Preparations for the show are coming along. The aluminium boards for the jigsaw puzzles arrived this morning, it feels good that they are finally here! And thanks to what might well be a ‘vintage’ salad-washing bowl but which I am using as an oversized glitter shaker, glittering the door has been a lot more effective and efficient than my earlier attempt.
There is still quite a bit to do before I am ready to actually hang the work and unusually for me I am confident that there is time to do it all. Maybe even to do it at an enjoyable pace!
I get into the gallery on Monday, or possible even Sunday afternoon if the person who is using over the weekend to photograph things finishes early. Things remaining to do:
- mount the puzzles
- write and print/copy an ‘exhibition guide’
- set prices for the puzzle series
- buy some wine and nibbles
- install the show
I have an idea of how and where I want things in the room, however seeing the pieces in there might present other, better, possibilities. I am also considering having an additional piece in the room before the exhibition space itself. It would be a slide projection so it is simple to try it out and see if it works. I have a very nice old projector that I would like to use but I a little nervous to have it running for four hours as the bulb is also old and I do not know where I can get hold a spare here. Not only is the image something significant to me, and in many ways the show, but it might be an interesting way to illuminate the room rather than the strip-lights in the ceiling.
Last week a friend of a friend who is on placement with ‘The Local’ (a Swedish newspaper in English) interviewed me. I managed to give a fairly succinct account of my move here and my views of the art scene. Perhaps it was good not to have too much advance notice about the interview!
I am delighted that my friend (and international art tourist!) from Switzerland is coming to the opening. We do not see each other as often since I moved from London, and it is wonderful that he is making the trip primarily to see my show. Moderna Museet have just opened a Louise Bourgeois show and there is a press launch of the new Asylum show at Kulturhuset the day after my opening, plus some good shows at the commercial galleries here too. Not at all bad considering that we are still somewhat in the ‘darker months’ here.
Coming up for almost twenty-five years(!) since I left Dartington and I am seriously thinking about returning to the country – that is the ‘countryside’ rather than Devon or the UK. Tomorrow I go and have a second look at a small cottage about an hours drive north-west of Stockholm. It is not far from where I have been working with Tim and that makes it easier to consider such a move. It is also only about 15 minutes away from the closet large town which has an art centre, library and cinema. The train takes only 40 minutes from that town to central Stockholm so part-time work in the city is not out of the question. The real advantage would be the time and space that I would have. I would set up my studio at home …. I would actually have a home! It has been four years since I packed up many of my things before redecorating and then selling my flat in London, it would be lovely to have somewhere to unpack them and use them again. The possibility of finding anything to either rent or buy in the city seems more and more remote if I want to continue with my practice – which I do.
Luckily have I have some good role models for making a success of being a contemporary rural artist. Friends in Norway have done it, and so has Tim.
An exciting week ahead!
