ILONA SAGAR

Ilonasagar@gmail.com / 07712579877
Born 1985, Enfield, England.
Ilona Sagar explores an interest in the manipulation of verbal and semantic languages and what these may
convey to an audience. Her work often uses the processes involved in making, to construct a sense of fractured
narrative discourse. This is mediated through the established forms of institutional communication such as the
museum, the gallery, the civic space, the church and theatre. Ilona seeks to develop duality by combining non-
linear research with authoritative and vernacular languages. The mixture of contemporary and historical
references forms work which seeks to frustrate, drawing on a multitude of subjects and histories simultaneously.
Illusion and material [dis]honesty set the stage for works which seek to seduce, alluding to something familiar yet
other.

Education
2010-2012 MA Sculpture
The Royal College of Art, London

2005-2008 BA (Hons) Fine Art (Studio Practice and Contemporary Critical Studies)
Goldsmiths College, University of London.

2004-2005 Foundation Diploma, Art and Design (Fine Art Pathway)

Colchester Institute

Publications

Sept 2009 Citation Needed

/Seconds. Issue 11, Redux

Residencies

Aug 2009 Outpost Gallery, Outhouse,

Part of CAN 09 Norwich

Solo exhibitions

Nov 2008 The Grandeur Mass (Auditoria)

T1+2 Gallery, London

Group exhibitions (selection)

April 2010 Cross Currents

Barbican Gallery, London
Part of Ron Arad Restless

March 2010 The Enchanted Palace

Kensington Palace, London

Feb 2010 Diamond in the Rough

Stroud Town Hall, Cotswolds

Feb 2010 Architectural Playgrounds

Barbican Gallery, London
Part of Ron Arad Restless

Nov 2009 Crunch: Art in an Ephemeral age

Hay-on-Wye Visual Arts Festival

June 2009 Un:place

The Jerwood Space, London

March 2009 Colchester Live Art Platform

Colchester Arts Centre, Essex

Dec 2008 All Capital Letters

Deutsche Bank, London
Nov 2008 DA! Labyrinth
42 Upper Brook Street, London

Oct 2008 Zoo Art Fair, T1+2 Gallery, London

Sep 2008 La Bete or the Object of Desire

T1+2 Gallery and Rupert Sanderson Mayfair
London

Jun 2008 Goldsmiths Undergraduate Show 2008

University of London

Apr 2008 April is the Cruellest Month,

Atelier Frankfurt, Germany.

Jan 2008 DA! King+ Castle= Rascal

Old Kent Road, London

Dec 2007 AGORA (Transdisziplinärer Austausch)

PACT Zollverein, Essen, Germany.

Oct 2007 My Site/ In Space

The Rag Factory, London

Sep 2007 Avatar of Scared Discontent

Wolfe Lenkiewicz & Flora Fairbairn Projects Hillgate Gallery, London

July 2007 An Exhibition Of Environments,

169 Knightsbridge – DA! Gallery, London.

July 2007 Avatar of Scared Discontent

Wolfe Lenkiewicz & Flora Fairbairn Projects,
Port Elliot Literary Festival

July 2007 The Last Puff

The Golden Heart, London

June 2007 Dionysian Duty

Mezkalito Gallery, London

May 2007 Crossing the Visible,

HOUSE Gallery, London.

May 2007 DA! Ravage Me Savagely

The Birds Nest, London

Feb 2006 Colchester Live Art Platform

Colchester Arts Centre, Essex

Collaborative projects
Apr-Oct Exhibition and creative Exchange
Städelschule, Frankfurt and Goldsmiths College, London Graduates.
Study visits and residential forums

Dec 2007 AGORA (Transdisziplinärer Austausch) PACT Zollverein, Essen, Germany

International meeting offered young artists and art promoters of the future, an opportunity to engage in
concentrated trans-disciplinary exchange

Feb 2003 Lyceo Modigliani Padova / Venice School of Applied Arts

residential Study visit

Workshops participation

Dec 2007 AGORA, Dan Graham, Essen, Germany

Mar 2007 Yuan Chai and Jian Jun Xi Workshop, Colchester, UK
Feb 2006 Franko B Winter School, Colchester, UK

See attached pages for selected works.

 Degrees of Enclosure
2010, Barbican Gallery – Part of Ron Arad Restless
24 min film (looped)

By utilising the strange aura which the Barbican estate commands, Degrees of Enclosure transforms the
Barbican's architecture into a sublime science fiction landscape, a place between fiction and reality. The piece
reflects on the recognisable features of this famous landmark, whilst drawing attention to the recurrent themes of
its design. The non-narrative piece follows the choreographed movements of disparate, yet uniformly dressed set
of characters. The figures act as comparators, their human scale emphasising the theatrical dynamics of the
space which they move through. Degrees of Enclosure seeks to create a sense of expectation, never reaching a
conclusion, drawing the viewer into a never-ending sequence of events and tableaux.

Spoken text which accompanies the film was written by Adam Nathaniel Furman and read by Joel Sams.
Dancers: Georgina Hay, Aneta Hymka, Deimante Prismantaite, Elizabeth Streeter, Elaine Thomas.
 The Reading Room
2009, Outpost Gallery
mixed media installation

The Reading Room Was made during my recent residency at Outpost Gallery. I visited Norwich for a day, two
weeks prior the residency. From this visit I built an archive of images and objects found in other locations and
cities. These items were chosen because I perceived them as having an aesthetic association to Norwich. The
archive also contained material found in Norwich. These often ephemeral architectural and design details,
seemed to take on a symbolic importance which added a value beyond what they deserved. Through this
dialogue with design, object and subject, the work seeks to form its own code and visual syntax. I wanted to
create a room, the function of which could not be easily read. Its identity sits between a reading room, a hotel
lobby and museum. This awkwardness is continued in the jarring between symbol, image and site. The space
seems to communicate a direct concern with its immediate environment, yet the images and objects have been
construct else where, and feature other towns and buildings. The neutrality of the imagery and conventional
design elements allow the installation to be seen as ‘anywhere’ and refuses direct interpretation.
 Points of Reference II
2009, Colchester Arts Centre
20min performance and three screen video instillation

‘Points of Reference II’ is the second in an on-going series. This piece was performed in Colchester Arts Centre. I
created a script which was read as a lecture by an actor. It combined the histories of four Colchester towns;
Colchester UK, Colchester Connecticut, Colchester Illinois and Colchester Vermont. The performers marked and
moved objects which symbolically referenced the broken narrative of these unrelated Colchester(s). The
performers were from Philip Morant School, the schools name is taken from the first reverend of the church which
is now Colchester Arts Centre. The sculptural elements in the space are treated like scenography and have been
used in other works. The films were featured in the first performance of ‘Points of Reference’ and are used to
make reference to the actors anecdote about the discovery of ‘coal’ in ‘Colchester’. This work will be continually
expanded and reconstructed, forming a historical account which is constantly evolving. Through appropriation and
reinterpretation I am able to compose new transitional place. It is neither one city or another, ‘Points of Reference’
infers a point in-between.
 Citation Needed
2009,The Jerwood Space
Wall mounted vinyl text panels and print rack

The Jerwood Space is situated on ‘Union Street’, I used the street name as a fixed point on which to pin a web of
seemingly linked historical and contemporary narratives. Using Google, Wikipedia and other web tools, I formed
research which combined information specific to the building and its location, with material which was unrelated.
The only point at which my research linked, was through all the statements containing references to the road
named ‘Union Street’. By using the conventions of gallery and museum display, I was able to consolidate the
research into a work which seemed to inform the audience whilst presenting them with a disparate collection of
accounts.
 Turning the Trick
2008 Rupert Sanderson’s
Extruded cast toy animals, plaster, gold spray paint

Turning the trick was a piece commissioned for a show which took its concept from the work of Polish filmmaker
Walerian Borowczyk and the Baroque-Rococo Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti. The exhibition took place at
Rupert Sanderson’s exclusive shoe store in the heart of the West End and was covered by Vogue. Turning the
trick embodies the grandiose yet humorous contemporary search for luxury and excess. A fetishistic object which
characterises both high and low culture, answering to a modern yet strangely baroque pursuit of fashion,
sexuality, melodrama and commerce. The form of the two sculptures is based on the centre piece of a baroque
dinning service, an item which was symbolic of the owner’s status and wealth. The gleaming opulence which the
work at first seems to communicate is twisted by the materials from which it is composed. The piece is
constructed from extruded plaster casts of toy animals a shallow reflection of the high baroque love of natural
forms. The glistening gold surface of the work initially appears to be cast from a precious metal, it is actually
produced in cheap plaster and gold spray paint. This contradiction between the materiality of the work belies what
the piece alludes to. A shallow object reflecting the desires and fashions of a market place.
 The Grandeur Mass (Auditoria)
2008, T1+2 Gallery
Mixed media installation and 2 part performance repeated throughout the show

The title The Grandeur Mass (Auditoria) makes reference to Gottfried Stemper’s classical architectural theory and
the religious ceremony of ‘mass’. It draws on the idea of ‘forum’: ‘auditoria’ - hinting at grand oratorio in the choral
and operatic tradition. The piece utilised the recurring semantic language found in the theatre, the church and the
civic space. ‘Auditoria’ focuses on common themes which run through these types of public building. All three
categories of space are designed for collective interaction with something greater or separate from our own
individual lives. Each of these buildings engages the individual with spectacle as a participant or audience. In
either role there is a submission to the rules inherent within the design of the building and its imposing order. The
spectators are generally focused on a single position of authority such as stage, alter or mayoral throne. This
encourages mass action while discouraging individual response. Illusion and material [dis]honesty set the stage
for a work which alludes to something familiar yet other. This sense of duality is apparent in the unexpected use of
cheap materials such as plaster, plywood, spray paint and sand which are used to dramatic effect.
 The Grandeur Mass
2008, Goldsmiths Undergraduate Degree Show
5 screen video installation (40min loop)

The Grandeur Mass uses film taken in several different sites to create a fictional journey through what appears to
be a single building, but is actually the result of footage from four different Town Halls in Deptford, Barking,
Dagenham and Colchester. The identity of these superficially grand buildings has been distorted by their
unsympathetic modernisation into standardised office spaces. The work seeks to unsettle and contradict an
agreed comprehension of familiar architectural forms through the construction of a filmic and performative
environment. The bringing together of film, performance and sculpture allows a fictional narrative to be formed,
surrounding a transient place, not rooted in reality, but bearing a closer relationship to theatrical scenery. I invited
the writer and performer Douglas Parks to respond to the work in the form of a text piece. This has been
incorporated into the installation as a voice-over narrated by Anna Clover. Having not seen any of the sites to
which the installation refers, Parks has made his response on the basis of the imaginary sense of place created
by the film elements of ‘The Grandeur
 Points of Reference I
2007, PACT Zollverein, Essen
3 screen video installation and 60 min performance

Points of Reference I investigates the pre-conceived imagining of a place. This experience is influenced by a
myriad of associations: news and media coverage, historical knowledge, oral accounts and personal experiences
of ‘similar’ places. Before seeing the exhibition space in Essen, I used the information pack given to me as a
means of constructing a response to the historic and current function of the former coal-mining washhouse in
Zollverein, now a centre for dance research; PACT. I utilised a series of ‘signs’ referencing both theatre and coal
mining. The clash between the historical and current function of the building and my personal response to it, has
allowed it to be transformed into a ‘fictional’ or ‘imaginary’ place. The video works seem to offer an informative
response to the historically important site. However, the manner in which the works have been constructed
contradicts this reading. The central film appears to be taking a journey through an industrial facility which we
presume to be Zollverein. The film was in fact made in a theatre in England. The coal crushing performance was
initiated through conversations with the venue about the problems they had had with coal dust. The ‘coal’ which I
crush to dust in the film is fake, smokeless coke bought on the Old Kent Road in London. The live performance
was an attempt to knit together these factual and imagined spatial elements. The live performance included the
measuring and mapping of the London stage on to the exhibition space in Germany. The action was an attempt to
unite the factual and imaged spatial elements, bringing them together to form a new reading of the locations.
Mediating these references through a theatrical language has blurred the boundaries between what was
‘imagined’ and what was ‘fact’.