I recently met Clare MacFarlane, an artist who has recently graduated in Fine Art, at the ArtSite studios in Hereford. I was excited to learn about a project which Clare had done for her degree, called Pigeon Story. This seemed too good an opportunity to miss. I invited Clare to show the project in the Pigeon Hole space in Leominster which she agreed to do.
The project developed from an old diary which Clare had sourced, from the year 1952. Clare had been inspired to think of a time when life had different values and the year 1952 seemed to resonate.
The diary had a rich source of information in which intrigued her, including a number of addresses. Clare set out in tracking down the original names associated with the addresses, mapping out journeys to unfamilar destinations.
Installing the work with Clare last weekend was fascinating and exciting. I had curated digital media events but never another artist's work in a semi-permanent space. Initially Clare showed me the body of work and we talked about how to display it. Clare had an initimate knowledge of the project and I knew the potential and limits of the space, so a positive dialogue emerged.
I showed Clare the space, unlocked the creaky windows and then left her to negotiate her way around it all. I felt it was important that she has space to think and work it out. I supplied coffee and some feedback but wanted Clare to feel she had the reigns.
Darkness suddenly descended and we had to stop. I thought it was a natural break really and suggested Clare return the next day. Sunday was very wet, but Clare came and carried on installing the work, in the wet and cold. We discussed some final details, shut the windows and stepped onto the saturated pavement to view the work. Fantastic!
Even though the space is a kind of micro gallery, it was interesting how much time it took to get the work installed. In some ways, the unconventional nature of it makes it more of a challenge to install work-and has some hidden surprises.
