I’m over two weeks into a six week residency now, and thankfully the interactions I am having with islanders are becoming more meaningful and productive. I was worried that I might loose momentum and I wondered to what extent I would actually want the islanders’ input to drive the work? Also I was initially worried I might make some faux pas that would get me tarred and feathered.
Interestingly I have been talking about just such attitudes as this with several of my peers by phone (when the signal is able to bounce of the clouds at the correct angle/ time of day/ position of the moon or whatever). Is it possible that just such a conflict might produce a more interesting piece of work than something that could otherwise be seen as ‘straight’ or clear cut? I thoroughly enjoyed a presentation by Marcus Coates about a year ago, where he explained how a residency he had undertaken in which he created a large billboard, with a huge poster of himself in character, in the middle of a wood; led the local population to unite in burning it down, “It brought the community together in a beautiful and unusual way” he explained (I paraphrase).
I am currently having a little ‘battle of interests’ of my own it seems, though the enemy is unseen, perhaps even entirely in my own head. As you can see by the newly attached image, someone has come along and torn up some of the labelling work I have begun, and keeps removing the sign from the door stating “Sorting. Take what you like but please don’t rearrange the order, Cheers!”. I am imagining some brownie or sprite coming along each evening after I have been sorting in the remote Swap Shop and putting everything back where it was. In all likely-hood it is some overly attendant individual who didn’t get the memo and assumes someone is playing a prank. I find this really entertaining and have gone from feeling disgruntled to actually hoping they will return and do more mischief! The battle continues…
