The drawings from the Saffron Walden show are now safely packed away in my studio and I have some reasonable photos of the work in my archive. There seems to be a brief interlude in my usually hectic life so I have been using this to organise my project archive and generally keep up with some overdue admin. I have also been doing some reading – currently I am looking at a book by Peig Sayers ('An old woman's reflections') who lived on the Blasket islands of the west coast of Ireland. The islanders were evacuated after the second world war – until then they had lived an unchanged life for centuries. There was a rich oral tradition of story telling and poetry, keeping the legends of the islands alive. Peig Sayers' stories capture the simple life of a community who came vibrantly alive when an evening of storytelling, music and words took place. I am sure this information will influence my editing of the films made on Inishlacken.
In the last couple of days three possible projects have emerged. Its a bit like buses they all come at once! They are all in the early stages of discussion and may or may not progress further but it is comforting to be in a position where I am working with this number of potential projects. By the law of averages at least one might come to fruition.
It often surprises me how things link up and communications cause things to happen. One contact I have recently made was through my son who is studying architecture at Kingston University in London. He was attending a lecture given by his Head of Department only to hear her talking about Japan and the tea ceremony – something I have made several pieces of work about. Thoughtfully he managed to speak to the lecturer and has put us in touch. We are planning to meet in December.
I've had some work selected for TULCA, a city wide festival in Galway Ireland. Last week we (my husband Paul and I) had fun packaging up four neon pieces and transporting them gingerly to Art Moves in London where after unloading them, our car promptly broke down. A few hours later and thanks to an efficient AA man we managed to get going again with the advice not to stop the engine until we reached home and call out our local garage the next day.
The neon will be shown in a large open building (1 – 5 Merchants Road). I have seen photos and it seems to have some interesting architectural features, wide stairs, large windows, alcoves. It will be interesting to see how the work is hung. The festival theme "If we accept that we are strangers to ourselves then there are no strangers, only others like ourselves" by Julia Kristeva is a fascinating choice for a show of international and national work and I am keen to see how the many artists have responded to it when I go over for the opening on 9th November.
Tomorrow I will go to take down the drawings in the Saffron Walden show. The exhibition period has gone quickly. Looking forward to seeing the work again having had some distance on it.
Writing this blog has gradually become quite an important part of my practice, so much so that it feels strange when I don't post an entry on a regular basis. The Inishlacken Project has entered a quiet phase and there is no news relating to it that I can post for the moment. All of which leaves me with withdrawal symptoms and the question of whether I should carry on regardless of subject here on this blog or think about starting a parallel one that is more general. If there IS anybody out there who has a view on this please email….[email protected].
Last night I held a mad artists tea party as part of the NAN ReVIEW bursary that I received a few months ago. Rebecca Weaver offered the Town Hall Gallery in Ipswich as a venue and it provided the perfect setting for a slightly kitch arrangement of objects and food and drink on a large table. Artists from Suffolk listened to a presentation by Sue Jones (curator of the Whitstable Biennial) and then engaged in general discussion with each other and Sue. Lots of sweet sticky cakes were eaten and copius amounts of tea were drunk.
People seemed to enjoy themselves. Was it useful? I spotted lots of addresses being swopped, so maybe it was…
Just downloaded the rest of the images taken in the gallery in Saffron Walden. It seems to help to look at the show through photos as it distances me from the work and I can look more objectively. I intend to return to the gallery at the end of the show and try to assess the work anew, having spent three weeks away from it.
Heres another image….
Another image from the show in Saffron Walden. The building was once used as an overflow for the water tower close by. The water was stored in separate divided sections and entered the building through porthole shaped openings in the roof. More about Inishlacken work soon
