So last Friday I opened the doors to a showing of process works from the project – my promise to the Arts Council. The purpose, to enable me to raise my game via peer comment. Based at my studios in East Oxford this proved to be a wonderful location for conversation with my artist peers.
It’s been invaluable to work on a practice exhibition, and a joy to work with our curator, Sarah Mossop. A field trip to our exhibition location proper, in Thames Ditton, earlier last week also enabled us to further our thinking on the curatorial details for the Autumn.
A conversation about objects en route to Thames Ditton, yielded a most generous offer from Sarah to donate one of her vintage (of the period) lead animals to the project! A collection from childhood, now carefully preserved in a suitcase. When offered the choice, I immediately asked for a lion.
Some of you may remember that a lion features in my sketch for the Paris stage of Felicia’s journey – but disappears in the final version.
Of the many things I love about this project, and this way of working across forms (painting/assembalge), are the layers of meaning and association it seems possible to accrue.
It turns out that “Lioney” came to be in Sarah’s collection via Paris.
Currently he sits on the sketch in the process exhibition, but I can’t wait to try him out on the final piece. I wonder if he’ll come with us to Thames Ditton?
