My first 5 jobs after graduation from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in 1990:

Think I was running 5 at once, nothing changes!

1. I was technician and teaching assistant in the Department of Photography (Fine Art) Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee.

2. On Saturdays I was exhibition’s assistant at Seagate Gallery, Dundee.

3. On Saturday evenings I was a Tequila girl selling bucket loads of the crazy stuff – the company wondered why Dundee suddenly peeked as a hotspot! I can’t remember why I gave that one up the commission was great, think it was the smell of alcohol on my apron – to this day I can’t bear the smell of Tequila.

4. I was also a nanny for the wonderful Pat Fisher – this was my fav job by far probably because it never really felt like a job. It was a couple of hours each eve. I do remember feeling very proud walking my three glorious little girls, dog and bike home after school every evening – lovely times.

5. When the contract at Duncan of Jordanstone finished (it was a year’s maternity cover) I moved to Glasgow and set up Fuse : an artist – led support network with free studio space, travel and materials allowance, exhibition and training opportunities for visual artists based in Glasgow this ran till 1999 during this time i also established Fly (now Market) then i moved onto CCA.”

Photo courtesy of David Zérah at Patricia Fleming Projects.

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We’ve asked professionals in creative industries what jobs they have had in the past to get their foot through the door (or at least pay the rent). For more in the “My First 5 Jobs” series look here.

Hello CenSta-ers!

Myself, the Central Station Team and a whole load of other Central Station members are here at the Dundee Pop-up day and so far it’s proving to be pretty interesting. Art mixed with a sort of Anneka’s Challenge ethos, as we jump from venue to venue. Anyway, here i’ll be trying to fit in blog posts of the events and exhibitions I’ve seen.

Just came from the Cooper Gallery to check out the Public Image exhibition and was especially taken by the work by Liu Wei. His video installation was focussed around challenging the censorship of images in China, taking that particularly arresting photo of the person standing in front of tanks in Tiananmen Square and seeing if students of Beijing University remember this event. Their responses are certainly intriguing and makes me think how much we take our freedom of speech for granted, in the Western world.

Another one of the exhibits I enjoyed was the Patricia Esquivias’ work. In a video installation, Esquivias details the connections between King Phillip II of Spain and Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias. Examples of the connections included how many albums Iglesias has sold compared to how much land Phillip conquered. And the fact that Phillip had a traitor son as did Iglesias, in the form of Enrique, who tries to deviate from the Iglesias sound by being trendy (that was my favourite connection). The similarities between the two are strangely strong. It was a wonderfully odd exhibit, delivered in a humourously deadpan manner which put a wry smile on my face.

The event is still on at The Cooper Gallery, from 6th February to the 6th March 2010. Check it out for sure!

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To find out what Dundee Popup was all about or to read more reviews & blogs  from the day, click here.