Following on from last weeks open studios, I got chatting to two people who are involved in Kirkcudbright’s annual Arts Trail. Ever on the hunt for something a bit different, they offered up use of a beach hut for the weekend (bank holiday weekend 2nd to 5th of August, if you are interested). Link here

Beach hut first screamed a little unsuitable to me, but in my newly titled ‘blind optimism’ I thought I’d give it my fair shot…and the proposal for a small installation is looking a little like this currently…

Proposal

Haul is a new artwork and installation to be created especially for the Kirkcudbright Arts and Crafts trail. As a site specific work, it will consist of a collection of cast found and everyday objects suspended in the centre of the beach hut, and contained within a net. The piece intends to create both a big visual impact on approach to the hut, and to create a dynamic/slightly challenging space; as a relatively obstructive piece, viewers will be able to peer in or edge around the work inside. It is intended that the work should be lit from the bottom corners of the space (although this is to be developed further following further conversation with the Arts and Crafts team, and solar powered lights may be used.)

Concept

My practise is based around an exploration of material and consumer culture, as a main component of twenty-first century living. The objects we collect and treasure are linked to our individual and collective identities; within a society built around the mass produced and vast quantities of everyday disposables, my work highlights the ephemeral (or not so) nature of our possessions.  

With direct analogies to fishing and the detritus that washes up on our beaches, the work is on closer inspection a personal collection.

What initially appears as rubbish may in fact be treasure.