Master of Fine Art
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Artists’ Lottery Syndicate
On 1 April 2010, Harrison launched the Artists’ Lottery Syndicate forming a forty-strong collective of UK based artists joining forces to play The National Lottery over the course of a year, with the hope of hitting the jackpot. The Syndicate ran from 1 July 2010 – 1 July 2011 and was a fun and social group activity, which operated as a gentle critique of artistsโ relationships to the economy, as well as a potential money-maker.
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The History of Revolution: Ellie Harrison’s Fireworks Display
Conceived as the sister work to The History of Financial Crises, this performance spectacle is a one-woman attempt to re-enact a chronology of ‘the history of revolution’ over the course of the last 360 years via the medium of pyrotechnics.
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Press Release
Devised specifically for the context of the ‘degree show’. For the final three weeks of her Master of Fine Art course at Glasgow School of Art, Harrison made a conscious decision not to make any ‘work’, in favour of instead transforming her studio into a ‘press office’ and attempting to directly solicit the media coverage which many hope will come as a result of this much anticipated show.
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General Election Drinking Game
An endurance performance devised by Harrison to coincide with the 2010 UK general election. Four โplayersโ represented the main political parties – each attempting to drink one shot of lager for every seat in parliament their party won, live as the results came in throughout the night.
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Desk Chair Parade
On Sunday 2 August 2009, Ellie Harrison & Adele Prince (Sports Day) staged the inaugural Desk Chair Parade took place in Manchester as part of We are the Champions – Castlefield Gallery’s 25th Anniversary. A group of willing volunteers – office workers, shoppers and gallery goers alike – embarked on a magnificent adventure, freewheeling through the streets on ordinary office chairs.
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Bring Back British Rail
In 2009, Harrison – the self-professed ‘Che Guevara of trainspotters’ – founded the national Bring Back British Rail campaign to popularise the idea of re-nationalising our public transport system. Now with more than 150,000 supporters across Facebook, Twitter, Riseup and its online petitions, Harrison continues to coordinate the campaign with the help of a small network of volunteers around the UK.
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Toytown
The sister installation to Vending Machine, this piece features a dilapidated 1980s kid’s car ride which starts up and offers people free rides when news relating to the recession makes the headlines on the BBC News RSS feed.
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Vending Machine
An installation for which an old vending machine is reprogrammed to release snacks only when news relating to the recession makes the headlines on the BBC News RSS feed.
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Confessions of a Recovering Data Collector
Harrison edited the first book about her work Confessions of a Recovering Data Collector, published by Plymouth College of Art in April 2009. The book profiles twelve of her former ‘data collecting‘ projects, for which she obsessively recorded information about different aspects of her daily routine. It is introduced by artist and curator Hannah Jones and features a specially commissioned essay by Sally O’Reilly. (Word count: 5,394)
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The History of Financial Crises
An installation in which the turbulent history of capitalism over the last century is re-enacted each day by a row of popcorn making machines.
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Transactions
Developed to accompany The History of Financial Crises installation – for the duration of exhibition, Harrison sent an SMS message to the phone installed in the gallery every time she made an economic transaction. The Coke can dances with joy every time a message is received.