Adam Grainger

Bio: Adam Grainger is a Curator, Artist, and Organiser based in Nottingham. He co-curates Four/Four and Whorling.net, and is currently Studio Manager at One Thoresby Street.

Website: https://www.fourfourcollective.org/

Instagram: @a.grngr

Day 17

Multiple images arranged on a white background, the images present a map of visual research, with subject ranging from the deepwater horizon disaster, and piscine reovirus, to Bas Jan Ader and Black Metal

Brainspill

Day 16

A black and white photo showing a steep hill and cliff face by the sea, printed out on printer paper, sitting centrally and filling half the page. The paper is sandwiched between two sheets of clear acetate, held together by silver bulldog clips at top and bottom. The upper clip hangs off a pin in a white wall.

Sandsend

Day 15

Two posters presented on a digital background of light grey cloud cover. The posters have dark black and white backgrounds of dense clouds, and in their centres sit the words 'TAKE MY ARMS', and 'INFINITE HEROISM' in bright yellow Gill Sans font.

SET

Day 14

A white Ford Orion moves westwards through the small roads of the fens in the early hours of the morning, just before dawn. The car is filled with four people, each is deathly pale and dressed in black. Below the rear view mirror hangs a smiling sun, knowingly eyeing the passengers.

The passengers have purpose, they are headed in a specific direction for a specific reason. As their faces are illuminated by scarce streetlights they discuss their task; they are trying to flee the rising sun, to escape to somewhere it cannot reach or to run forever if necessary. They consider the potential futility of their task, of existence itself, of society, progress and hope. Moods and stances in the group shifting back and forth between optimism & nihilism.

They pass an old black Volkswagen Passat, speeding the other way. It is similarly filled with four corpselike passengers, the windows are down, they are screaming and shouting and dissonance blares forth from the radio.

As the sky turns from black to dark then light blue the passengers variably become frantic, hysteric or solemn. They have failed, there is no escaping their imminent fate. Resignation. The sun creeps through the back window, reflecting in the rear view mirror, angular rays of light spread out over the plastic interiors, the worn fabric of the chairs. The passengers ignite instantly.

The car slows to a gradual stop on a lonely back road, in a flat expanse lined with trees and hedges. Twisting clouds billow out of the open windows. As the sun rises triumphantly into the sky we see the car is now empty, the passengers have gone up in a cloud of smoke.

Should the Light Take Us

Day 13

Day 12

Day 11

Day 10

A collage of images and text, the background is an aerial view of an oil spill in bright turquoise water, and layered on top of this are two images of pelicans covered in oil, mouths agape. Below each image is yellow text relating Oil Spills to Prometheus, depression and the corpse of humanity.

Well of Grief

Day 9

A stack of white a4 printer paper is placed upon a roughly a3 sized piece of birch plywood, held down by a rock on the upper section of the paper. Taking up half of the paper there is a centrally placed, black and white, heavily compressed image of a hand and a sleeve. The hand looks to be held close to the body, and loosely points towards the top left of the image. This installation is placed on a clod in a grassy field, and is surrounding by green and yellow tufts.

Accessible Edition

Day 8

Day 7

A skylight is seen central to the image, from a low view to the left. On the skylight two A4 acetate images are taped, one above the other. They have black cloudy backgrounds, punctuated by suns in the middle. The upper image reads 'Here Comes the Sun', and the lower reads 'It's Alright'. The sky beyond the window is a drab grey, and the walls cannot be seen for how dark the room is.

Here Comes the Sun (Through the Skylight)

Day 6

Day 5

A narrow landscape orientation image shows four evenly spaced black and white digital images on a misty blue background of clouds and hills. The grey images are very pixelated, obscuring a lot of their content. They show (left to right):
3 men in v formation wearing military outfits, their faces covered and holding rifles.
A group of Amish people building a barn, they are all scaling different beams at height.
The burnt out, crumbling remains of a Norwegian Church.
A castle gate, made of two conjoined towers and a portcullis.

Grey Blur (#63, 64, 65 & 68)

Day 4

A digital image, showing two columns of research (one of images, one of text), on a pixelated background of blood in water. Images show gore pouring from an underwater pipe, a school of salmon, biological diagrams showing symptoms of Piscine Reovirus, and and fillet of salmon with a black lesion. Text includes a quote from a Vice article, a listing of thought processes and jumps, a work in progress text about Miasmas, and a quote from a scientific article detailing lesions.

Research: Blood from the Blood Pipe

Day 3

Studio Manager's FAQs

If you have any problems please refer to the below and see if this answers your question first! 


When are the bins being emptied? 
The bins are emptied bi-weekly on Friday AM. If the bins have not been emptied I will ring the waste company first thing on Monday.

Can we have another skip? 
No, skips cost £240 and the last one was sent back half full.

Can’t we just buy the building? 
Unfortunately we don’t have the level of funds to make this happen, or to then engage in the necessary maintenance to the building. This is to say nothing of the buildings limited accessibility which will continue to impact us in the long term.

Can I put glass in the bin? 
No, please take all your glass home. Do not try and sneak it into the bin, the waste company will not collect the rubbish!

Why can’t I leave my belongings in the corridor? 
Because this blocks the corridors, which in turn causes a potential fire / escape hazard and invalidates our insurance policy.

Can I prop open the fire doors with the fire extinguishers? 
No, see above. 

Where are the ladders? 
Most likely at the end of one of the floors, downstairs in the workshop or locked up in somebody’s studio.

Where is Henry (Hoover)? 
See above.

Can I build a mezzanine? 
Yes! Thank you for asking first and not just building something which goes against building regs. We will need to see a proposal for this and okay it before you begin.
 
Can I have a bigger studio? 
We can add your name to the studio move waiting list, however larger studios are always in high demand.

Are (company next door) going to knock this building down? 
Not that we know of, we have no further updates and would ask you to avoid spreading unconfirmed information about the building’s fate.

Can I park in (company next door’s) parking spaces? 
No, please avoid this otherwise I’ll get an angry call from their security personnel!

I’ve come into contact with someone with Covid symptoms, what should I do? 
Don’t come into the building to tell me this! Self Isolate and get tested.

Can I bring my friend into the building? 
No, all non-work related visits are postponed for the time being. Please see the risk assessment for more. 

Why didn’t I see this email / message? 
This is likely because you’ve unsubscribed from Basecamp and muted the group chat, please rectify this to keep up to date.

Can I use my studio as storage and otherwise never come into the building? 
We’d rather you didn’t!

Where have all the forks gone? 
They’re all stashed away in everyone’s studios.

Why haven’t I received this grant money? 
I have spoken to the council, their small team is very overworked and the money will be with you soon.

Can we invest in (Pizza Oven, New Fully Stocked AV Store, my amazing programme idea etc)? 
Yes! If you are willing to help raise funds for this! 

Can I make this structural change to the building? 
No, as we are renting the building we want to avoid major changes where possible.

What is the WiFi code? 
Studio_Wifi281. You can also find the WiFi code on the kitchen wall in the same place it has been for the last decade.

Can I gut the inside of a van a leave the waste lying in the yard for several months? 
Please avoid doing this as we do not have the capacity to deal with this waste. This should be disposed of by yourself. 

Can I leave all of my unwanted items on the kitchen table/ in the corridor / in the stairwell? 
Please don’t do this, the kitchen has recently been refurbished and should be looked after! 

Can I host a workshop, large get together, etc. In the project space? 
No, this is against government guidelines.

Can we have face to face studio meetings again? 
See above.

Can I dump two tonnes of soil into the (company next door’s) car park, if I promise to move it straight away?
Please under no circumstances try to do this, especially without informing the studios first! 

Thanks,
Management

A Useful Tool: Studio Manager's FAQs

Day 2

A collage is held up with a bulldog clip on a white studio wall background, filling most of the image. The collage is laminated, with a dense black graphite covered paper background. In the top left is a dark image of sprouting potatoes, in the top right, a selection of real, small flowers, some yellowed by the laminating process, in the bottom of the image sits a white rectangle containing a squiggly orange line: path data from walking app Strava. The lamination is creased and not fully sealed thanks to the thickness of the flowers, creating ripples and reflections on the works surface.

Adam Grainger

Day 17

Brainspill

Day 16

Sandsend

Day 15

SET

Day 14

Should the Light Take Us

Day 13

Day 12

Day 11

Day 10

Well of Grief

Day 9

Accessible Edition

Day 8

Day 7

Here Comes the Sun (Through the Skylight)

Day 6

Day 5

Grey Blur (#63, 64, 65 & 68)

Day 4

Research: Blood from the Blood Pipe

Day 3

A Useful Tool: Studio Manager's FAQs

Day 2

Partial Pathing / Actualisation

Day 1

Unideal Manifesto