I have literally spent the last 3 days continuously stripping copper wire – a job that is hard to romanticise and makes me feel like I might be some scrap metal merchant hell-bent on labour intensive tasks. Luckily, to easy the monotony, an old friend and fellow artist Alice Cunningham (http://www.alicecunningham.co.uk) has come to visit. Cunningham’s practice has similar aspects to mine and we have known each other since University days. She has an exhibition in London, which she needs to make work for, and currently being between studios and houses it makes sense for her to accompany me in Hestercombe’s mansion. She is making a piece for a show that is based at a paper manufacturer and she needs to make vast qualities of papier mache. We giggle to ourselves as we quickly realise how we have changed the studio to look more like a recycling centre than any kind of arts’ space.
Surrounded by plastic cabling, satisfying bundles of copper and shredded paper, I reminisce of the first residency that I part took in, in Valenciennes, France. At L’H du Siege I realised that I am so motivated by process – how things are made, what their elements are, and how they evolve. It always draws me in to learn niche facts.
Many visitors poke their heads around the door with surprised and curious expressions. I explain who I am and what I am doing and by the end of my day I wish I had a tape recorder that spiels out the important information. I don’t want to sound negative about talking to people but doing repetitive tasks and repeating yourself daily leads to a very tired artist! Needless to say, on Saturday evening, Alice and I decided to check out the local pub. After a recommendation from a local, I found myself eating a crocodile burger, something that I really didn’t expect to be doing in rural Somerset.
