2017 Systems for Saying It

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Systems for Saying it

Plymouth Arts Centre
Friday 22 September - Saturday 18 November 2017

Photos by Jamie Woodley

Excerpt from an essay on Systems for Saying it by Lizzie Lloyd:

“It all sounds very utopian, but that is only half the story, as Phillips well knows. For starters it is by no means new; printmaking is in fact, often by necessity, a communal undertaking, due to the expense of specialist resources. It has a history of egalitarianism, making possible widespread distribution of imagery and information. The current appetite in the arts for work that is collaborative, participatory and accessible tends to value these qualities indiscriminately, as inherently good and desirable. It overlooks how these terms translate in practice. What gets lost in this kind of proselytising about, say, the benefits of co-operative working, the opportunities conferred by the artist on others, and the shared learning produced as a result, are the unresolved and multiple tensions that beset this kind of working practice in the real world. Some of this strain stems from the range of expectations that tug at Workshop, entitled Systems for Saying It in its Plymouth iteration. What should a project like this do? How should it function? How does it engage with people? And who is it for? It juggles the demands of the institution with the appetites of various parties: its participants, a general and specialist art audience, not to mention the intentions of Phillips herself.

In theory the arts centre as a hive of activity and inclusivity is the yardstick by which the success of such institutions, especially public institutions, are measured. In fact, in many cases, their public funding depends on it. But in practice it is not without its problems. It can be a difficult thing as an audience member to walk into a space in which people are working; it gives rise to questions like ‘Should I be here?’, ‘Am I allowed?’, ‘Can I join in?’. The answer to the latter, in this case, is: ‘I’m afraid not’. You see, Phillips’ work is not as inclusive as it might at first appear. Only prearranged groups can actually take part, her audiences are onlookers - as in most exhibitions. Rather than participation Workshop’s structure generates separation because watching others in discussion and at work can reinforce feelings of being an outsider, excluded and simply ‘looking in’. Perhaps the perception of the project’s shortcomings is due, in part, to the impression it lends of its wholesale embrace of the value of collaborative working. Or perhaps the failing is ours: perhaps our interpretations of the work hitherto have lacked nuance, therefore idealising Workshop in ways that are misleadingly simplistic. Systems for Saying It is, in fact, a critical hands-on negotiation of the process of working with people: its difficulty, its inherent compromise. Phillips maintains, for example, that the role she plays is as collaborator, categorically not facilitator. Her contributions to discussions about, say, linguistic, aesthetic and technical decision making that go into designing a banner intended for a march are, therefore, never neutral or disinterested.”

For the full essay download We The People Are The Work publication