Baldrick Buckle
Encyclopedia
Baldrick Buckle is a British
-born artist
and sculptor. His ownership of an apartment and studio in the Bijlmer district of Amsterdam
means he often is considered to be a rising star of the Dutch
art scene, though his itinerant nature makes this association less straightforward than it is sometimes portrayed.
view and disillusionment with hegemonic culture systems and globalisation. By using common objects and images with which to illustrate his point, Buckle's work is deliberately accessible. This has on occasion led to criticisms of one-dimensionality and populism.
Buckle's shows to date include 'Bread & Work!
' (Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, January 2007) and 'Pieces'
(Europlaza, Pakhuis De Zwijger, Amsterdam, May 2007) both of which were covered by the Dutch
national newspapers NRC Handelsblad and De Telegraaf
. A version of 'Pieces' that included a car
, a caravan
, a gin & tonic bar and a market stall
was also commissioned and exhibited by the organisers of the Art Car Boot Fair 2007, held in London's Brick Lane
. The installation was extensively captured by users of Flickr
.com and on BBC Collective and was also used as the backdrop to a Richard & Judy
television feature on the event.
Buckle was awarded first prize at the Berlage Fund in July 2007.
Buckle is one of the only non-RCA graduates to ever exhibit at the RCA Secret exhibition, held in London at the end of each year.
In July 2011 Buckle set off from the northern tip of Scotland to walk the length of mainland Great Britain. The journey is occasionally documented via a solar powered smart phone.
, Yorkshire
, Buckle completed a foundation year in art and design at the Jacob Kramer College of Art (now known as the Leeds College of Art) before spending 9 years travelling across Europe in 'Bertha', a 7.5 ton ex British Army
truck. Entirely financed through pavement art (large pastel replicas), the manufacture of handicrafts, impromptu and wild performances (often of music) and 'general ingenuity', in an interview in De Telegraaf
Buckle described this period as being 'a magical chapter of life when happiness was inversely proportional to success'.
Bertha came to rest in Amsterdam in 1997 where Buckle co-founded the Dutch sand sculpture collective 'Sandaholics Anonymous'. During this period Buckle organised several other collaborations including a successful attempt to 'sell sand to the Arabs', by negotiating a commission from the government of Abu Dhabi
to construct the largest sand sculpture ever built in the Middle East (2001) and a year later he worked with the Football Association of Iraq to bust pre-war trade sanctions by remanufacturing and selling the official replica strip of the Iraqi national team as a fund raising and publicity campaign against the planned invasion (2002).
In 2002 Buckle used the proceeds from the sale of his 50% share of Sandaholics Anonymous to fund a return to academia. He graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Art Academy in July 2007 with a degree in fine art.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-born artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and sculptor. His ownership of an apartment and studio in the Bijlmer district of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
means he often is considered to be a rising star of the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
art scene, though his itinerant nature makes this association less straightforward than it is sometimes portrayed.
Work
Often socially or politically motivated, Buckle's sculptures and installations capture an ironicIrony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
view and disillusionment with hegemonic culture systems and globalisation. By using common objects and images with which to illustrate his point, Buckle's work is deliberately accessible. This has on occasion led to criticisms of one-dimensionality and populism.
Buckle's shows to date include 'Bread & Work!
Bread & Work!
Bread & Work! is a work by the British artist and sculptor Baldrick Buckle. It was exhibited at the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam in 2007. It consisted of 2,600 loaves of unsliced and unpackaged bread...
' (Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, January 2007) and 'Pieces'
Pieces (Art Installation)
Pieces is a diptych by the British artist and sculptor Baldrick Buckle. It was exhibited at the Europlaza, Pakhuis De Zwijger Amsterdam in 2007. One half consists of a room containing over 20 million individual jigsaw puzzle pieces and the other consists of a cube built from approximately 8000...
(Europlaza, Pakhuis De Zwijger, Amsterdam, May 2007) both of which were covered by the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
national newspapers NRC Handelsblad and De Telegraaf
De Telegraaf
De Telegraaf is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper, with a daily circulation of approximately . De Telegraaf is based in Amsterdam...
. A version of 'Pieces' that included a car
Čar
Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...
, a caravan
Travel trailer
A travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...
, a gin & tonic bar and a market stall
Market stall
A market stall is a typically immobile, temporary structure erected by merchants to display and shelter their merchandise in a street market or other setting. Stalls are easily erected, taken down or simply moved on wheels...
was also commissioned and exhibited by the organisers of the Art Car Boot Fair 2007, held in London's Brick Lane
Brick Lane
Brick Lane is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It runs from Swanfield Street in the northern part of Bethnal Green, crosses Bethnal Green Road, passes through Spitalfields and is linked to Whitechapel High Street to the south by the short stretch of...
. The installation was extensively captured by users of Flickr
Flickr
Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
.com and on BBC Collective and was also used as the backdrop to a Richard & Judy
Richard & Judy
Richard & Judy was a British magazine/chat show which was presented by married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. It originally aired on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2008 but later moved to digital channel Watch in October 2008. It featured the world's most famous stars, along with their Book Club...
television feature on the event.
Buckle was awarded first prize at the Berlage Fund in July 2007.
Buckle is one of the only non-RCA graduates to ever exhibit at the RCA Secret exhibition, held in London at the end of each year.
In July 2011 Buckle set off from the northern tip of Scotland to walk the length of mainland Great Britain. The journey is occasionally documented via a solar powered smart phone.
Life
Born in LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, Buckle completed a foundation year in art and design at the Jacob Kramer College of Art (now known as the Leeds College of Art) before spending 9 years travelling across Europe in 'Bertha', a 7.5 ton ex British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
truck. Entirely financed through pavement art (large pastel replicas), the manufacture of handicrafts, impromptu and wild performances (often of music) and 'general ingenuity', in an interview in De Telegraaf
De Telegraaf
De Telegraaf is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper, with a daily circulation of approximately . De Telegraaf is based in Amsterdam...
Buckle described this period as being 'a magical chapter of life when happiness was inversely proportional to success'.
Bertha came to rest in Amsterdam in 1997 where Buckle co-founded the Dutch sand sculpture collective 'Sandaholics Anonymous'. During this period Buckle organised several other collaborations including a successful attempt to 'sell sand to the Arabs', by negotiating a commission from the government of Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
to construct the largest sand sculpture ever built in the Middle East (2001) and a year later he worked with the Football Association of Iraq to bust pre-war trade sanctions by remanufacturing and selling the official replica strip of the Iraqi national team as a fund raising and publicity campaign against the planned invasion (2002).
In 2002 Buckle used the proceeds from the sale of his 50% share of Sandaholics Anonymous to fund a return to academia. He graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Art Academy in July 2007 with a degree in fine art.