Ross:
Richard and I have been talking about this project for a few months now and slowly things are begining to take shape. When I recieve his work in the post and install it in an abndoned house it will be the first time our work has occupied the same space.
We are both in transitional stages in our home lives. Richard recently moved to Edinburgh and found a new studio, and I am currently undertaking an internship with the Scottish Sculpture Workshop in rural Aberdeenshire.
How has this affected our practice? Both together and individually? I guess I can only speak for myself but I’m sure that this experience is changing the way I look at and undertake my practice. The abandoned houses project was arrived at through circumstance; the circumstance of location. The most recent work I am producing for Richard was also arrived at through my circumstance.
I had been asked to complete the painting of a family crest, cast in aluminium, that now sits above a fireplace in an Aberdeenshire castle. An interesting task in itself, but I was asked to use small tubs of humbrol enamal paint. Like the ones used to paint model airplanes. This put me in mind of Turner prize nominated artist George Shaw. He uses these paints to depict his home town coventry with a sense of melancholy and loneliness. I admired his scenes from a passion exhibition at the DCA in early 2004. At this time while in 1st year Art School I myself painted landscape scenes. I never used humbrol but I remember trying to get that same sense of emptiness that Shaw manages conjure.
I left landscape behind before the end of Art School, but I always feel that my more recent practice had some link to this practice, and I have once again been thrown into this thought by a tiny pot of paint.
At SSW the landscape is prominent and the imagery rich. Photos upon photos of past project and people working are in SSW it makes me think of my old practice.
I’ve passed on some images to Richard to show him my thought process and I have began to paint from them. I suddenly remember why I moved away from this and what my restrictions were but I will persist with it for now until I get an image. I will post my progress on here soon but for now I will leave you with an image of the paper package I carried home the other night after painting. I thought it looked rather nice.
Another result of circumstance perhaps?
