ARTISTS TALKING

I work directly with wildlife and environments that surround me; my work comes from a place, rather than being about a place.

I use all of my senses, constantly learning and developing new skills like animal tracking. I walk during the day, taking notes, sitting and observing for many hours, connecting with a place.

As a way of recording the interactions I have with the land and other animals, I make drawings on carbon-glass sheets. Rather than represent an animal from the artist's viewpoint, I set up situations where an animal can represent itself. I lay carbon-glass sheets out, often just after dusk, in places that animals might cross as part of their normal activity. I am up before dawn the next day to collect them.

The process draws upon primal instincts. The result is an opaque glass panel scored with transparent marks showing where creatures have crawled, skidded, slithered or hopped over the glass surface, scraping off carbon as they passed – I use carbon because it signifies the common element to all living things. The resulting images have a subtlety and variety of marks, a literal and metaphorical crossing of paths.

During 2002 I collaborated with Exeter City Council's Countryside Service, who received a grant from South West Art's Regional Arts Lottery Programme to cover a six-month residency. Over this period I made work in specific public sites in and around Exeter, recording the animals that I came into contact with. To accompany this an outreach programme enabled the public to attend events connected to the residency.

Martin Prothero

www.martinprothero.com

First published: a-n Magazine May 2003 as ‘Go wild in the country’