Finding the next mentor was more problematic and took a long time. The people I approached were too busy but the Whitechapel kindly connected me with Rosie Cooper, Head of Exhibitions at the Dell la War Pavilion. We talked on the phone and discussed what I wanted from this mentoring and then made a date in October for Rosie to visit my studio. We discussed possibly using a commission that I was working on for the Tropenmuseum as a starting point but decided that would be complicated and was separate from this mentoring process so we left it open.
Rosie was a breath of fresh air, asking some provocative and challenging questions, which made me think more deeply about what I was doing and how I wanted to move my practice forward. We discussed many issues including; artists use of cultural appropriation; my position in the art world as an older female artist and how I’m perceived differently now by institutions and other artists; my recent very upsetting and disturbing experiences with the Migration Museum in London, the morals and ethics of the way they work with artists, treated me and how I could best manage this and that I didn’t need to work with institutions like this; what I was gaining from different commissions and exhibitions and ultimately how it would be healthy for me to have some time away from producing work for outputs and have a period of time to nourish and grow my practice without the pressures and agendas involved with the professionalization of the work and practice.
Rosie suggested to begin with that I take a leap in the dark and do some drawing without thought or agendas as a way of freeing my mind and thoughts. We talked about me drawing loosely and freely on a large scale with materials such as charcoal. Rosie also suggested dancing as a physical embodiment and way to literally free myself up. This visit, the discussion and the ideas that evolved were inspiring and exciting. I began drawing and this quickly felt very freeing and energetic.
