Tenneson and Dale's ongoing artwork, ORDER ORDER, explores the link between the Houses of Parliament (the epitome of order); the Minimalist movement (the ordered, pure art) and the various forms of public information signage (the physical manifestation of order). We test combinations of the components which constitute the Institutional Framework (outlined within The Table of Elements). The works are Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative.The works are red, yellow and blue The works are prohibition, hazard and mandatory. The works are geranium, primrose and blue. Tenneson and Dale make works specifically designed for institutional spaces with public access. Each piece is dictated by regional governmental statistics. The works are determined by their environment. The environment is the institution. The institution is the framework. The framework is bureaucratic. The bureaucracy inspires the works. The bureaucracy places the order. The bureaucracy orders the work. We do not impose the order, the order is imposed on us.

During a recent meeting with Tenneson and Dale, I couldn’t help but get the feeling that these artists were playing some kind of role and we were all taking part in the strange system that is applying for an exhibition, with the sending in of obscure proposal (a piece of art in its own right in this case) to the meetings that follow. Interesting, that even the exhibition process is a kind of framework, a system of control, a series of hoops that artists have to jump through just to have their work seen....
The great thing about this work is that the artists’ opinion of institutional frameworks is not made clear. There is a definite fascination, a love/hate relationship – an obsession and frustration with order. They are controlled by a system they have created and yet there is humour in the work, as they poke fun at themselves and the inane institutions that inspire them. - Bronwen Simpson, Artists’ Newsletter, July 2007

 

www.axisweb.org/artist/tennesonanddale

 

Education:

Cherry Tenneson

2004    MA Fine Art, Manchester Institute for Research & Innovation in Art & Design

Nicola Dale

2005    MA Visual Culture, Pass with Distinction, Manchester Institute for Research & Innovation in Art & Design

 

Exhibitions/Projects:

2007    Red Tape, solo exhibition, Stockport Art Gallery

2006    Order Order, solo exhibition, Cornerhouse, Manchester

2006    Houses of Parliament Research Visit, London

2005    Crosby Homes Art Prize, Finalists, Manchester City Art Gallery