Last residency blog. gallery is back to white plus a few additional bumps, it suddenly seems bright and white(ish). All the work has been cleared and the walls selectively repainted.
So what have I learned from this residency?
It is not quite the same as having a residency in an unknown place where there is the added frisson of novelty. This can be seen as advantageous as it forces a closer relationship with you as artist and getting to know yourself better in those terms.
It has helped redefine my working methods which had become a little skewed owing to the intensity of my practice-led PhD where everything was geared to a particular endpoint although there was a lot of experimentation within it, it still was a focussed event. Now, I can do anything and the freedom is heady. This residency has given me the space to play.
I know there are a lot more things that have come from this work and they will surface in time.
I would like to thank my collaborators in theCommons part of the residency – Michael Hobson, Chen Yizhong, Peter Barnard, Louise Garland and Araya Vivorakij. Their conversations and input has been a valuable part of the experience. However, I would especially like to thank Jackie Berridge of Harrington Mill Studios for this opportunity.
Initial thoughts on the ending of the residency try to sum up and reflect. The aim of the residency was to create a discourse at the intersections of space, function and artist so the artist and process of art making became performative. It was about constant disturbance through the dislocation of site in relation to place and the development of thoughts that occur solely from being in a particular place at a particular time. This is an initial response to see how the residency aims have been fulfilled.
The final work is the result of a spatial and haptic response. The conditions of working are constantly changing and influenced by environmental factors such as sun, wind and temperature; social factors – who else is present and what they are doing which encompasses this space and above, below and outside; personal factors such as emotion and mood that affects reactions and response. The haptic qualities have ranged from warm and velvety, wrapping around like a cape; unease caused by wind rattles; ordinary with no special considerations as well as spaces of tension, anger, irritation, of freedom from everyday cares and, importantly, a creative space. These influences were married to experimental work with materials found or particular spaces that engendered a response such as where the floor meets the wall. This became Painted Wall and was developed further after the collaboration with Rie Suto. The use of the metronome in the final piece was influenced by the work with Peter Barnard. The choice of beat, here the slowest possible, is a response to the installation itself. As opposed to previous work where a rhythm was found to respond to the space at different times of day and night. The nets originated from my collection of found knots that were matched by Louise Garland’s own collection and resulted in the joint construction of the gateway net. Here the diverse use of everyday materials and colours reflects interwoven narratives. The use of the term ‘everyday’ here represents my own personal everyday. The sound pieces are the results of collaborations with Michael Hobson and Peter Barnard. Interim Mix with Michael Hobson is a direct response to the space at night whilst the work with Peter uses different spaces beginning with Harrington Mill.
The gateway opens onto an immersive landscape where videotape columns rise from the debris of the dropped nets. The movement of air highlights the metallic colours of the tape through the use of differently coloured light. The videotapes themselves have narratives, albeit hidden, and weaving them creates new connections in those stories.
Interwoven narratives that belong not only to me but to my collaborators, to the people who have given or lent me materials and words, are shown as suspended nets that display a certain craft and are themselves interspersed with light reflections. Columns made of used videotape, themselves having hidden narratives, rise from the wreckage of nets. The whole landscape of the space initially appears as if another film title cast in a sea of light accompanied by a very slow metronomic beat and the undertones of the hum of a fan and the rustle of the tape as it moves to the alteration in air movement. However, this is a fanciful interpretation for a site-responsive and site-specific installation that aligns itself to the philosophy of being and dwelling and spaces of the other.
The title of this residency, Land Strategies, was intended to convey that the landscape of the exhibition space could be articulated through interventions in the space. It is now my task to unpick what I have done over the last two months and see if that has been achieved and what I have learnt from the experience. Now it is nearly over, apart from finishing touches and the closing event on Sunday (5pm), so time to reflect.
No images today, just tweaking bits of tape into final positions. It is interesting that even a small amount of change alters the whole dynamics of the installation.
Working on gathering all the words, sound pieces and images that I have written about this project. Nearly 5000 words on this blog alone, so far! 6 collaborations, 7 sound pieces and approximately 250 images.
