Megan Snowe's guest appearances

Megan Snowe

Serious Introspection

Chats with Artists in Lockdown

Castlefield Gallery 

David Berman

Andy Beckerman

Andrew Wilson

Hamza Walker

Paul Taylor

Katherine Bradford

Rose Wylie

Bedwyr Williams

Ryan Gander

Charlie Gray

Tom James

Nicola Ellis

Dean Kenning

Robin Ellis

Louise Ashcroft

OwlTail

Emma Cousin

As we look forward to reopening this September with our as yet unseen exhibition Soft Bodies, we have commissioned a special episode of exhibiting artist Emma Cousin’s podcast ‘Chats in Lockdown’. For this episode Cousin invited writer Rajesh Parameswaran (author of I Am an Executioner: Love Stories (2013) described by The Washington Post as “the advent of a genuinely distinctive voice in American fiction.”) and fellow exhibiting artist Megan Snowe. Their conversation takes the Soft Bodies exhibition as a starting point as well as the restrictions and changes to our daily activities caused by Covid-19, such as the increasing presence of video conferencing in our lives. The discussion takes places via the internet between London and New York and takes in such subjects as the disembodying and embodying nature of technology. The removal of things from the body, phantom limbs, body trash and the potential of inhabiting our non-flesh-based erogenous selves.  The podcast also features music from Semi Precious, who collaborated with artist Jake Moore on Other Life (2019) also exhibited as part of the Soft Bodies exhibition.

As we look forward to reopening this September with our as yet unseen exhibition <a href="https://www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/event/upcoming-soft-bodies/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Soft Bodies</a>, we have commissioned a special episode of exhibiting artist Emma Cousin’s podcast <a href="https://www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/event/upcoming-soft-bodies/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">‘Chats in Lockdown’</a>. For this episode Cousin invited writer Rajesh Parameswaran (author of I Am an Executioner: Love Stories (2013) described by The Washington Post as “the advent of a genuinely distinctive voice in American fiction.”) and fellow exhibiting artist Megan Snowe. Their conversation takes the Soft Bodies exhibition as a starting point as well as the restrictions and changes to our daily activities caused by Covid-19, such as the increasing presence of video conferencing in our lives. The discussion takes places via the internet between London and New York and takes in such subjects as the disembodying and embodying nature of technology. The removal of things from the body, phantom limbs, body trash and the potential of inhabiting our non-flesh-based erogenous selves. The podcast also features music from Semi Precious, who collaborated with artist Jake Moore on Other Life (2019) also exhibited as part of the Soft Bodies exhibition.

'Chats in Lockdown', Soft Bodies episode, featuring Emma Cousin, Megan Snowe and Raj Parameshwaran

Raj Parameswaran

This special episode has been commissioned by Castlefield Gallery in Manchester, as an extension of their current show, Soft Bodies, which never opened physically due to the lockdown. Megan Snowe and I are both in that show and come together with the writer Raj Parameshwaran to discuss Soft Bodies and all that this theme evokes and its particular relevance at this strange time. As part of this episode we feature a track by Semi Precious, present in Jake Moore's video piece, from the show. The gallery are hoping to open In August. Following this episode there will be a short piece of writing in response to our discussion and it's themes, written by Raj, available at https://www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/event/upcoming-soft-bodies/.  Megan Snowe, Raj Parameswaran and I talk about confusion and low humidity, about being miserable but otherwise fine and about nuptual flying ants. Megan and Raj are in the US, still restricted under Covid 19, and we mention the adjustment to the realisation that this situation is long term, a marathon. Megan gets into her sensuous self portraits questioning how we inhabit non-physical spaces and whether, with the increase in online presence, there can be a sensual element of ourselves online. She talks about her drawings, that feature in the Castlefield exhibition, which are made directly and without planning or intention and created through meditative blending and form finding. We describe these forms, sometimes piercing or entering one another and connect this to undefended human spaces, vulnerable to invisible germs, the virus, and recently police violence. We talk about arousal and disgust and look into megan's 'A Wipe', a sensual celebration of bodily detritus. We delve into some of Raj's short stories, and consider what can safely be removed from the body and what does it become then? We talk about societal body trash and the physical implications of our zoom image, shed all over the web. We talk about phantom limb treatment, healing things from images and Megan's 'ticklish' drawings. We talk about thinking with your mouth, chewing as a trigger and language as sensual. We talk about skinlessness and skin as a haptic canvas. We talk about intimacy and invasion and how to bridge the gaps. We talk about skin shedding and the expansive self. We talk about dirty laughing at your own drawings, picking your nose as a sensory experience, processing zones and the different ways the body can be penetrated. We talk about the limits of signification and the body as a hard limit and celebrate our love and use of language. We talk about the importance of communtity, the spirit of activism and feeling connected and intimate with strangers through protest.  With thanks to Gass Pendergast and Helen Wewiora at Castlefield Gallery. And thanks to Jake Moore and Semi Precious for the closing track.   Image: Small Body 03 2019 8.5”x5.5” Graphite on paper  Links: https://www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/event/upcoming-soft-bodies/ https://www.megansnowe.com/ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/130147/rajesh-parameswaran Raj's Twitter @elephantbot  Music Credits:  Produced, composed, mixed &amp; sung by Semi Precious  Additional synths &amp; piano by Aviram Barath   Mastered by Nick Powell  © squareglass  ---   Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/emma-cousin/support

This special episode has been commissioned by Castlefield Gallery in Manchester, as an extension of their current show, Soft Bodies, which never opened physically due to the lockdown. Megan Snowe and I are both in that show and come together with the writer Raj Parameshwaran to discuss Soft Bodies and all that this theme evokes and its particular relevance at this strange time. As part of this episode we feature a track by Semi Precious, present in Jake Moore's video piece, from the show. The gallery are hoping to open In August. Following this episode there will be a short piece of writing in response to our discussion and it's themes, written by Raj, available at <a href="https://www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/event/upcoming-soft-bodies/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/event/upcoming-soft-bodies/</a>.  Megan Snowe, Raj Parameswaran and I talk about confusion and low humidity, about being miserable but otherwise fine and about nuptual flying ants. Megan and Raj are in the US, still restricted under Covid 19, and we mention the adjustment to the realisation that this situation is long term, a marathon. Megan gets into her sensuous self portraits questioning how we inhabit non-physical spaces and whether, with the increase in online presence, there can be a sensual element of ourselves online. She talks about her drawings, that feature in the Castlefield exhibition, which are made directly and without planning or intention and created through meditative blending and form finding. We describe these forms, sometimes piercing or entering one another and connect this to undefended human spaces, vulnerable to invisible germs, the virus, and recently police violence. We talk about arousal and disgust and look into megan's 'A Wipe', a sensual celebration of bodily detritus. We delve into some of Raj's short stories, and consider what can safely be removed from the body and what does it become then? We talk about societal body trash and the physical implications of our zoom image, shed all over the web. We talk about phantom limb treatment, healing things from images and Megan's 'ticklish' drawings. We talk about thinking with your mouth, chewing as a trigger and language as sensual. We talk about skinlessness and skin as a haptic canvas. We talk about intimacy and invasion and how to bridge the gaps. We talk about skin shedding and the expansive self. We talk about dirty laughing at your own drawings, picking your nose as a sensory experience, processing zones and the different ways the body can be penetrated. We talk about the limits of signification and the body as a hard limit and celebrate our love and use of language. We talk about the importance of communtity, the spirit of activism and feeling connected and intimate with strangers through protest.  With thanks to Gass Pendergast and Helen Wewiora at Castlefield Gallery. And thanks to Jake Moore and Semi Precious for the closing track.  Image: Small Body 03 2019 8.5”x5.5” Graphite on paper Links: <a href="https://www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/event/upcoming-soft-bodies/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/event/upcoming-soft-bodies/</a> <a href="https://www.megansnowe.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.megansnowe.com/</a> <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/130147/rajesh-parameswaran" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/130147/rajesh-parameswaran</a> Raj's Twitter @elephantbot Music Credits:  Produced, composed, mixed &amp; sung by Semi Precious  Additional synths &amp; piano by Aviram Barath   Mastered by Nick Powell  © squareglass --- Support this podcast: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/emma-cousin/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/emma-cousin/support</a>

Special episode! Chat with Megan Snowe and Raj Parameswaran 

It's the TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES episode! With our trusted sound man in Estonia we had to figure it out ourselves, mainly, 'where do they store the microphones?' and thus we started a half-hour late, and I was agitated throughout. It's also the AMERICA episode! With guests Megan Snowe (USA), Ernest Truely (USA), Matthew Goulish (USA) and myself and Justin as always. Special thanks to Ilpo Heikkinen for stepping in and being a pop-up sound guy/saviour. I love him, even if he isn't American.

Serious Introspection S01E05: Matthew Goulish, Ernest Truely, Megan Snowe