Chateau de Sacy Residency, France

TALK-EXHIBITION-PERFORMANCE

09.08.09

So… it was my artist talk yesterday. This is not something that I have done for some time so I was a little anxious in the sense that I wanted to represent my work in the best possible way. Of course I have done talks before but over the past 2 years I am more au fait with talking to 16-18 yrs olds, (due to my teaching) than French locals. Another obstacle to overcome was the language barrier. One of the Wwoofers had very kindly offered to do the translation. I was a little concerned that this might look disjointed but on reflection it worked out pretty well. No hiccups to speak of. As Sacy is a very small place I was concerned that nobody would show up however I had a healthy audience of 10 including a local journalist who interviewed me at the end. My audience were also comfortable with questions which was great, a lot of quite difficult questions such as, ‘Does it make a difference that you are a woman and doing performance art’? I hadn’t really expected that one in this small arena. It certainly got me thinking about why I make the work I do and what I learn from the making process. There are times here when I have felt completely despondent about the work however I am grateful for having that time too. I leave this Thursday and I have no doubt that this feeling will creep in again before I leave. One thing (I think) that gets me through this is just to keep making the work even if it is unsuccessful one has to keep doing it.

Today I have been spending time in my exhibition space, which has also been my studio during the residency. As I have only 2 monitors to show the two films it has been tricky deciding where in the space to place them. Do I stack them one on top of the other, do they face each other or should they be positioned side by side. Another few days and I will have to come up with a solution.

Finally my tightrope walking has been coming along quite nicely. Since my time here I have become very interested by the idea of balance and wonder will I explore this concept further. Watch this space!!

YIKES- LESS THAN ONE WEEK LEFT!!!

Time has gone very slowly this week, yet at the same time it has crept up on me. I feel that because I leave on Thursday I should really be making very good use of my time. I am giving an artist talk tomorrow at 4pm in the studio. Yanaris, one of the American Wwoofers can speak pretty good French so she has very kindly agreed to do the translation. Most people who come will not speak English so I have decided to show a few films that I have made while at the Chateau. Over the next few days I need to start the install, although I feel that there wont actually be much in the exhibition. Two TV monitors in the big space, a 5 inch screen behind the clock face and then the performance for the private view. It’s important I think to be confident in the work itself rather than getting pre-occupied about impact. My work isn’t about impact, at least that’s what I have realised since doing this residency.

So… I have also been planning for the project ‘Invitations d’artistes’ which is taking place from 28^th September- 4^th October. Yesterday I visited the local seamstress, she is 86 years of age and an absolute delight to talk to. Unfortunately she will be away on the dates of the project, this is a real shame as it would have been wonderful to work with her. Instead I have decided to visit her again on Monday, my video camera in tow and will ask her specific questions that might lead to some interesting outcomes. I had planned to ask her to help me make a dress that I would perform in – instead maybe she has a pattern or maybe she can give me some tips on the best way to approach this. I do hope so! Visiting the local farm was also another highlight last night, I went to get some milk as this may be another professional I can work with. The dilemma is in the language barrier so instead I have to write a letter to the various people I would like to work with and then translate it. We will see if this is doable in a week. Thanks for reading!!

I have been at the Chateau now for 3 weeks so this is really crunch time for what will go into the show. I have decided on 3 films that I definitely want to show for the exhibition in September. I have come up with a different idea for my performance and decide that I will do something different out of my comfort zone. I got up at 6am this morning to have a trial run and to see if I really need an audience to do a performance or can I do it without an audience. I am not sure that I really know the answer to that question yet but I did get some interesting film footage and it has helped me to establish what I might do for ‘Invitations d’Artistes in October. My original proposal put forward the possibility of working with different professionals within the village, such as the baker, butcher, dentist, doctor etc to create a series of performances. However I have discovered that there is only one butcher in the village, she is called Noel and she is now on holiday over August. In fact most of the local shops close over the month of August. I now need to scale back this original idea and maybe work with the gardeners here in the chateau, a butcher (if I can locate her) and a seamstress who I have met on a few occasions and who speaks English.

Well…. back to my residency and the work I will make for September, I now need to figure out the placing of the different pieces. I had planned to show everything in the very austere sitting room, however this has very specific connotations which I am not sure would complement my work. Instead I will display in the old stables, which is now my studio space. This space is neutral and think it could carry my work well. Through this working process I am very aware that the work I make can at times not take very long to execute and at other times isn’t a visual spectacle. Two small monitors showing films and a film shown beneath a clock face- I hope that they can stand alone. Similarly, I don’t slave away for hours in my studio, the film editing process has been rather brief due to the documentary style films I have so far produced. I have worked on a few drawings but only as process based thinking which are likely not to be shown in the final exhibition. This is where I spend the time thinking about what it is I want to make yet the making process itself is rather brief. It may take some time for me to come to terms with this.