From here you can almost see the sea: A response to living in Plymouth

All work is finally finished for the exhibition at Bank Street Arts Gallery in Sheffield!

The exhibition runs from 31st July to 1st September 2012 
and is open Tues-Sat 11am-5pm

The work consists of text based drawings and hand-made books focussing on response, repetition and redaction.

List of work.
'Abbey Place to Zion Street'
'Ten Views'
'All Other Routes'
'Road Closed'
'Diverted Traffic'
'49 Minutes'
'Redaction/Response'

From here you can almost see the sea: A response to living in Plymouth

'Redaction/Response' 2012

'Redaction/Response' are two books of thirty poems which have been redacted from articles in Plymouth Herald newspapers. 

'Redaction shows the original newspaper articles with their redacted text, while 'Response' shows a typed version and the remaining unreacted text which makes up the poems.

With hindsight, I realised that the point of redaction is about the words that have been blanked out, not the ones left to be read. So the title of the work should probably be 'Extraction/Response'. 

However, the theme of a response to living in Plymouth and the process of extracting text, works very well and the large format of the book give them presence. All is not lost!

Cover:'Redaction' 2012

'Redaction' 2012

29 x 35.5cm

Cartridge paper, newsprint paper, ink, bulldog clips.

'Response' 2012

29 x 35.5cm

Cartridge paper, newsprint paper, ink, bulldog clips. 

Poem 23:

Overlooking the 

harbour, I asked

What 

is

special

he said

You

never dream of

the sea

When we first came here

we were in the eye of

the storm

and

we

created conflicts

But he

already

is

looking for a

New

city

From here you can almost see the sea: A response to living in Plymouth

'Forty Nine Minutes' 2012

A list of objects seen on a walk from home to the sea. Printed on tracing paper, the translucent pages suggest a gradual revealing of a view of the sea.

Another part of the response to living in Plymouth. This is a suggestion the the sea (a metaphor for happiness), can almost be seen, which it to say, that actually, it can't be seen, (and that happiness can't be experienced here).

I used a dictaphone to record a continuous stream of verbal commentary on the objects I could see on my walk - a journey of 49 minutes from my house to the waterfront.

'Forty Nine Minutes' 2012

A5

Tracing paper and ink

Inside:'Forty Nine Minutes' 2012

A5

Tracing paper and ink

 Inside:'Forty Nine Minutes' 2012

A5

Tracing paper and ink

Exhibition Details

'From here you can almost see the sea: A response to living in Plymouth'

Bank Street Arts, Sheffield
31st July - 1st September 2012

A range of text based work including 2D pieces and hand-made books, using processes involving repetition, description and redaction.

From Here You Can Almost See The Sea: A Response to Living in Plymouth

'Ten Views' 2012

The text is one of ten written descriptions, part prose, part list, of the views from the windows and doors of my house.

The mount was made by mixing a flour and water paste with watercolour paint and painting this onto the surface of blotting paper. The point of a paint brush was then dragged across the surface to create the lines.

I had initially taken several photos of the views from the doors and windows in my house, with the intention of turning them into paintings. However, the first two paintings turned out to be quite sweet depictions of a pleasant housing estate. This was a total contrast to the slight 'edge' that the photos presented. This caused an interesting dilemma, but one that I overcame by referring back to my love of text, thus writing a description of what I could see. 

'Ten Views' 2012

A4

Blotting paper, paste, watercolour paint, ink, copier paper.

'Abbey Place to Zion Street' 2012

The completed handmade book. 

The cover has a line drawing of a street map of Plymouth, using carbon paper and recyled cartridge paper and ink. It is bound with buckram cloth and an Acco fastener.

'Abbey Road to Zion Street' 2012

297 x 120 x 13mm

Paper, carbon paper, ink

Letter to Home February 2012

The Art House Co-op 5th April 2012 
Brooklyn Archives, 355 Bedford Avenue NY 11211
http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/letterstohome

I was introduced by a friend to writing exercises, where the artist takes a set period of time (e.g., 5 mins) to write down all the thoughts that come into their mind. It is to be achieved without too much conscious thought; not trying to create an accurate story or list of connected words, but something more abstract. Having felt a little self conscious, particularly about reading aloud my writing (and discovering Freudian connotations), I found the exercise to be very rewarding and felt that it was an area of creative writing that I could explore further.

I set about the same task with the theme of my home (the one I grew up in) and conjured up a wonderful list of old objects, scents and feelings from my childhood. 

'Letter to Home' 2012

5"x 7"

Ink on paper 

For clarity, here is the actual text:

Home,


A neat level driveway; two triangles of grass; Japanese Maple tree;
diagonal path; roses; car port; old kitchen units; stiff sliding doors;apples; onion sets; newspapers tied with string; wellie boots;
cobwebs; spiders, shiny, green bike; soft swoosh and click; thick,
smooth, silver key; run my finger in the groove; two small paintings; harsh cold; icy metal; double click to close; blackbirds; papery skin;kneading dough; peeling and slicing; old, wobbly, round, wooden chopping board; sweet fruits; alcohol; citrus; hops; yeast; hand cream; Chanel No5; orange plastic jug; handmade pots; rays of sunlight; dust particles; vinyl records; Dickens; Yeats; war; tall cactus; dents in the doorframes; swoosh and bump; Pear's soap; beige mac; walking stick; London Zoo; shaky hands; Subbuteo; coins; tokens; cards; tins; marbles; badges; wood; Swallows and Amazons; photos; cars; planes; absence; powder blue; cold; wooden slats; gaps and groans; creaks; falling; long wide views; coast; hills; estuary; stiff door; paintings and drawings; posters; white furniture; loud click; gold handles; white walls; school blouses; oil fired radiator; plastic lampshade; oval mirror; fitted wardrobe; old typewriter; architects floor plans; holiday slides; war medals; scent of wood; moth balls; age; people; white counterpane; old chest; soft; worn; patterns; flowers; stripes; silk; fur; memory; musty; whale's tooth; coins; pottery dish; handkerchief; maps; guidebooks; wind; cool breeze; deckchairs; demi johns; records; books; dolls house; toy cars; toy garage; family photos; hay
box; cool box; picnic basket; tent; poles; pegs; airbeds; French clock; framed prints.
Quiet. Tock. Scent of newspaper.
Gentle click. Silent key.
End.


Never forgotten.

From Here You Can Almost See The Sea: A Response to Living in Plymouth

'Abbey Place to Zion Street' 2012

The completed inside of my latest handmade book.

This is a list of all the street names in Plymouth and part of a project about my response to living in Plymouth.
Now to make the cover.....