Art has left the Building
Re:Call Interview
1) When were you at Bournville School
of Art?
2001-2009. I did my Foundation Course
as well as my Degree, part time.
2) What course(s) did you study here?
Foundation
BA(Hons) Art and Design by Negotiated
Studies
3) Who were your tutors?
Nigel Prince
Joan Gibbons
Kevin Harley
Ruth Claxton
Kelly Large
Sean O’Keeffe
4) What area did you specialize in?
Mixed Media
5) What memories do you have of your first day at Bournville School of Art?
I was in the first class after Bournville
had gone through a multi-million dollar refurbishment so it was exciting. I was
just beginning my Foundation Course after not studying for 25 years, a bit
daunting.
6) What memories do you have of your
final show at Bournville School of Art?
It was a great year to graduate. We had
a large class with many exciting artists.
7) What piece did you do for your final
show at Bournville and could you describe it?
My final piece consisted of a large
shack, which I placed on the green in front of the building. In my studio space
I wall papered the walls with handmade screen printed wall paper. I used
photographs from the Cadbury archives on one side on the other was a video
called “Untitled”
8) Could you give just five words to describe your experience at Bournville School of Art?
Interesting, fun, challenging,
enlightening and disappointing!
9) Could you indicate what creative activity you have done since your time at Bournville?
I have continued to work as a freelance
professional artist. I have exhibited locally, regionally and nationally. I am
now in the process of getting into a Masters Program in London.
10) Could you describe your current
creative practice/ideas/work?
I did my first residency last May,
however on my return I had several exhibitions and could not find time to
really analyse the research I had done. I am now in the process of doing this
and beginning a new body of work. My practice is concerned with Post-Colonialism,
the home, self and identity.
11) Could you say a little about the
work you have chosen to include in the Re:Call exhibition?
Primitive Matters
“The notion of primitivism is
inseparable from the question of colonialism”
Primitive: Original Matters in
Architecture. Odgers Jo, Samuel Flora and Sharr Adam 2006
Primitive Matters interrogates the
vernacular architecture of the Caribbean. Known as “shacks, chattel houses or
huts” this work questions the reasons behind the continued occupancy of these
structures. Dating back to the 1800’s they originate from slavery with minute
differences.
My interest lies in the use of
architecture during colonisation as a symbol of cultural superiority.
Primitivization of the “Other” was one of the discriminatory strategies used by
the colonizer in order to support its claims of power. The process of
colonisation occurred through subjugation and control of indigenous peoples,
domination through power which left the dominated one as the inferior other:
primitive. This process was achieved through a projection of European values in
the form of religion, education, language and architecture. The Caribbean still
attests to this through the colonial architecture left behind. Architecture
that the colonisers used to impose their values on the indigenous people in an
attempt to dominate, control and create “doubles”.
Primitive Matters questions this
process, here each hut has its own plinth honouring the creativity,
resourcefulness and tenacity of the occupants who have and still continue to
live in these small homes. Made from found materials they encapsulate the
essence of the original shacks that are still indigenous to the Caribbean.
12) What are you working on at the moment?
I am working on the research from my
residency.
13) What are your creative plans for the future?
To continue working as a professional
freelance artist.
14) Is there anything else you would like to add?
No