My drawing practice varies from graphite on paper to videoworks ' both of which have played a part while I have been conducting my PhD research at UAL on the topic of sketchbooks. Often my work explores restrictions set around particular parameters, such as my large-scale 24h Drawings, completed in that time without sleep and pushing physical and mental boundaries. Unconditional Line 'explores a line across the skies and recreates it on screen. This particular trip belongs to a continuum of invisible lines drawn between London and Luusua in Finnish Lapland. The lines on the ground speak their own foreign language of order and safety that should not be compromised. The video is a reminder of the experiences of our own journeys.'*

I have been using video for a long time now. At the beginning of the 1990s, in my art school we were the first year group completing our moving image projects on video rather than in film. Renting the cumbersome equipment was expensive, and we would use the linear editing machines around the clock. Over the years video has become an effortless means of expression for me where I work on my own on a project, planning, shooting and editing everything by myself. It is very much like composing a drawing with a more traditional media on paper ' every mark or change works in a relation to the marks around it, the whole composition capturing time in the process. On the other hand, I truly enjoy collaboration such as running video projects ' for example the Film/Video workshop for Westminster School's annual PHAB course ' or interviewing people for my videoworks. My final PhD exhibition will include thirteen such videoworks, and I look forward to putting that installation together in the spring of 2016.

There will be related events coming up on Friday 25th (SLAM FRIDAY: Artists’ Floor Talk) and Monday 28th September (SCREENING & PANEL DISCUSSION: A Singular Line) when I will be taking part in panel discussions.’ Tickets are free but need to be booked in advance on their website, using the links above.

EXHIBITION INFORMATION:

Jerwood Drawing Prize 2015
16 September'25 October 2015
Jerwood Space, 171 Union Street, London SE1 0LN
Mon'Fri from 10am'5pm, Sat & Sun from 10am'3pm Free
www.jerwoodvisualarts.org
Twitter: #JDP15 @JerwoodJVA

FROM LONDON THE EXHIBITION GOES TO:

  • Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum: The Wilson (21 November 2015 – 31 January 2016)
  • Sidney Cooper Gallery, Canterbury (11 February – 9 April 2016)
  • Falmouth Art Gallery (23 April – 25 June 2016)

* Jerwood Drawing Prize 2015 press release

Top image: still from Unconditional Line, Elisa Alaluusua

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *