Passing thoughts and making plans

Plug! I can probably count the number of contemporary artists whose work I like on one hand, and one of the contemporary artists whose work I like is Rachel Whiteread, who creates sculpture that reflects the interior spaces of objects. Her best known work, which led her to win the Turner prize, was House, in which she hosed the inside of a council dwelling with concrete then removed the brickwork so that all that remained was its impression.

Whiteread is one of many artists featured in a new exhibition, Passing thoughts and making plans, at the Jerwood Space in London (at 171 Union St, SE1 0LN) from now until 13th December. Here is the press release they've sent me:

"Passing thoughts and making plans is an exhibition that brings together artists who use photography as part of their thought process; as a tool for working out, following and shaping ideas that will develop into a finished work.

The concept behind the exhibition comes from Yass’ desire to reveal work in process and to consider that the experience of viewing preparations and sketches for art works holds complexities and interest in its own right. Passing thoughts and making plans features previously unseen work from internationally renowned artists Tacita Dean, Jeremy Deller, Sarah Jones, Alex Katz, Sharon Lockhart, Cornelia Parker, Richard Wentworth and Rachel Whiteread.

The exhibition is the third in the Jerwood Visual Arts Encounters series, which act as conversations about and between the disciplinary fields of the Jerwood Visual Arts programme. Passing thoughts and making plans is a conversation about the role of photography in each of the artists’ practice and aims to give visitors a deeper understanding of the process of making work, through having a rare glimpse of the preparatory work behind a finished piece. Finished examples of the artists’ work, displayed in books and catalogues, will also be on show.

Catherine Yass, curator of the exhibition says: “Photographic images are often part of a fluid chain of thoughts and notes that cross over into different areas. They might be snap shot prints or contacts stuck in a notebook, incorporated into a drawing, combined with writing or just left on a table amongst other bits and pieces. This process is what I wanted to convey in the exhibition.”

There's more details at their website. They also passed along this random photograph of a towel which must be by one of the artists. I can't tell which one, but it's very clever.