WORK: the introduction (2021)
the introduction (2021), is a body of work that introduces a line of enquiry proposed in the initial stages of my MA spanning a 2 year period. My practice is mostly concerned with the concept of physical experience within the confines of place and the inquiry that is led by the process of transformation from event to knowledge. The experience of being a New Zealander far from home has led me to take notice of the my adopted surroundings, at once different but similar to the landscape of my childhood. Use of an event performed in landscape creates the starting point to a body of work. From walking to gardening, to the ceremonial events of tea making, I have pursued work that considers mark making, recording, accumulation and collections. My practice also shows an interest in site-specific projects which focus on specific buildings or structures usually within an historical context. In a similar context to the rural nature of my work these projects draw attention to my adopted home and produce an inquiry that looks at the detail of the site, its purpose and historical nature.
The intention behind this inquiry seeks to achieve a greater connection to place. It considers the concept of displacement and disruption and my interests lie in outcomes that takes this into account. A new focus in my practice has been around a collection of objects and fragments unearthed while gardening. My intention is to use this accumulation to focus my work around the notion of leftover unwanted matter and soil as a source of life. I plan to look at the encounter between the discarded fragments with concepts of growth and movement and stories that might have been told.
As mentioned in an earlier blog ‘ABSTRACT’ my interest in the fragments began 3 or so years ago. It became apparent that there was an abundance of discarded material sitting just beneath the surface, that is, until a disturbance created an encounter. The activity of gardening was itself causing a disruption and this opened up a relationship with my self and the landscape. I have become aware of the Critical Zone and the impact our actions have within this terrestrial space.
‘the introduction’ experiments with animation, using the outcome from the ‘RELATIVE LIMITS’ project, ‘2 meter ruler’ (2020), and projecting this through a select arrangement of objects. Working from early unit workshops on the MA Fine Art course I began to assemble various outcomes to form one coherent work. In addition to the curatorial play workshop, Relative Limits, there are pieces from the plaster and relief printing workshops, a premiere pro and a gamify workshop and a virtual gallery trip to Paris where I viewed Sarah Sze’s exhibition ‘Night and Day’ at the Fondation Cartier.
I have shown the introduction in the MA Fine Art ‘Beyond the Boundaries’ online show on @undertowprojects. It can be viewed in another show titled ‘The Sky has no Surface’, running from the 22nd-28th March 2021, again online @undertowprojects. My intention is to show it in a forthcoming exhibition at The Stable Gallery in a physical sense from the 29th April to 2nd May 2021, COVID restrictions willing.