Allyce Wood and Pete Fleming are masterful at transforming spaces. Allyce Wood is a recipient of a 2014 CityArtist grant, to do just that – she is planning to transform a downtown glass entryway with Fleming, in Pioneer Square this March 2014. Recently, the duo took over the Glass Pavilion in Bellevue City Hall Park, with the help of Storefronts Bellevue, filling it with paper cutouts and video projections. This mesmerizing display can be viewed from four different vantage points, but is commonly viewed from across the street, by passengers at the Bellevue Transit Center.
This work, and the work they will be presenting in the downtown space, consists of Allyce’s paper cutouts hanging in a space, with Pete’s video projections moving throughout the cutout pieces. Mirrors hang within the paper, forcing a new perspective, making it more difficult to see where the paper cutouts end and begin. This Seattle project will differ from the Bellevue one, as in the Seattle space, the viewer will sometimes be able to walk in, and through, the installation. They both expressed hope that the new installation in Seattle would allow them to take more risks, and hopefully focus more explicitly on social and environmental concerns. Wood captures “when humanity is stripped away from environments,” and does so by bringing together natural formations through paper and light. The paper sometimes alternates with sheets of Duralar in a mix of textures, with both the paper and Duralar pieces requiring large-scale meticulous work: One sheet takes 45-60 minutes to cut out, and there are over 35 sheets in each installation. The videos, which are projected against these cutouts, range from found footage, to minimalist videos, incorporating loops of simple things, and sometimes mixing them with original animation pieces. See the video below to view ‘Transitory: Constructs/Environs’, their piece in Bellevue City Hall Park, in action.
Allyce Wood and Pete Fleming met in 2009 while attending art school in Glasgow, Scotland. Wood hails from Seattle, and Fleming from the suburbs of London. Together, their influences range from environmentalism to social interaction, from ruins to nature. “Collaboration was natural,” according to Allyce, who spoke of sharing materials and ideas with Fleming in school. Currently they are teaching at Gage Academy, and will present a workshop at Nathan Hale High School to their art class, helping students create their own paper cutouts. Allyce and Pete’s Seattle work opens on March 6th, so be sure to stop by and see Constructs/Environs!
The CityArtist program supports the development and presentation of work by independent Seattle-based artists. The Office of Arts & Culture will post/share stories about the CityArtist’s works in-progress based on interviews and site visits by staff members Annie Holden and Irene Gómez. Learn more about the CityArtist grant here, and read more CityArtist stories here.
Photos and video provided by Allyce Wood and Pete Fleming.
