The Leeds School of
Art, Architecture Design

A starting point tends to be something, which is not quite nothing. Such as a material, a form, an object, awareness of my body in space or physical qualities of collected objects/materials including colour-energy suggesting an analogy or matching growing intentions and possibilities.

Dividing notes and diagrams into two sections, helps to retrieve and combine information. Ideas and observations at the front and notes taken from observations and fragmented thoughts initiated by live performances such as plays, music, exhibitions, radio, books, films and walks, at the back. Notebooks contain an eclectic set of information e.g. Radio 4 Neutrios, “Formless” book Yve-Alain Bois + Rosalind Krauss, Anxiety research radio 4, Jean- Marc Bustamante ‘ Dead Calm’  ‘On Measuring Uncertainity’ Castlefield Gallery, Mary Kelly exhibition,  A.H Koestler ‘Act of Creation’, Victor Burgin ‘Parallel Texts’, Robert Bleer ‘Slow  Moving Objects’ Baltic, Maurizo Anzeri,  Mario Merz,  United Enemies, ‘Sound’ Document series by Caleb Kelly & Steven Connor, Epigenetics,  ‘Ashington Pit Painters’ play, Venice Biennale, Roland Barthes , Epigentics, Shakuhachi flute music,  Etruscans,  Stan Brakhage films,  Grayson Perry at British Museum, ‘Being Wrong’ Adventures in the Margin of Error by Kathryn Schulz, Coco Fusco, Shelia Cluett sculpture….

Thinking about filling a space with qualities of ugliness by making a series of dumb, three- dimensional forms, influenced by Liadin Cooke’s ‘Ballroom (ornament)’ sculpture. Starting to draw squat forms, unable to speak, immovable, solid and heavy. Which maybe imprisoned hostages or witnesses.

Collecting short duration video clips and separate sound samples, recorded from observed incidents, urban and rural environments. Exploring drawing with a camcorder by passing the camera over a static environment, noticing how the moving frame continually shifts, prowls and sets up beats and disjunctions. I feel certain that I want rhythmic, abutted, staccato, closely inter cut clips, combined with non-diegetic recorded sounds. Even though I have yet to learn the techniques to fully realise these ideas. I fully expect experience with editing programmes to shift and alter these pre-imagined aims.

Research and making are two ways of thinking that continually intercept one another. They are rolling practices, often convoluted, snaking, twisting and coiling together. Neither linear nor continuous, they involve a process of doing and redoing. It is an awkward, fascinating, uncomfortable and irritating process and sometimes completely unsuccessful. Ideas surface slowly, glimpsed intermittently, as if seen at the bottom of a very murky pond. Fishing without a net.