Stefhan Caddick
Stefhan Caddick is a visual artist based in Wales. His work is often multidisciplinary, encompassing visual art, new media and elements of performance.
His work sometimes takes the form of manoeuvres; strategies or methodologies which result in an action, installation, or other form of presentation; erecting a discontinued electronic road sign in the middle of Cardiff and asking the public to send their text messages to it; attempting to make and use a pair of skiis with no knowledge of woodwork (or skiing); recording a second of sound every minute for three hours in an attempt to produce a 7" single; or cycling 250 miles during a cold February in Wales, avoiding main roads and asking passers-by for hand-drawn directions.
The position which Caddick takes within these manoeuvres is often that of the technician rather than the artist. He will adopt a methodology at the outset of the work and then carry out his own, self-imposed instructions until the task is complete. As a result, the work is often as much an invitation to interrogate the methodology as the direct experience of the work in the gallery or online space.
At other times Caddick's work focuses on the poetic; a miniature lighthouse grazing the walls with an image of its own filament, the noise of innumerable flies emanating from a structure constructed of hay, or the distant rumblings of sounds recorded from 4 foot below ground level.
Recent exhibitions:
Feb 2006 Over... Interactive digital signage project using open source software, mobile phones and electronic sign equipment. Gallery 39, Cardiff
Oct 2005 Storyboard Electronic Road Sign (VMS) re-used as a public message board using open-source software and mobile phones. Part of May You Live in Interesting Times, Cardiff Festival of Creative Technology
Oct 2005 A Rose and Fields and the Birds & Sastrugi Audio project involving members of the public reading letters from home. Commissioned by STAR Radio, an artist & community-led radio project curated by Jennie Savage.
May 2005 Eli. Sound installation and live sound treatment. Group exhibition and performance at the National Botanic Garden of Wales and the Preseli Mountains, Pembrokeshire.
Feb 2005 Everything I know about skiing Handmade skis developed during a residency in Rouge Matawin Faunique, Quebec. Presented as an installation and performance. Part of Marcheurs des Bois, a project developed by Boreal Art/Nature(Canada) and Ointment artists collective (Wales).
Forthcoming Exhibitions:
Oct/Nov 2006 Bordering Art, interdisciplinary art/geography project curated by Holly McLaren.
Further Information:
Website: http://www.useblackinkonly.com
Website (May You Live In Interesting Times): http://www.mayyouliveininterestingtimes.com/
Website (STAR Radio): http://www.starradio.org.uk/
Email: stefhan@papergecko.co.uk