I and 2 other artists Giuseppe Buzzotta and Francesca Fontana from Italy took part in 6 week residency in the southern state of Kerala India where we shared a studio. I had decided to take the minimum of materials with me so I could source there. Our works were all quite different but bonded well, Giuseppe a painter and Francesco making an installation. My final pieces were photos. Yes quite unlike me but felt they were best suited at that time, in that space, which is like me. Not only is proc1
I and 2 other artists Giuseppe Buzzotta and Francesca Fontana from Italy took part in 6 week residency in the southern state of Kerala India where we shared a studio. I had decided to take the minimum of materials with me so I could source there. Our works were all quite different but bonded well, Giuseppe a painter and Francesco making an installation. My final pieces were photos. Yes quite unlike me but felt they were best suited at that time, in that space, which is like me. Not only is process a major part of my practice but so is the space in which I will be showing, it all has to work as one.
The soil in Kerala was a beautiful red, with chalky rocks that went from creamy white, ocre, yellow, various pinks, purples through to deep reds. Both Giuseppe and I collected these to use. I crushed the rock to use as pigments for my work and also bottled as pieces to use in their own right. They can now be added to my Museum of Categorisatium.
We were in a jungle area near the coast. There were many coconut trees which Kerala is renown for and so many birds especially eagles, which I became rather obsessed with. They were absolutely stunning, the grace and freedom with which they soared above us all.
Back to the trees, between the trunk and leaves of the coconut trees was a webbing kind of material. I collected this as it fell to use as a material for my work. The webbing also corresponded to the shapes of the sea eagles wings and the eagles colouring reflected that of the soil. The pigment I had sourced was then used in resin to colour the webbing. This I feel was true practice led, it led me I did not dictate what I would be working on until I got there, saw the place and experienced my environment.
This gallery is to show what I was doing, as process is a very important part of my work, the finished work is just the tip of the iceberg. I have placed the final images used for the exhibition in a new gallery.