TIDE AND SEEK

This spring and summer I have had the pleasure of collaborating with dance artist and filmmaker Stacie Lee Bennett-Worth again as we were commissioned by Turner Contemporary in Margate to create a new piece of work in response to the gallery’s first ever photography exhibition - Seaside: Photographed.

The concept behind the commission was to embrace the power of play inspired by children under the age of 5 in order to encourage us as adults to think, look and engage with the seaside environment in a different and more curious way.

Our process began in March 2019 with myself and Stacie delivering a series of 6 workshops at the Turner and Margate beach with local families in partnership with Thanet Early Years. The workshops that utilised a mix of movement and digital media activities, responded to various themes around the seaside that aimed to resonate with the young participants and their families the most. We explored wave patterns, textures of the beach, beach portraits, mapping and lots of fun contact work between the children and their adults. We were lucky enough to work with a regular group of families over the 6 weeks and it was a delight to see how all of the participants grew in confidence with the activities, spaces and when moving with each other.

The workshops were invaluable for myself and Stacie to figure out what kind of work we wanted to make, not only in response to the themes and imagery of the exhibition but also by being inspired by the first hand encounters we had of early years children exploring the seaside.

The key thing we took away from the workshops was the sheer joy and creativity children experience when they are given the freedom to charge around and consume a space physically and how this freedom can translate to adults when they are invited to take the lead from a child.

This idea inspired us to make two works for our commission that would sit alongside the photography exhibition. The first was a film installation that would capture moving portraits of some of the families we had met in the workshops and the second was a vinyl floor installation that would invite gallery visitors to move and play in the space in ways inspired by the physical actions we experienced when working with the children.

When deciding where our works would be placed within the galleries, the floor was a clear choice from very early on in the process. This was not only because it would be the clearest surface given that the exhibition photographs would be presented on the walls, but also because the floor is a natural draw for young children to sit, slide, roll, fall and lie on and is a place that as adults we generally don’t engage with a great deal. We hoped by placing the works on the floor that it would encourage all visitors, regardless of age, the opportunity to look and experience the exhibition from a different perspective.

Our film (High Tide | Low Tide) and vinyl installation (Tide and Seek) will be on display until the 8th September 2019 at Turner Contemporary when the Seaside: Photographed exhibition will be moving on to it’s next touring gallery.

You can find out more about the exhibition and Turner Contemporary here.

Women Making Waves

This March, I was lucky enough to be asked to be one of the presenters at the National Maritime Museum's Women Making Waves event. Women Making Waves was a day to come together to reflect on female artists and activists and their relationship to the sea. During the day the presenters and attendees discussed how the sea affects our creative work, along with how we manage our careers as explorers and artists.

For the event, I gave a presentation about my involvement in The Arctic Circle residency in June 2017 and tried to speak as honestly as I could about the effect the trip had on me personally, my creative practice as well how it has effected my career since I returned.

It was fascinating to hear from the wonderfully electric range of speakers including: Anne Baker from eXXpedition, artist Maria Amidu and photographers Suki Dhanda and Juno Calypso, learning about their diverse artistic and expeditionary work and discovering what connected us a women and people fascinated by the sea. 

The day organically became more and more focused on two major themes: the role and exposure of female artists/scientists and our human impact on the environment. Although at times discussions became quite intense and were focused around seemingly bleak topics, there was an incredible sense of camaraderie, inspiration and power throughout the day. At the end of the event, the chair for the day- Maria Amidu led us through a great task of creating a word jumble pledge card to capture what we were taking away from day. After everyone had shared their pledge, it was clear that there was a resounding sense of hope felt between us.

To follow up from this event, I will be leading a participatory movement workshop as a part of the National Maritime Museum's World Oceans Day festival on June the 9th 2018.   

Moving North

On the 9th of June 2017 I will be departing for Longyearbyen (Norway) where I will be starting an incredibly exciting residency opportunity to carry on my research, which I began during my residency at Royal Museums Greenwich.   

During the residency I will be living aboard a ship for two and a half weeks with fellow artists, scientists and educators to explore remote areas of the Arctic region and undertake collaborative research projects that are focused on the impacts of climate change. 

Whilst in the Arctic I will realise a choreographic research and development project- Moving North, which is focused on the relationship between the human body and dramatically evolving Arctic landscape, using digital technology (including photography and 360- degree filming) to capture the process. 

Longer term, I plan to use the bank of choreographic and digital work I generate during this project to inspire various creative outcomes that I will share back in the U.K. 

I have been lucky enough to have been supported by the following organisations to make this trip a reality: Arts Council England, the Lisa Ullmann Travelling Scholarship Fund, the Oppenheim-John Downes Memorial Trust, the National Maritime Museum and Arts Odyssey. 

Also, a huge thank you to everyone who donated to my Crowdfunding campaign, I am extremely grateful for your support. 

I will be launching a blog to capture my residency experience and will keep my website updated with project developments.