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studio1.1 residency

For the whole of 2008 I was artist in residence at studio1.1, Redchurch Street, London.

Taking part in a residency, with its limited time in which to make work, challenged my usual working practices. Given only a year to make a body of work, and excited by the difference to my usually slow working practice, I completed four projects:

1. The Artists Talk
2. Self Portraits
3. Scotch Corner
4. Elephant

My residency began with an artists talk. As an artist who does not make material objects, I have often been thwarted in my attempts to make a 'traditional' artists talk - images of pieces alongside a narrative of philosophy, influences and progression which the slides illustrate. The Artists Talk allowed me not only to redress this imbalance but also to explore the meanings behind a talk about my work of art. I choose never to describe the activities that take place during the works of art that I create and therefore did not describe my projects in this way - instead, through The Artists Talk explored what it means to say the simple and overused phrase 'my work is about...'.

The second piece, in March 2008, Self Portraits, consisted of 3 dialogues with three people entirely unknown to me chosen from a list of volunteers by the gallery. Three people were selected by studio1.1 to come individually to the gallery on a day when the gallery is closed to the public. Each spent as long as they chose in one-on-one dialogue with me talking only about themselves. My role was to question, enquire, ponder and encourage the participants to reveal as much as they want to in a confidential and private context, with the content of the dialogue never divulged in any way. Not even the names of the participants were recorded. With an unlimited supply of refreshments and the potential for overnight accommodation in the gallery space, each dialogue continued until the participant chose to stop. Self Portraits was a continued departure from my usual methodologies of working with people within my personal and professional networks.

Scotch Corner, the third piece in the residency, was a one-day Scottish accent training course for non-native English speakers.  Originally from Glasgow in Scotland, I have devised this piece to mark my tenth anniversary in London. One thing many Londoners have in common is their immigration to the city and each betrays the trace of their origins each time they open their mouth – for me, the most noticeable but invisible proof of my ‘foreignness’ in London has always been my accent.  With the huge international population of London everyone has to occasionally alter the way they talk to be understood, and mimicking the accents of friends is an entertaining pastime.  In the face of the low success rate of a good Scottish accent, the course will enable English-speakers from countries where English is not spoken natively the chance to assimilate into London life by way of my own peculiar difference, and explore the city as a different kind of outsider than before.

The final piece of the residency, Elephant, explicitly explores the gallery context for looking at art objects. Generally thought of as a venue for looking at, experiencing and talking about art, I've long been interested in galleries instead as social spaces where artists, curators, writers, and people with an interest in the visual arts for intellectual stimulation or enjoyment meet. During many gallery openings, guests prefer to talk to one another instead of looking at the exhibition, with gallery-going shifting toward mass entertainment, an enjoyable pastime instead of an exclusive activity for specialised sections of society.

This work responds to an invitation from the directors of studio1.1 to engage with audiences and objects. For one day the gallery will be installed with only one work of art and members of the public are encouraged to book a half-hour dialogue slot with me. The object may become the Elephant in the room or a stimulating subject for discussion; the last conversation of the day, with the artist who made the piece, could either be an embarrassing recitation of the negative opinions of other, a correction of the artists opinions about their work or an incoherent ramble about an unrelated topic. In any event, none of the dialogues will be recorded throughout the day.