Department
Semonara Chowdhury, Dan Holdsworth, isan & Carl Harris, Olivia Plender, Sick Happy Idle.
19 May - 30 June 2001

Department was first realised as an exhibition in November 1999 to revitalise an empty retail unit within Victoria Plaza Shopping Centre in Southend-On-Sea, approximately 40 miles east of London.  The exhibition was organised as an opportunity for a selection of artists and musicans to show their work out of a conventional setting and within and independent and regional context.

Although there was no set theme for the exhibition, Department aimed to showcase work that was progressive, diverse and reflective of the local environment in which it was shown.  Department at The Changing Room presented new work by exhibitors from the first exhibition, showing in Scotland for the first time. Whilst the setting was a recognised public gallery, the aims of the exhibition remained the same and each artist selected work with The Changing Room's unique space in mind.

Semonara Chowdhury produced work that reflects our collective experiences of surveillance and social discomfort, often reworking source material from her own diaries and sketch books.For this exhibition Semonara made a new text piece in neon.

Dan Holdsworth's acclaimed and monumental landscape photography observes technological advancement within human environments and natural ecosystems. For The Changing Room he exhibited images from a series shown for the first time in Scotland.

isan & Carl Harris : Robin Saville and Anthony Ryan have had several critically acclaimed releases as electronic music unit isan including, 'Beautronics', Tugboat Records (1998), 'Salamander', Morr Music (1999) and a contribution to 'Warp 10+3', Warp Records (1999). Carl Harris is a painter and illustrator who has previously produced drawings for magazines and provided artwork for isan's releases. For Department the usual working process were reversed with Carl's work providing source material for isan's, music resulting in a collaborative audio-visual installation.

Olivia Plender created an installation for The Changing Room highlighting her interest in the relationship between the machine and the outmoded in modern capitalist society. After completing a residency in Berlin she developed installations which incorporate her detailed drawings of industrial sites and department stores along with painting and found text.

Sick Happy Idle is a zine, with the three main contributors collaborating by post. In its own words Sick Happy Idle is: "A defeat for a generation lost in a world with no taste. An illegible assortment of blues, muse, glues and new soft shoes for the d-generation." An edition of Sick Happy Idle made specifically for The Changing Room was available for the duration of the exhibition.  See Sick Happy Idle website for more details or isan website

Installation View

Carl Harris, Kitten Light, mixed media, 2002

Olivia Plender, Richard, ink on paper, 2001

Semonara Chowdhury, Terror, Neon, 2001