MA Exhibition Set Up!

I had a really great day setting up for my final MA exhibition at St Martins, Granary Square. The atmosphere was surprisingly calm and I was struck by what a great space it was. I've not spent much time in the CSM building itself as the particular MA course I was on was essentially remote. It felt like a real sense of occasion to be there!

It's been an amazing two years with so many challenges and opportunities and I will miss the course and my course mates massively!

The set up challenge for me was that I couldn't really plan out how I wanted my work to be displayed until I was in the space itself, chiefly because I would be drawing directly on the wall, but also because I had some many of these 'memory fragment' paintings so wanted to get a feel for their composition once I'd seen the wall space. This spontaneity was a bit daunting, but also felt quite fitting given what my work is about.

I began with simply sticking the fragments to the wall with blu tac, to get a feel for how they should be arranged, and in what collections. I'd had a rough trial of this at home, but didn't have the same space so it ended up looking quite different.

I then used some tiny tiny nails and a hammer to fix them to the wall.

It was great to start seeing the narrative of the work forming in an organic way. A very differetn process to hanging one painting on a wall hook!

I then began drawing all the lines that connect and meander about the space.

I'd needed to pull some wording together for the work, so it was helpful to form this once I'd set it all up:

Walking Memory

Watercolour, ink, brusho and pencils on watercolour paper, khadi paper, rice paper and lens tissue.

I take memories of physical and psychological visits and translate them onto paper in multiple ways, finding a visual narrative and outcome that is realised through a process that is experiential. Drawn lines reflecting physical walks, meander and connect a series of painted memory fragments, in the same way that roots permeate the earth, and neural pathways form and spread in the brain.  

Looking forward to the exhibition opening now - and also how I can take these ideas forward!