Our first foray into mainland Europe came through graphic designer friend Lloyd Clater, who regularly visits La Roche in the Ardèche, where he introduced us to curators Christian Durand and Emma Holzapfel, in Alba La Romaine, who invited us to show site-responsive work in the library of Le Teil and at the vast 13th Century Château d’Alba, two contrasting locations within a few kilometres of each other either side of The Rhône.

This ambitious residency gained much support from Lloyd himself and L’association Alba Village d’Artistes, as well as funding from La Mairie du Teil to cover transport of over 100 artworks. Twelve of the artists attended the public Vernissage, with the core team living in La Roche for the six week residency. This expedition proved to be a real milestone in our progression, opening up many opportunities because of its logistical and artistic success, but we are yet to dare to again try and show the work of forty artists at any one time.

Project Title
Désintégration Exquise / Souvenirs du Béton et de la Terre

Locations
Château d’Alba, Ardèche region of south-east France
Médiathèque Le Teil, Ardèche region of south-east France

Project Lead
Garry Hunter for Fitzrovia Noir

Curation
Graham Carrick and Manuel Sanmartin for Fitzrovia Noir

Production
Christian Durand (France)
Emma Holzapfel (France)
Nicholas Shah (UK)
Peter Mackertich (France/UK)

Artists

Media
Assemblage, bronze, collage, ceramic, concrete, paint, photography, readymade

Date
April – May 2009

Simon Wisdom, local resident