I finished the grid drawings, packed up, and took a week holiday in Athens.
I feel I’ve had a very productive time in Crete, for the duration of the DIY residency. Looking back I really got into the zone, and focused intensely on my work, which is what I always need to do, otherwise I dont do good work. So this whole period, feeling quite lonely at the start, became a very productive period.
A key aspect was the deadline – I had to get the work done before I left the rental apartment. I had no choice but to get my head down. Deadlines really help!
Coming back home, I hope I can keep some of the same focus, but I somehow doubt it, as I live in a small house full of people! I know I need to find an affordable studio space, but in London this isnt easy.
In Athens we visited Greece’s national museum of contemporary art, EMST https://www.emst.gr/en
Some of the exhibits there made me think about how to display the grid work in the gallery space …
The matrix of paintings have been pinned to the wall – using drawing pins. This works fine for this work, but obscures some of the images. As my works are quite detailed, and often have text, I cant use drawing pins as they will obscure.
The other example I found interesting is pottery nailed to the wall, but the nails just touch the sides of the work, to hold it in place. I think this is probably the way to go.
I thought a lot about the format for the display, and if I should use frames. In the end I decided against, and to mount each drawing on cardboard. I thought this would fit better with the theme of the show, Clutter, which is a scruffy theme, and I expect quite a few of the works will involve a mess. So framed works … I dont think they fit with this.
