Rebecca Rendell - CV Contact Information rebeccarendell@gmail.com www.rebeccarendell.com skype: rebecca-rendell twitter: @rebecca_rendell Qualifications 2007 - (BA) Textile Art Degree - Southampton University, England 2004 - Foundation Diploma in Fine Art - Swansea Institute of HE, Wales 2002 - (BTEC) National Diploma in Fine Art - Swansea College, Wales 2001 - (AS) Mathematics - Swansea College, Wales 2000 - 11 GCSE (Grade A*-C) - Bishopston Comprehensive School, Wales Work History Feb 2013 – Installation Assistant, Circe Culture Gallery, Art13 Fair, London, UK - Free-lance art handling is a useful part time occupation for me, I worked with Circe Culture Gallery from Berlin during Art 13 Fair, this included handling artwork by Katrin Fridriks. Feb 2013-Current - Library Assistant, Central Saint Martins, UAL, London, UK - I am responsible for replenishing the bookshelves with returned resources. This provides me with the opportunity to become more familiar with the art school literature collection. November 2012-Current - Host, Love Art London Events, London, UK - Love Art London is a members only backstage pass to London’s best art and culture events. I host talk, tours and studio visits with galleries, curators, artists and the people with the best creative know how around. March 2010-Current - Artist, living and working in London, UK - Collaboration with galleries, curators artists and clients, production of original artworks, development of professional studio practice. Currently studying a Masters in Fine Art at Chelsea college of art and design due to be completed Sept 2013. March 2012 – Installation Assistant, Lombard Freid Gallery, Art Dubai, Dubai, UAE - Free-lance art handling is a useful part time occupation for me, I worked with Lombard Freid Gallery from New York during Art Dubai 2012, this included handling artwork by Mounir Fatmi. Sep 2011-Oct 2011 – Commissioned Artist, Motorola Razr Launch Event, Dubai, UAE - I was one of four locally based artists commissioned to create a large, site-specific artwork as an element for the Motorola Razr launch event. Feb 2011-March 2011 - Project Administrator, A.I.R 2011, Bastakiya, Dubai, UAE - In collaboration between Art Dubai, Tashkeel and The Delfina Foundation. I administered and assisted the international artist residency program, taking place in Bastakiya house 44. My role was to assist the artists and organisers to insure the smooth success of this venture.

Nov 2010-June 2011 - Assistant, to Fashion Designer Felicity Brown, Dubai, UAE - I assisted Felicity with her second collection of silk dresses and printed T-shirts. This included procion or acid printing methods, and paper stencil screen printing. June 2010 – Dec 2010 – Commissioned Artist, Heineken Rugby Sevens, Dubai, UAE - I was commissioned to create a unique site specific artwork inspired by Heineken Extra Cold, I designed a suspended glass ‘explosion’ using frosted glass that I laser engraved. Nov 2009-Mar 2010 - Artist Mentor, HSBC EcoArt Challenge RAK & FUJ, UAE - I was responsible for assisting and mentoring 6 government schools during an environmental art project. The students created eco-friendly sculptures that were judged and exhibited in the Ayyam Gallery, Dubai, during March 2010. Nov 2008-Mar 2010 - Studio and Gallery Assistant for Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE - I was responsible for installing exhibitions, assisting members in their studio practice, preparing Tashkeel for upcoming workshops, admin for Tashkeel library and maintaining general standards in each studio. I was also recently given the role of leading or coordinating certain workshops. During my vocation I installed ten exhibitions including an exhibition in Berlin, Germany, titled ʻEmirati Visionsʼ. July 2007-Sept 2008 - Studio Assistant to artist Damien Hirst, Gloucester, England, UK - I was responsible for the fabrication and installation of a large variety of artworks. This busy studio provided the chance to broaden my practical skills base, and administrative capabilities. I was expected to create documentation systems for each artwork so that they could be re-installed as they were originally formed. Teamwork was intrinsic to my role. Oct 2006 – Jun 2007 - Library Assistant, Winchester School of Art, Hampshire, UK - I was responsible for replenishing the bookshelves with returned resources. This provided me the opportunity to become more familiar with the art school literature collection, Voluntary Work Experience March 2010 – ʻOwn a Piece of Artʼ Project in collaboration with the childrenʼs charity START and the Dubai annual art fair, ʻArt Dubaiʼ, Jumeirah Madinat, Dubai, UAE. Afternoon workshop with 30 kids from local schools, painting a 12 meter length of canvas, this was then cut up and sections were stitched onto canvas bags and sold at the art fair, all proceeds went to the childrenʼs charity. May - Sept 2009 - The Animal Sanctuary and Petting Farm, UAE Weekly voluntary work, building shelters, caring for a wide variety of animals, helping to fundraise, I also did some logo and uniform designing. Tues 14th - Fri 17th April 2009 - Locws - Art in the City. Swansea, Wales Voluntary installation: Mainly preparation of projection space for artist - Tanya Axford. March 19th-21st 2009 - Artist: Sacha Jafri / Charity: Start Workshops Dubai based Childrens charity Start, working with kids with special needs. Painter, Sacha Jafri set to create five large paintings at Tashkeel and Art Dubai. Paintings to be exhibited worldwide and auctioned off to raise funds for Start.

Feb 2008 - Stroud Fringe, Visual Arts Co-ordinator, Stroud, England I spent eight months organizing an arts festival which had been due to take place in September this year, unfortunately a funding disaster led to the cancellation of the event but it was intended to provide: over 40 local artists, two curated exhibitions in gallery spaces, and an arts trail which would have run through the town using empty commercial spaces as exhibition spaces and external site specific spaces for projections. April 2008 - Studio Seven 'Make do and Mend' Stroud Valley Artspace, England I got involved in the final making process needed to produce this interactive textiles exhibition. I spent hours cutting fabric shapes for the artists to use in their installations. Jan 2008 - Sue Lawty 'Cloth and Culture Now' Sainsbury Centre, England I spent a week with Sue in her studio near Leeds helping to create the work for this touring exhibition. Sue works with lead, woven linen, slate and digital mediums. July 2007 - Susie Macmurray,'Through the Eye of the Needle' , Manchester, England I helped to install thousands of strands of hair onto a gallery wall for thisshow. Susie is an inspiring sculptor who often works with quite alternative materials. I also assisted with her day workshop in Manchester metropolitan museum teaching 'alternative body adornment' ideas to school teachers. March 2007 - Sue Lawty 'Stroud Textile Festival', Museum in the Park, England I helped install 5 large art-works into this group exhibition which led to making a strong contact with Sue Lawty. June 2002-Nov 2002 - Gallery Assistant at The Mission Gallery, Swansea, Wales, UK I was able to experience the environment of a small local gallery which specialized in contemporary works and also sold crafts, jewelry and artists replicas. I supervised the gallery space alone and was responsible for the gallery shop.

Solo Exhibitions 2012 ‘The Tension of Balance’, The JamJar, Dubai, UAE 19.03.2012 – 16.04.2012 2012 ‘The Continuous Cycle’, Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE 31.01.2012 – 30.04.2012 Group Exhibitions 2013 ‘Metamorphosis’ Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE 2013 ‘DLG13’ Chelsea UAL, London, UK 2012 ‘SALON’ South London Gallery, London, UK 2012 ‘Chelsea Space Salon’ Core Arts, London, UK 2012 ‘Crossing the Line’ Langford 120, Melbourne, Australia 2012 ‘Made In Tashkeel 2012’ Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE 2012 ‘FAKIE’ Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE 2011 ‘XTACH11’ AUS, Sharjah, UAE 2011 ‘Crossing The Line’ Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE 2011 ‘Made In Tashkeel 2011’ Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE 2011 ‘The Hotel Show’ The JamJar, DIFC, Dubai, UAE 2011 ‘Art 4 Sight’ DIFC, Dubai, UAE 2011 ‘As The Saying Goes’ Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE 2011 ‘Crossroads’ Yas Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2010 ‘Made in Tashkeel 2010’ Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE 2010 ‘Project Mega’ DIFC, Dubai, UAE 2010 ‘Art Dubai’ Jumeirah Madinat, Dubai, UAE 2010 ‘Tracking the Emirates’ RAK Hospital, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE 2010 ‘ZU Dolls’ Bastakiya Art Fair, Dubai, UAE 2010 ‘MinD’ Ductac, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, UAE 2010 ‘Portrait of a Generation’ Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE 2010 ‘The Reflective Mirror’ South Gallery, U.N. Building, New York, USA 2009 ‘Assumptions’ Zayed University, Dubai, UAE 2009 ‘Mutahida’ Dubai Mall, Dubai, UAE 2009 ‘Young Artist Award’ Dubai Ladies Club, Dubai, UAE 2009 ‘Art Oasis’ Al Wafi, Dubai, UAE 2009 ‘Made in Tashkeel 2009’ Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE 2009 'ARK' Nailsworth Old Boys Club, Gloucester, England, UK 2009 'Silent Conversations' Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE 2007 'Roll On' Stroud House Gallery, Stroud, England, UK 2007 'Textile Art Degree Show' Winchester School of Art, England, UK 2006 'Textile Art' St Cross Hospital, Winchester, England, UK

Talks / Events 2012 The Continuous Cycle (Meet the Artist), Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE 2012 The Tension of Balance (Meet the Artist), The Jamjar, Dubai, UAE 2012 Art Nights (Live Performance), DIFC, Dubai, UAE 2011 Shopopolis (Production Assistant), Shubbak Festival, Westfields, London, UK 2011 ArtE (Vendor), Craft Souk, various locations, UAE 2011 AUS Vis Com Panel Review (Panel Member), Sharjah, UAE 2010 Abraaj Celebration for Entrepreneurship (Muralist), Jumeirah Madinat, Dubai, UAE 2010 Chaloub Environment Event (Live Performance), Ductac, Dubai, UAE 2010 Pecha Kucha no.7 (Presenter), The Third Line, Dubai UAE 2010 Critical Discussion Event (Host), Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE Teaching Experience (C/A – children/adults) July 2012 5 Days – Screen Printing (C), Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE July 2012 3 Days – Mask Making (C), Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE July 2012 3 Days – Origami (C), Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE July 2012 3 Days – Stenciling (C), Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE May 2012 5 Days – Mixed Media Wall Installation (A), Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE Mar 2012 1 Day -- Open Studio Collaboration (A), The Jamjar, Dubai, UAE Jan 2012 6 Days – Mask Making (C), ADMAF Art Tent, Al Ain Zoo, Abu Dhabi, UAE Dec 2011 2 Days – Laser Cutting (A), Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE Nov 2011 4 Days – Laser Cutting (A), Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE Jan 2011 6 Days – Mask Making (C), ADMAF Art Tent, Al Ain Zoo, Abu Dhabi, UAE Dec 2010 3 Days – Mixed Media (A), Banyan Tree Resort, RAK, UAE Nov 2010 4 Days – Papermaking (A), Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE Sep 2010 1 Day -- Felt Making (A), Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE Apr 2010 3 Days – Musical Instruments (C), WOMAD Music Event, Abu Dhabi, UAE Mar 2010 1 Day -- Canvas Painting (C), START Charity Fundraiser, Art Dubai, UAE Jan 2010 6 Days – Studio Introduction (A), Tashkeel, Dubai, UAE Awards Dec 2009 Dubai Ladies Club : Sheikha Manal’s Young Artist Award – Fine Art June 2004 Swansea Institute : Foundation Art Award Published Material The Continuous Cycle, Tashkeel, Dubai, Essay by Rania Ezzat (2012) Art4Sight, DIFC, Dubai (2011) As The Saying Goes, Tashkeel, Dubai (2011) Crossroads, Yas Hotel, Abu Dhabi (2011) Tracking the Emirates, RAK Hospital, Ras Al Khaimah (2010) MinD, Ductac, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai (2010) Portrait of a Generation, Tashkeel, Dubai, Essay by Lateefa bint Maktoum (2010) The Reflective Mirror, UN HQ, New York, Introduction by HH Sheikha Manal (2010) Young Artist Award, Dubai Ladies Club, Dubai (2009) Art Oasis – A Green Vision, Summer Surprises, Dubai, Essay by Beth Carruthers (2009) Silent Conversations, Tashkeel, Dubai, Essay by Lateefa bint Maktoum (2009) Ark, The Old Boys Club, Nailsworth, England, UK (2009) Textile Art Degree Show, Winchester School of Art, England, UK (2007)

Press The National - Arts & Culture Christopher Lord Aug 8, 2012

Artists in the Studio : Rebecca Rendell

Antonie Robertson / The National Rebecca Rendell has honed an intuitive sense for finding objects with visual tactility. The artist scours the beaches of Ras Al Khaimah for shells, finger-shaped stones in the sand and the day-to-day debris of life. With these, she then creates strikingly precise installations on gallery walls, carefully measured and geometric in their accuracy. The effect is almost mural-like and a collage of material that has passed through several hands and shores before it reaches the exhibition space. Process "I've probably got about 100 sea urchin shells that I'm planning on creating a piece with at the moment," says Rendell. "All of these have been found while kayaking. A lot of what I do is about the collecting process. I hoard so much and collect things that might not get used for months." The artist suggests that these spiny spirals could be threaded together to create a circular formation for a larger work. Her studio abounds with trays of finds from around RAK. However, a recent residency at Dubai's thejamjar space tapped into an interest she'd been waiting for a long time to explore. Rendell worked to create seemingly gravity-defying sculptures that were held in balance by using strings at tension. "That was the perfect opportunity to explore those ideas, but the two different pathways of my work don't seem to be able to meet yet," she explains. "Now that's out of my system, I'm straight back into the kind of work I was doing for my last solo show [The Continuous Cycle at Tashkeel, last January]. Perhaps that's how I'll work - bouncing back and forth between those two pathways."

Working week Rendell says that one of the hardest parts of being a full-time artist here is keeping yourself working. "My routine at the moment is to get up at 6am and swim a kilometre in the sea. That's when I do my thinking and work out what I'm going to do that day. For me, I really need variety, so I tend to have two days in Dubai working at Tashkeel, a studio hub in Nad Al Sheba." RAK has a small community of designers and jewellery-makers, and Rendell explains that many are attracted by a quietness that allows them to focus. "That's what I grew up with in South Wales. But I need the city and to go there at least once a week. There are no galleries in Ras Al Khaimah and so getting work into galleries can be a challenge. "People keep telling me to open a gallery here, but I'm not ready to commit to that. I'd make no work." Inspiration Attempting to bring out the life contained within discarded objects and environments is a thread running through a lot of what Rendell does. "I just finished a piece last week working with butterflies," she explains. "Last year, I found a lot of butterflies out in the desert; there's a season each year when they do their thing and die off." Engaging with RAK's environment continues to be a vital influence: "My husband and I spend a lot of time outdoors. We go kayaking and all that feeds into my work." Getting seen "I would say that I've best funded all my work in the past four years with teaching, although it can be quite sporadic. You have to juggle a lot and be prepared take on a strange commission that you might not usually do. I've even been known to do face painting parties for kids." Before coming to RAK, Rendell had a steady job as the assistant to an established British artist and was creating her work on the side. "When I was considering moving to the UAE, I met an artist who had worked here about 10 years ago. They told me that I shouldn't go and that I wouldn't have a career because there's no art scene. But I arrived and found the complete opposite." In addition to a solo show in Dubai and regular participation in group shows, the UAE has been a good place for Rendell to get noticed internationally and she currently has work in an exhibition in Melbourne, Australia. The results of a workshop run by Rebecca Rendell at Tashkeel are currently part of the Made in Tashkeel exhibition, which continues until August 30 at the Nad Al Sheba gallery/studio hub, www.tashkeel.org. For more information on Rendell's work, visit www.rebeccarendell.com.

Feb 2012 The National – Chris Lord

Rebecca Rendell: Art by Accumulation

Rebecca Rendell's assemblage of finger-shaped stones collected in Ras Al Khaimah, in an exhibition that ends today at Tashkeel before the artist starts a residency at thejamjar. IMAGE COURTESY TASHKEEL

The artist Cornelia Parker had the British army blow up a garden shed in 1991. She recreated this moment of obliteration for her work Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View, hanging bits of dispersed wood from the gallery ceiling in the loosest evocation of what once might have been a shed. “My work is all about the potential of materials,” said Parker, “even when it looks like they’ve lost all possibilities.” It’s a statement that could be applied to the obsessive, collecting streak of the Ras Al Khaimah-based artist Rebecca Rendell, and her show, The Continuous Cycle, which wraps up today at the studio-hub and gallery Tashkeel. The artist accumulates constantly, scouring RAK’s hinterland for finger-shaped stones, taking sharp teeth from road-kill and collecting plastic tat souvenirs that are, eventually, destined for landfills across the world. A bead from a snapped key ring, an anonymous button, a crab claw, a little plastic burger, a stripped sim card – this detritus is used to create large, un-mounted assemblages on the gallery wall, arranged into a circle and pinned with thin nails. These are objects that lie forgotten, dormant and broken: “lost at the bottom of a handbag”, she says. “I consider them portraits. I accumulate these things over the course of a year, and they are a record of where I have been and whom I have met.”

She looks for objects that are subtly biographical, like totems to a passage of time in a person’s life. Dentition Cabinet, for instance, is a rather eerie collection of teeth, presented in small glass bottles and arranged in oppressively formal rows. “Teeth are the things that last the longest after we’re gone,” she explains. Handwritten and illustrated notes alongside detail where teeth have come from – camels, desert foxes, even humans. We feel a strange repugnance for them, with their tarnished surfaces and flourishes of rot. “Yet as individual objects, I find these teeth both beautiful and grotesque,” she says. “That contrast connects them with the plastic trinkets that I’ve used elsewhere in the show. They may look beautiful, but underneath is a social reality of abundant plastic and waste.” It’s no coincidence that the exhibition has a hushed and reverential atmosphere: it’s a show about returning value to the objects that we accumulate and then shed without thought every day. A very modern frivolousness is explored here. While the physical result of this may be a tide of discarded plastics on a coastline, perhaps this tat speaks also of a wider flippancy about things, materials and, consequently, the environment in which we live. After the exhibition closes this week, Rendell will move her studio into thejamjar in Al Quoz. She is the first artist taking part in the gallery’s new residency programme and will be working in there until March 19, after which she’ll exhibit what she has created in that time. “My educational background is conceptual textiles, and I’ve previously worked on pieces that incorporate textiles into sculpture, digital media and glass. For the residency, I’m going back to weaving and my interest in tools, and the loom, specifically,” she says. “I am inspired by the tension needed to produce an object, and so the pieces that I hope to create will be balanced objects that, in combination with others, create a certain tension.” Rachael Brown, head of special projects at thejamjar, says that allowing interactions with the artist to happen are at the centre of this programme, and she encourages people to visit Rendell while she works: “The aim is to create a space where interaction, dialogue and education can shape the artist’s practice and the community’s knowledge of the arts.” Thejamjar is currently looking for applications for its next residency slot in April, with the only stipulations being that artists must be based in the UAE and hold an undergraduate degree in Fine Arts or similar. “We hope that this opportunity will progress an artist’s career to the next level,” says Brown, “while inspiring and influencing young artists in the region.” Rebecca Rendell will be working in thejamjar until March 19 and welcomes visitors. She will also hold workshops on March 10 and 12. For more information on this and to apply for the gallery’s April residency, see www.thejamjardubai.com clord@thenational.ae 27/02/2012 15:38

July 2010 The National – Anna Seaman

RebeccaRendellassemblinganewartpiecewithusedsparkplugsatTashkeelStudiosinDubai/P.Singh

DUBAI//OnChristmasDaylastyear,RebeccaRendell’shusbandgavehera largeboxfullofscrapmetal,oldrubbertyresandbrokenglass.It had takenhimaweekof scouring thestreetsofRasAlKhaimah,where thecouple live, tocollecthispresent.“Iwassopleased,”Rendellsaid.“Hesavedmealotoftimeandeffort.”Rendell,a26-year-oldBritishmixedmediaartistspends thedaysshe isnotcollectingrubbishmakingartoutofherfindsatTashkeelstudiosinDubai.Oneofherworks,Avifauna,ishanginginRasAlKhaimahHospitalaspartoftheTrackingTheEmiratesArtGateshow.Thepiecefeatures117birds,fashionedoutoftheinnertubesoftyresfixedtoabackgroundofclouds.Another work, a collection of shells arranged in a geometric pattern on canvas, dubbedRhinoclavisKochi,tooksecondprizeintheSheikhaManalYoungArtistAwardlastyearandwasboughtbyaDutchcouplelivinginDubai.RendellwasoneofseveralfemaleartistsfromtheUAEchosentohavetheirworkdisplayedatthe United Nations Headquarters in New York in February in an exhibition called ReflectiveMirror.ShehasalsohadworkexhibitedatArtDubaiandtheDubaiMall.Rendell,whousesaregulatedstyle tocreatesymmetryandpatternoutof thediscarded junk,saidshecouldnothelpbutnoticethingsaroundher.“Weallseethingsdifferently,”shesaid.“Iseebeautywhereotherpeopleseewaste.I liketheideaofusingsomethingthatnooneelsewantstouse.IthastobecompletelyuselesstoeveryotherlivingcreaturebeforeItakeitfromtheenvironment.”

HerfirstpiecetobedisplayedintheUAEappearedintheMadeinTashkeelshowin2009.ShecollectedhundredsofdeadcrabsfromRAKbeachesandfixedtheirclawsinacircularpatternonthegallerywall.Her latestpiecewillbecomposedofmechanicalparts,whichhas ledhertogaragestogathermaterial.“Atthemoment,Iamcollectingsparkplugs,”shesaid.“Ifyouweren’therewithme,Iwouldbeoutthebackcleaningthemwithpetrol.”KurtBlum,themanagerofSwissArtGateUAE,aplatformforpromotingbothSwissandUAE-basedartists,andthecuratoroftheTrackingTheEmiratesshow,saidRendellwas“outofthebox”withherstyle.RendelluseddiscardedtyrestomakebirdsforherartworktitledAvifaunafortheTrackingTheEmirates show.Rendell said themessage behind herworkwas also one of resourcefulness.RaisedonafarminsouthWales,shegrewupawareofthenaturalenvironment.“The process of collection and sorting is as important to me as the final work. I try to turnnegativeenvironmentalchangesintosomethingpositive.“IntheUAEitcanbeeasytoloseasenseofresourcefulnesswhenalotisavailabletoyou,soIamdoingmysmallpartinshowingpeoplenoteverythingthatlookslikewasteiswaste.”aseaman@thenational.aeJuly17.201010:45AMUAE/July17.20106:45AMGMT

July 2009 TimeOut Dubai – Feature Article