Monday 4 February 2008

Preview invitation Thursday 7 Feb // 4 - 9pm Meet Sumer Erek, understand his challenge

The Newspaper House is a piece of public art making use of YOUR discarded newspapers! It will grow on Gillett Square from March 3 to 9th, 2008. 10am to 10pm

In the week, passers-by and visitors can bring their newspapers to the Square, where installation artist Sumer Erek, who created the piece, will build a house (with them).

The Newspaper House
March 3 - 9 2008
Gillett Square
Dalston N16


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It is not easy planning and delivery a piece of public art that will grow on a public square! Er... Who said it was? Well, definitely not us because the challenge is what motivates us!

¬ First, we have to make sure we understand the technical hurdles and evaluate the time it takes to get round them

¬ Second it is a case of finding a team that can deliver

¬ Third, it has to work to plan

¬ Fourth, we have to make enough noise to make sure YOU know about it and bring your newspapers to Gillett Square so that the piece achieves its aims!


Part of this process we are showing on Thursday 7 Feb 4 - 9pm
@ St Barnasbas Hall
Shacklewell Row
London E8 2EA

If you read this, then please come along.

Sumer will be there explaining the highs and lows, the techniques, the findings, the intricacies of his masterpiece.






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Interest on the project is growing! and we have had 2 more very valuable articles this week!

Hackney Today Jan 28th



Evening Standard Jan 31st





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We would also like to thank Paola, Emily Gray, Jo Beechey, Hannah for helping us through all this!


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Sunday just gone, Sumer had a visit from Suzana Vaz, who has been writing about the development and his work within the Newspaper House. Her text will be published in the next post on Thursday. For now, here are her comments on her first visit to Barnabas Hall::

" At Shackelwell Row, easy access alighting from Dalston Kingsland Station or Dalston Junction by bus.

I had my first viewing of the Newspaper House at St Barnabas Hall. Ariane Feijó came along and, as we arrived, Nicola had just finished interviewing Sumer Erek.

At the entrance of the Hall the scent of wood anticipated the vision of the cast of the newspaper house, an imposing structure made of wood and plywood, which took almost completely the central space of the Hall. A playful reminiscence of childhood, when we made barracks out of big size cardboard boxes, enacted the rooted image: a house inside the house.

There were several collaborators working with the newspapers, folding and rolling them on the Stix's machines, producing sticks at a regular pace, for the aim of the day was to estimate a rate of daily production.

Sumer Erek got us into the wooden cast through one of the two opposing central entrances and guided us to one corner where the filling of the cast was being tried out. He showed us the several technical solutions to bundle different sizes, lengths, and different amounts of newspaper sticks, which will serve as structural components and as filling material. Once the actual technological solutions are established the volunteers can be trained to work. This should be decided until the 7th Feb, so that the main filling of the cast is completed for the outside event on the very beginning of March.

We were then trained to process the newspaper into sticks. Sumer, Karen and Hanna showed us how to fold the newspaper sheets, roll them, and afterwards glue them and roll them on the hand moved Stix machine (an invention of Darcy Turner). Ari, Nicola and I naturally got into a focused working pace, to understand the engaging, therapeutic power of manual work and to enjoy the feeling of transforming, compressing, a numbly soft flat raw material into a thick fine generic reed-like shape. Lightness."

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