A four day event where artists, creatives and practitioners have been invited to experiment within the space and develop their practice in potentially new and varied directions through collaboration and artist-led activity. From 13-16 July, John Hansard Gallery will be a test space for new ideas as a group of artists come together to consider the question ‘How can play help us to explore individual and collaborative practice?’
Participating artists: Letty Clarke, Jonathan Kelham, Alys Scott-Hawkins, Tina Lane, Bevis Fenner, Eloise Rose, Debbie Lee, Dave Hubble, Jill Laudet, Bettina Fung, Deborah Gearing, Savinder Bual, Ana Cozendey and Maja Hill.

Apart from the fact the organisers went on holiday to Bahrain for our stay and left us in the jungle! I and two other international artists did however get on with work and made the best of the situation, we had a good size studio space. India has the most amazing colours, wildlife and scenery.
Participating artists: Giuseppe Buzzotta, Francesco Fontana, Tina Lane.

The Museum of Categorisatium was selected by Aspex Gallery for Platform Graduate Award 2015, run by CVAN SE, (Contemporary Visual Arts Network).
Now in its fourth year, the 2015 Platform Graduate Award profiles new talent emerging from universities and colleges in the South East region. Working as part of CVAN (The Contemporary Visual Arts Network), five galleries in South East England – aspex, De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill; Modern Art Oxford; MK Gallery, Milton Keynes and Turner Contemporary, Margate – each showcase the work of recent graduates from their region.
Aspex has selected work by Fine Art and Photography graduates from the University of Portsmouth, University of Chichester, Arts University Bournemouth, Winchester School of Art,Southampton Solent University and UCA, Farnham.

The Museum of Categorisatium was selected selected by Showcase Gallery for Solent University Best of Degree Show 2015 to take part in the summer showcase exhibition.

Entrance to the The Museum of Categorisatium at the degree show.

Sadly Ejector Seat was cancelled this year as they no longer had funding. So myself and many of the other artists decided to continue to make a happening, in keeping with the use of public spaces ethos my work at this time depicted we made it happen.

A pop up Gallery in Southampton.

The Pods.

The birth of ‘Pods’ began outside this gallery. I was sat on the ground pushing paint around a sheet of paper and it began to rain. I watched as the drops gradually saturated the paper. Deliberately I allowed myself an ‘absence of mind’ where nothing else existed apart from the behaviour of the water on the painting. Then without thinking I picked it up and screwed it into a ball. The physicality of the paper reaching it’s limits of cohesion meshed with the streaking paint was wonderfully satisfying. At that point I knew I had found my material, my ‘something’.
The ‘minumentals’ within the pods are a continuation of existing work; they question the importance of size in art, as well as being part of my ‘inarticulate forms’. Instinct brought them together.
The remaining narrative belongs with the viewer, my ‘someone’.

Well it seems keeping up with my blog is not something I excel at. Just a year or two between posts. Do I now go back and fill in life since the last post or just start from where I am? Haha that was rhetorical, it will be from where I am now. Still full of my wonderful experiences in India the images of the studio and work are already posted. Rather than finished works I thought it was interesting to post images of what was happening in the studio to show the process. Naturally finished works are posted too, a first for me as I turned to photography at that time. Being practice led I allow the work to do the talking, so although I was in the studio making, I felt the images of the people I met and spoke to in India far more of a representation of what the 6 weeks were about, a cultural exchange.

A somewhat belated blog, but better late than never. After the gruelling task of essay writing was finally completed I needed to be free of the confines of a studio or a desk. The day was gorgeous so set off to occupy some public space with my art. An artist friend of mine Louisa was in the studio that day too and knowing a lot of her work is performative and relating to the interactions of people I asked if she would like to collaborate, she said yes.

Just opposite the studio are the medieval city walls with a small tower, well small from the town side, extremely high from the dock side. The public can access the open space at the top of the tower. It is rather uninviting to be honest, as you walk up the steps to this wonderful space, it has no seats or anything to encourage you to go into the space. A few empty beer cans lay on the floor, with an empty wine bottle. Louisa and I cleared the small space of litter, and set up an impromptu public art happening. I laid out 'The Hands' on the wall, symbolically claiming the space to use as a free public space. Louisa set about plans to hold a food sharing event as part of her work. We met with a fair few members of the public and encouraged them to use the space too. We were even fortunate enough to meet with a travel writer who later than day wrote a blog on us as local artists...somewhat more promptly than I with my blog.