An exploration of relationship with place.
During 2023-24 I completed an MA in Creative Practice Research in ATU Sligo. For this I worked on a series of artworks exploring the relationship between myself and where I live in North Roscommon. I used only materials I had gathered from within walking distance of my front door. The resulting work is the story of the seasons during which I made it and the cyclical rhythms of the more-than-human world around me. It is the story of disability, of my own rhythms in that time, the limitations and frustrations of dealing with an impaired body. It is the story of relationship, of the land sustaining me and me attempting to look after it, often by neglect. It is the story of love, of a deep gratitude for this earth we live on, this part we play in each other’s lives.
This work will be shown next month in Hyde Bridge Sligo. Details below.
The work I showed was the result of a long time researching materials I collected. I learned to eco-print - a process using pigments from leaves I collected to print onto fabric by boiling them for hours with lumps of metal. The leaves print onto the fabric in somewhat unpredictable ways.
Using plants to make photograms with cyanotype led me to discovering anthotypes. Anthotypes are a photographic method using only plant materials. To do this you make an emulsion from crushed plant material and a small amount of alcohol. You paint this onto paper and leave it to dry in a dark place. I made photograms with plant materials. The plant is laid on top of the paper with glass on top and exposed to the sun, for a long time - several hours to several weeks, to produce a print. Below are anthotypes made using chard and blackcurrant emulsions.
And I experimented with so many plants to make cordage.
All are welcome to the opening on the 5th April at 1pm.