During my residency at AirSpace Gallery, I had the privilege of being able to have meetings with artist Victoria Lucas, who agreed to come to AirSpace Gallery to discuss my work with me during month three of the residency. She then returned to very kindly help with the first day of the installation process.
We began by discussing my proposal and what I had outlined within it, particularly focusing on the works and where they would be placed within the gallery. Of course, some of the work was yet to be made, so I had to show her what work I already had available and begin with their display within the gallery.
I wanted to ask her opinions on my idea for a “research wall” at one end of the gallery, and after a quick talk about the idea Victoria suggested using a table instead. We found two wooden tressles and a large wooden board in the storage room of the gallery, so used them to make a makeshift table to quickly test the idea out. Going through my research folder, I came across some photocopies of insects that I had cut up and put back together again into strange “mutations”, Victoria really liked these and suggested using them on the wall in place of the “research wall”, pinning them in a similar method to an entomology collection within natural history museums and insect collectors. They really worked well on the wall, so I began to make more of them to fill an area on the wall, slowly building them up in to a rouch shape/layout that I liked. We discussed pinning them in linear rows, or grids, but in the end I decided I liked pinning them in a haphazard fashion, it seemed to be more pleasing aesthetically.
Towards the end of the day we began to pin up my drawings on the other side of the gallery, which would be used for more polished, and resolved works.
The day was a brilliant way for me to get another professional artists opinion on my ideas, and to get a fresh set of eyes on the layout of the gallery and how works look when they re placed on the walls etc. Every time I have met with Victoria she has given me another view on my work that I hadn’t even seen or considered before, and gave me new ways to pursue the ideas I was exploring during the residency. On this day in particular she showed to me the importance of how a work is displayed, and how much it can affect how the work is read and interpreted.
It was a really enjoyable day and I am very thankful to Victoria for giving up a day of her time to come and help with my exhibition!
