Methodology / Engagement
‘YOU ONLY POSSESS ANYTHING THAT WOULD NOT BE LOST IN A SHIPWRECK’ (Sufi Saying)
We have started thinking of who I might be able to work with in a more small scale way through workshops on the issues of the project. They have suggested a few different groups with an existing connection to the Museum which we will decide on in our next meeting. I am keen to have a very clear sense and outline of what the engagement will look like before jumping into it, and this is bound up with the concept and form of the work itself. It seems to be unfolding itself quite nicely at the moment though, like a gift.
I realise that my process is that I always engage with part of myself first to get clear a to what kind of relationship and meaning I am offering through the work. Part of this is making, which I ma starting to do in my studio. Then I will have a (flexible ) blueprint which leads me to an engagement with others which can be integral to the work. This will be a specific group, an intimate encounter. From this the core questions of the work will become clearer still and I can then offer up the engagement to the mass public through the larger scale piece. It is really like an unfolding.. In this case, the relationship will begin earlier as I am asking the public to connect with the project via an object before the show opens, with little visual knowledge of how it will become part of the piece.
In terms of engagement during the show itself, I think the idea of the public (both those who gifted and those who did not) writing down an ‘emotional object’ The question posed will be broad enough for those who already gifted to reflect on how giving me the object impacted them or what it made space for. For the remaining public, this could be a personal hope, desire, intention, something connected with a desire the future not linked to an real object. This would mean that on a daily basis, text could be written into the exhibited space on textile strips , to contextualise and add layers of meaning to the collection of objects that will form the main artwork. This all needs more specific consideration and discussion with Julia and David but I feel its in the right direction and ties in with ideas around cultural legacy and creating a broad conceptual /visual space for dialogue and diversity which are at the heart of the work.
