LABA

Italian Residency 2004:
As part of my residency at LABA, I was involved in two participatory projects. The first project, ArtInTreno, was an interactive installation conceived by a local artist group. Working with lead artist, Andrea Contino, I assisted in the installation and realisation of the concept. Using a local train carriage, work was done to transform the public space, into a site of interaction and thought processing. Carriage one was transformed using golden decor and housed a large tree illustration. Focussing on Italian interior and architectural design, the work conveyed ideas of rich embellishment, combining religious connotations. The tree evoked ideas concerning family bonds, symbolising the tree of life. Extending the installation into the adjoining compartment, an ideas space was created using post-it notes. Incorporating the concepts of journey, time and space passengers were invited to reflect and document. The carriage became a hub for thought and discussion, provoking interaction with the work. The second art project was developed in a local primary school. I was invited to assist in the preparation and management of the final project, MostrInMostra, which incorporated art, song and dance. Using mixed media materials, the children were encouraged to create and collage fictional monsters. Developing creativity and storytelling through an interactive day, the children were then encouraged to sing, dance and celebrate their creations. The following days were spent documenting and exhibiting the work for an exhibition at the school.

Per trappo tempo

Per trappo tempo sono stata parte di qualcun’ altro. La mia identità e indipenza sono ora emerse. Cambiate. Diffuse. Dissolte. Cerco intensamente di capire che individuo sono realmente. Non sono un individuo. É l’individualità importante? Una richiesta di individualità e indipendenza mette pressione sona mia identità. Come posso comprendere chi sono realmente. Avro mai questa conoscenza. Cosa dovrei fare con tutto ciò. Come mi muovo per spiegare tutto ciò. Voglio lasciare un’ impronta. Voglio racchiuare un’ opionione. Ma sto soffocando, cercando di trovare me stessa. Improvvisamente sono sola. Non so come parlare la lingua dell’ indipendenza. Sentirsi persi è l’incomprensione. Sentirsi isolati è essere perduti. Adotto confusione da questa manconza di co nonscenza. Chi mi alutera a trovare cio che mi sforzo di cercare. Le parole sono la mia sola ria d’uscita. Le parole mi aiuterrano in questo ricerca. Le parole non hanno significato se non conosci la lingua. Il mio corpo ò la mia sola garanza. Lavaro con il mio corpo. É una tela par tali idée. Ti mostrera il messaggio. Cos’ altro c’ é di piu per una persona. Si piu leggere in questo. È lo strumento di ricerca per ma stessa. Il mio corpo mostrerà una soluzione. Ma solo temporaneamente. Come massa straniera seplicemente. Rappresento un aggetto vuote. In un mondo sconosciuto, sono una persona sconosciuto. Come parole scono sciuto mi oltre passamo posso solo fermarmi e guardare. Ci si pio fermare e guardarmi ma non possiamo dire una sola parole. Questo isolamente di parole forza. L’approvazione di se stressi. Mon ho influenza. Non ho storia. Non ho corpo che sia con me. Tutto cio è andato perduto. Visto che sono da sola sono constretta a ragionare con me stessa la mia mente. Il mio corpo. Un periodo di solitudine contribuirà sicuramente alla crescita di chi sono? Quasta è un’ esperienze. Le esperienza crescono le persone. Sto aggiungendo, alla mia vite e sto creando la mia storia. Devo sforzami per crear la. E sforzarmi per essere una persona. Si piò leggere tutto ciò. Questo sono io è diretto. È dal profondo. Parte della soluzione che sto cercando do fornire. Le parole sono i miei segni e impronte e faranno effetto nelle vostre menti. Tutto cio continuear. O continuerà. Questo potrebbe loastare?

Foreign Place

Italian Residency 2004:
Studying at the Libera Accademia Di Belle Arti, in Spring 2004, I produced a body of work in response to my period there. The introspective responses dealt with ideas concerning identity, communication and isolation. Confronted with a communication barrier, time was spent exploring the nature of words and language, and their lack of effect in a foreign location. Manipulating this idea, I set out to invade public space with foreign text, exploiting the ineffectiveness in communication. Developing this further, I turned to the spoken language, and confronted members of the public with personal questions concerning identity and society. Using typical phrasebook wording I questioned members of the public and documented their reaction. Exposing a feeling of confusion and isolation, this represented my struggle within a foreign place, and the futility of an unknown language. As part of my collaboration with an Italian fashion photographer, I directed the gaze towards the self. Relating to personal concerns, feelings of confusion and lack of identity, I used the body as the focal point. Presenting a foreign language scribbled on the surface of the skin became a visual metaphor for the tension I experienced. Presented with the photographs, are personal feelings and accounts of my experience. Further emphasising the sense of exclusion, the foreign text acts like a barrier, a wall of words.

Phone Rings

Installation with Sound 2005:
Phone Rings was part of the 2005-degree show at IPS Bournville, and was exhibited at the Midwest 2005 Graduate Showcase. Produced as part of my final year work, the installation explores fragmented narratives, and the power of assumption, blurring the boundaries between the real and the imaginary. In a faint pool of light a phone receiver is left of the hook, and the low hum of a dial tone plays out, broken by occasional interference. Simulating an inhabited space, using familiar props and sounds, the work invites viewers to articulate their spatial awareness, and explore the suspended narrative within the work. Investigating the intensity that sound brings to a visual dimension; the audio incorporated in the work explores the gap between what we see and what we hear. Working with constructed space, and manufactured noises; the installation piece, is a constructed space, presented as a real space. Placing the work within a wider context, it addresses issues concerning social security, psychological condition, global communication, and the perception and reception of information.

The Public House

Audio Intervention 2006:
During the After Hours programme I produced new audio work to intervene in the Custard Factory Courtyard, exhibited as part of the Dive Right In showcase. Fragmented dialogue and recorded conversations were gathered from the public house and bought into a new context, exploring the nature of casual conversation and the distribution of knowledge and ideas. During employment at a rural pub, I became increasingly intrigued by the nature of 'pub chat' and the views of individuals who convened there. This led me to begin a collection of conversation and dialogue, displaying a diverse mix of the punters point of view. Using text-to-speech software I subverted these findings and set about reconstructing a collection of statements to be considered. Stripped from authorship and emotion the random messages formed alternative implications, acted as a catalyst for discussion within the social sphere, and addressed the ways in which we formulate our knowledge and awareness. Hidden speakers were rigged outside the gallery, and randomly selected audio was broadcast into the public space for the duration of the show. A published CD was produced to accompany the work.