Taking part in Jamboree has made me re-evaluate how I have worked on past projects and inspired me to research and discover new artists and curators.
It has been especially interesting to be able to see so many different artists work from across the country through the 20:20 talks and of course through meeting different people over the 3-day event.
Some artists that I really enjoyed their talks were Antigoni Pasidi who created these evocative sand sculptures and really interesting installation/tableaux of works. Her talk mentioned that she had studios at Karst in Plymouth, which a few artists had mentioned for exhibitions and studios alike somewhere to make a visit when I’m next in the South West.
Sabrina Fuller
Subsequently having met and chatted with Sabrina and then heard her talk I was really intrigued by her work and how much it chimed with a project I have been trying to develop over the last year, it’s nice when serendipity brings you all together.
Back to spaces and places and CAST
this is a really interesting space and curatorial organisation based in Helston. There are studio spaces in a former school building and then born out of this have been international projects called Groundwork commissioning site-specific work in Cornwall in partnership with Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange. Some extremely inspiring events and projects have taken place over the last 5 years, using the rural and landscape to create some extraordinary works.
I was delighted to be able to make a visit to Manchester and catch the work of Alice Kettle who I have worked with together on the Unravelled curatorial project working with historic houses and the National Trust.
Her new work is epic and monumental in scale, she has worked with a number of refugee groups to help contribute to these beautiful textiles pieces ‘Thread Bearing Witness‘ is deeply moving and manages to engage sensitively with such a pressing topic at the moment.
The bursary and attending Jamboree 2018 has allowed me to make new connections and research other ways of working, drawing inspiration from around the UK.
I took part in this walk and talk led by Katrina Brown on the last day of the event. The lucky spell of amazing weather dissipated and it was a very wet event. However it was still a rather magical experience to connect collectively through movement and being aware to our surroundings.
I was really intrigued to see what shape the walk and talk would take, I had seen a performance by Katrina as part of a Draw to Perform event in Brighton, where she was the sole performer, using her body to ‘draw’ within the space.
Her walk and talk ‘On gravity, rhythm and (dis)orientation’ began with
Whilst walking, I am curious to discuss how we think we are orientating our bodies and selves in relation to the ground, to the things around us, to sound and to each other – how do we understand our verticality in relation to the gravitational pull of the ground, the rhythm of our steps, swinging arms, breathing. This Walk & Talk is a way of getting to talk about what disorientates us, pulls us off our axis, catches our breath. A walk that talks around the physics and perception of standing in the world – and unexpected sensations of disorientation. For more info on Karina’s work see the link:
http://katrinabrown.net
Collaborative Making
Taking part in Jamboree 2018 allowed me to be part of the main event, as both participant and observer. Workshops such as Lucy Steggals and the crochet session to work in lines or circles and how this then became a performative and reflective space at the same time.
Thinking through making and involving other people and communities has been an aspect of my work over the last few years through different commissions and site-specific projects. The connection between places and people has often been through the use of making, bringing different materials into place as a way of realizing an idea but also creating a new story and history of the place.
An example of this was a commission with Metal in Peterborough http://www.metalculture.com based on the theme of Harvest http://caitlinheffernan.co.uk/portfolio/harvest-wain-procession-female-diamond-portraits/, inspired by folklore and past rituals, our connections to the land and food production. I used the local Saint Peter’s Cathedral ceiling and its diamond-shaped medieval bosses as inspiration to create portraits celebrating women and their role in Harvest production, which were then sewn into a series of processional cloths and capes that celebrated women. These were then paraded by local women during the Harvest Wain procession through central Peterborough.
Further symbolic imagery relating to the seasonal fruits, flowers and ‘God’s eyes’ (a pagan symbol of the elements and fertility) were embedded within each symbolic cape and were produced in collaboration with local craft collective, Handmade in Peterborough, and the Women’s Institute over several months via events and workshops. Collectively we all worked with a choreographer who brought together the different groups to create the procession.
Central to the work was the amazing contributions and participation of the craft collective, Handmade in Peterborough who were completely on board and gave a 100% in particular the poet Keely Mills and of course the Women’s Institute who got lots of people on board.
The Jamboree Event has highlighted the fantastic range of artists working across disciplines working to involve and include people.
