Art Angel launches Smother - by Sarah Cole and Coram's Young Parents' Project
30 April 2010
Reveal* Preview: Friday 30 April and Saturday 1 May 2010, 5-8pm
Opening Times: Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings only, 13 May- 5 June, 5-8pm
To book free tickets visit
artangel.eventbrite.com
Climbing the narrow stairs of a three-sided tower one girl searches for her lost cherries; in the attic another resident is pushed aside by a braying buggy and tries not to throw the baby out with the bath water. Stumbling across an ice rink in the tiny basement, we find another inhabitant of the Smother home. Skating on thin ice, she dreams of the joy and possibilities that her pregnancy presents, whilst her neighbour negotiates a social support system which might demand 24 hour observation units and constant upheavals as she is relocated for the ninth time in nine months.
Smother occupies the dolls-house frame of 101 Kings Cross Road, which rests precariously above London’s ancient river Fleet, passing hidden beneath. Inside, three inhabitants show us a glimpse of a world where young parents navigate their own adulthood amidst the complexities of raising a child. Smother is a story of emotional resilience, adaptability, loneliness and joy, of constant battles and glorified victories. It offers a rare insight into a deeply honest and personal space, illustrating the adaptability and resilience of young parents, and their capacity to mould their lives to meet the needs of their children.
Artist Sarah Cole worked with composer Jules Maxwell and a core group of young parents and their children - from new born to ten year olds through the Coram Young Parents Project. Through workshops and discussion, they have moulded Smother into an improvised interaction that encapsulates the vastly different experiences of over twenty young mothers and fathers. Set at the end of the day, when children and parents begin to unwind, Smother presents an uncanny journey through a disarming and unexpected space concealed behind a seemingly normal facade.
Artist Sarah Cole began collaborating with Coram Young parent’s project in July 2009. The Young Parents Project is one of many opportunities for support that families can access at the Coram centre and works primarily with young mothers and fathers under the age of twenty. Coram was established in 1739, when Thomas Coram opened the Foundling Hospital. During Smother’s opening period, the Foundling Museum will display artworks made during the process of the project, tucked away amongst the museum’s documents of social history, young parenthood and family life.
Smother will be previewed as part of Reveal* a Create KX initiative during Spring 2010 which animates Kings Cross through a dynamic display of visual and digital art, live music and site specific performance.
For further information, interviews or images please email Larne Abse Gogarty, interaction@artangel.org.uk or Rachel Anderson, rachel@artangel.org.uk, or call 020 7713 1400.
Notes to Editors:
1. www.revealkingscross.org.uk
2. Sarah Cole is a London based artist whose practice involves the orchestration of collaborative encounters and conversations with people in their environments. Her work takes the form of performative events and recordings, multimedia installations and educational presentations. www.sarah-cole.co.uk
3. Artangel has pioneered new ways of collaborating with artists and engaging audiences in an ambitious series of new commissions since the early 1990s. Artangel Interaction develops projects and events that extend opportunities for collaboration and participation. Smother is an Artangel Interaction project in collaboration with Coram Young Parents Project and Jonathan Woolf architects, generously supported by John Lyon’s Charity, the National Lottery through Arts Council England and Reveal. Artangel is supported by Arts Council England, Artangel International Circle, Special Angels and the Company of Angels. www.artangel.org.uk
4. Coram has developed a range of programmes that bring positive change for children today and restore hope for the children of tomorrow. The work of Coram addresses what matters most to children: to feel loved; to feel safe; to feel confident enough to make choices; to believe that hope exists. Coram targets support to those that need it most, drawing on over 270 years of experience. coram.org.uk
5. Artangel were invited by the architect Jonathan Woolf and Developers Heights UK to make use of the extraordinary building at 101 kings cross road. Following Smother, he will begin his own work on the building prior to it being put up for sale. His project will focus on an important theme of his practice; evolving an architecture that re-presents tradition in a new way. Jonathan Woolf leads an award winning international architectural practice working throughout Europe and Africa.www.jonathanwoolf.com
6. The ‘Ice Rink’ has been kindly donated by John Thorpe at NOICE ONE. www.noiceone.com
7. Clink Hostel, London, provides the reception space to Smother, this exceptional restored courthouse, offers a unique experience to backpackers and visitors, it’s classified as an English Heritage building due to its 2 original courtrooms and 7 original prison cells. clinkhostels.com
