Introduction to the Induction
I feel like a student again going to university for the first time. The Fine Art Department at The University of Salford is a neat and compact building made up of studios, workshops and project spaces. After our quick tour around the building I got to have a lunch with another AA2A’er John Powell Jones who is an illustrator & designer (http://www.savwo.co.uk/home/). It’s always nice to see who else is involved in the residency and get to know new artists. From this introduction the residency feels very open and flexible which suits the way I work. My mind is going already thinking of ways to engage the students with my work and adapting my ideas to the space. I thought I would need a studio space, however the project spaces feel a better fit. I tend to only use the studio to accumulate materials and make props for a performance, which happens just before the live piece. Most of my research is done online and outside of the studio. I plan to work towards a project one day a week that will be shown at the university. At the moment I am fixated with this image I happened to come across titled ‘An oriental (Turkish/Algerian) woman’ by the artist Jose Camarón. I like the title of the piece and the contrasting figures of the lady in the fore ground demanding my gaze and the servant waiting in the background. I wonder if the title of the piece came from the artist or has been named by someone else as I don’t believe the forward slash was invented back in those days…
Residency Plan
Access to the AA2A scheme at Salford will give me the time, space and funds to make new work. In my arts education I have studied Fine Art, however I want to attend the university of Salford as it specialises in performance research which I feel will benefit my practice. I hope to meet new artists working with performance, share my own practice with students and make new work.
I work in retail and as an arts educator at the Chinese Arts Centre in Manchester. These roles come through in my performances using the artist as ‘leader’ and ‘showing the way’ sometimes with profound or humorous affect. My performances happen on the streets and I feel intervention is the best way to engage new audiences with art. I intend to incorporate this way of working with a roaming artist talk or art crit with the students at Salford university.
I am co-founder of the new micro art gallery PAPER based in Mirabel studios in Manchester. This has involved working with early career artists to develop their work to a professional standard. I want to share my experience of setting up the gallery and having studio space in the form of a visit for students. To support my practice I am developing a series of printed multiples such as limited edition photographic prints and personalised postcards to sell through the gallery. I would like to explore this further and experiment with large format printing.
Staying up to date with changes in technology is really important for my work, however I am struggling to maintain access to the equipment I need. Through the scheme I intend to work through the full process of editing, DVD production, and distribution. Recently I have been distributing my videos on-line, however I feel a DVD visually offers a higher quality and can create a legacy for the work. I hope from the scheme to be more confident in my work-flow and set myself up with the right equipment I need for the future.
