FIGUREHEAD Nicola Dale

FIGUREHEAD Nicola Dale In consolidating Curation and Library Services at Leeds Arts University, it is fitting that our first exhibition in the new gallery should explore a contemporary revision of Saint Jerome — the patron saint of libraries and an enduring figure of intrigue for artists, especially during the Renaissance. As part of our commitment to Northern artists, we have invited Nicola Dale to be our first resident researcher. In her practice, Dale has been consistently interested in the potential connections between libraries and curation as primary sites of knowledge making. In April 2016 she held the role of ‘library interventionist’, and her return to the University acknowledges the growing portfolio of artist-led activities in our specialist arts library. Primarily working in the realms of sculpture, installation and performance, Dale’s practice is conceptually rooted. She is chiefly concerned with how knowledge is made visible. Many of her recent artworks have investigated the physical activity of reading, or, more precisely, the ways in which the reader’s eyes move across the page. Figurehead is contemplative and deeply art historical. The exhibition and related performances present the findings of Dale’s research trip to Rome in October 2018. Thirteen contemporary portraits of Saint Jerome are drawn with an innovative use of chenille stems and based on a series of Renaissance paintings. One revelation for Dale was that Jerome is almost always depicted distracted from reading, with his body often contorted into a performative twist. Viewers are invited, in turn, to contemplate their own reading habits and physical encounters with text and images. We are delighted to be collaborating (for a third consecutive year) with Corridor8 on a writing residency to augment this timely exhibition. Emerging writer, Saffron Ward, has been commissioned to develop a new text in relation to Dale’s exhibition. ‘Who’s Seen Jerome?’ includes Ward’s detailed reflections on the composition and materials of Figurehead as well as insights into its complex semantics. This publication also welcomes an essay by art historian Sara Riccardi who provides the indispensable context for Saint Jerome imagery and interview material with Dale from their time in Italy. We would like to thank the artist and writers for their erudite contributions to this inaugural show in our new Blenheim Walk Gallery. Curatorial Preface Dr Catriona McAra, University Curator WHO’S SEEN JEROME? SAFFRON WARD Today, as we battle to balance and pri- oritise a multitude of tasks, it is all too tempting to indulge in a world of pixels and perceived perfection. The internet, while seemingly a harmless escape from the overwhelming complexity of twenty-first-century life, can numb us to the real world and make us oblivious to the weight of its histories. Recognising this modern-day aliment, Nicola Dale delves into the past, ques- tioning the authority of symbolism by revisiting an intriguing historical char- acter. Saint Jerome is best known for translating a large portion of the Bible into Latin, making it widely accessible for his and future generations. For this and other feats (he is said to have tamed a lion by removing a thorn from its paw), Jerome became synonymous with intel- ligence, modern language and intense piety. Consequently, he was canonised by the Christian Church as the patron saint of libraries. As the role of the library, and the lan- guages it contains, continues to evolve and diversify, Saint Jerome’s significa- nce seems all but lost — a distant figure disconnected from our fast-paced lives. However, with the opening of Leeds Arts University’s new library and gallery, we find Jerome again, here in a new guise. Image: GHIRLANDAIO — St. Jerome in his Study 1480, Ognissanti, Florence BEYOND THE SURFACE UNFILTERED SIGHT I I I Figurehead comprises a series of sculp- Although the subject of each sculpture The theme of distorted sight continues Viewers are invited to weave around tural portraits of Saint Jerome, eleven is taken from a pre-existing painting to dominate Figurehead as Dale explores the exhibition in a fortuitous sequence, free standing and two wall mounted, or fresco of Jerome and named after the physical act of looking. Across the focusing on both faces and escaping inspired by historical artworks and exe- the original artists (male in every case), thirteen representations, the shape of gazes, simulating a distracted form cuted in wiggly wire lines. A muted Dale’s process of cropping and adapt- Jerome’s eyes varies greatly. Some are of viewing. Conversely, the disruptive colour spectrum of chenille stems ing them to three-dimensional frames big and wide, suggesting enchantment nature of Jerome’s escaping stare forc- (pipe cleaners) are twisted around the creates eleven unique interpretations. or wonder, whereas others are squinted es viewers to stop and actively look wires so tightly that they create a uni- This demonstrates the Saint’s symbolic and downcast in a state of deep concen- at each portrait. This has parallels with form furry coating. For each sculpture, versatility, his appearance and attributes tration. To further emphasise these dif- the act of thoughtful observation Dale Dale enlarged and traced thirteen changing according to each interpreta- ferences, lengths of bright red doweling performed when seeking out and view- Renaissance portraits of Jerome, first tion. Jerome’s rise to sainthood has con- are pierced through one eye on each of ing paintings in Rome. Here, viewers encountered during her recent investi- temporary parallels with social media, the standing pieces, adding a secondary utilise Jerome’s gaze to view new spac- gative pilgrimage to Rome. Rather than his persona and popularity fostered structural layer and further enhancing es for the first time. In a similar way, swiping through images on the internet, through a process of constructing, filter- their sculptural quality. The stems work Dale utilises medieval iconography to the artist wanted to experience the sub- ing and idealising. Here, Dale’s sculp- to plasticise their gazes, encouraging assist contemporary sight and reflect limity of the original environment, and tures not only evoke the past, but also viewers to follow each line of sight and on current concerns. perhaps access the true essence of demonstrate how a lineage of reconst- consequently notice areas of the gal- the Saint by observing intricate brush ructed images can give fresh relevance lery which might otherwise be ignored. strokes and overwhelming scales. The to a historical figure. This provokes thoughtful connections diversity of Jerome’s appearance and between Figurehead and the wider The sketch-like sculptures are devoid of persona are subtly altered between gallery and library, thus bringing Saint volume, shading or tone. This emptiness each rendition, revealing signs of auto- Jerome into the present. nomy, agenda and individual style. might be read as a critique of our contemporary dependence on the internet. The acrylic red poles also point to an For the exhibition, the minimalist white As we swipe through vast amounts of iconographical trope of male Saints gallery space at Leeds Arts University information on a daily basis, much of it in scarlet robes, and to the presence is punctuated by eleven cuboid arma- is quickly forgotten or disregarded. The of blood. The placement of each pole tures, each with a floating ‘head’. Each spatial void of each sculpture not only required the metaphorical piercing of frame faces a different corner of the hints at this practice, but also how digi- Jerome’s retina, a kind of attack on the gallery, facilitating new perspectives tal images are formed. Millions of tiny religious canon and patriarchal sym- and conversations as Dale’s Saints sim- pixels give the impression of line, colour bolism that surrounds the figure. How- ultaneously encounter one another and form, but the material essence of ever, the vibrant colour and powerful (in a way their originals never will), and the picture is absent. Their minimalist focus of each line also conveys the viewers moving through the space. The nature asks us to look beyond the obvi- power of Jerome’s gaze. Here Dale soft lines of their faces contrast with ous; their sparse placement offering recognises both the male-centred his- the rigidity of the upright frames, their an illusion of connectivity. Depending tory of her source material and her dimensions reminiscent of scaled-up on a viewer’s position, the sculptures own agency as a woman making art in mobile phone screens. In this way, they can overlap and bleed into one another, the twenty-first-century. The red lines evoke a chronology of portraiture from creating further, messier portraits of also have a likeness to descriptive Renaissance drawings to selfies. This Jerome. This underlines the importance marks used within anatomy drawings, comparison is reinforced by Dale’s de- of active sight and shows how the sur- but instead of sitting neatly within Je- cision to enlarge or exaggerate certain face of an image can be misleading. rome’s head (or mind’s eye), the glance aspects of Jerome’s attributes, such is left floating in mid-air, beyond the as the spiralling halo found on the sculpture’s frame. This prompts viewers sculpture ‘Lippi’. to question where sight originates, and perhaps how present-day technology influences our vision, viewing patterns and attention spans. Image: LOTTO — Lorenzo St. Jerome c. 1509, Castel Sant’Angelo, Rome LOST IN A TWIST continuously morphing in order to suit the ideals of artists, commissioners or I I I societies — predominately all male-centred. Although there is some resistance to the policies and actions of leaders and their figureheads, many continue to acquiesce and ultimately fall in line with The trope of distracted viewing is also Dale’s ‘Ribera’ and ‘Ghirlandaio’ em- their rhetoric.

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