More stuff..
Stuff. n, Material, substance or things of uncertain kind or not needing to be particularized or of inferior quality….
A bit about my preoccupation with stuff…
I am very interested in materiality and process in response to place. I love working with the materials of particular settings and landscapes, the chalk and clay and silt and the traces that they leave.
Much of my work involves papermaking. I love the contradictory nature of working with a fragile, ephemeral material in difficult, dirty surroundings at the mercy of the weather. Working in response to specific places has become increasingly important to me; and all my work; whether employing papermaking or not, involves getting traces from particular spaces or landscapes. These traces have included in previous projects, earth, volcanic ash deposits, water from the Medway, impressions and castings, photographs and stories.
I am in the process of developing a research project in which I would visit and investigate a range of different places in contrasting landscapes across South East England. I have a wish-list of places and landscapes to visit, which would be linked by the journey from one to the other. The journey would follow a roughly circular path starting and ending in the woods and commons of Elmbridge in Surrey, taking in a route across the North Downs, the Weald in Kent, onwards to the Medway and round down the South Coast until Brighton and back again up to Surrey. At each place I would make a small piece of work collecting traces and impressions and making use of pigments found in the landscape (chalk, charcoal, clay, and natural dyes etc) and I would also collect materials and impressions which would form the basis of larger works to be made during the course of the project. I really like to involve people in making work in response to the colours and textures of the natural environment and to build this engagement into the heart of the project. I love working with people and enjoy the reciprocal give-and-take nature of sharing skills, stories and expertise.
Right now I’m talking to people to find places to stop off and make work and run workshops.
