Takeover post from: Lucia Harley
Having the courage to step out there and make art, despite all the challenges, you need the support of others. Jamboree gave me the time, space and permission to be an artist. It consolidated friendships and connections with peers, which in turn gave me the confidence to apply and gain a Project Development Bursary from Somerset Art Works. (@somerset_art_works)
Monoprint, 2020 research study.
This led to conversations with my dad, a botanist who lives in Brazil, and the realisation that every plant is an individual, having sometimes minute or quite obvious differences that separate it from its neighbour.
Image detail from R Harley Collection, The Herbarium, Kew Gardens.
‘Unknown Ways’ 2019, Selwood Studio, Frome. As part of ‘The Norns’ exhibition: sharing my research outcomes so far. Megan and Gabby (Jamboree friends) visited before I opened. Great! The title ‘Unknown ways’ refer to ideas and ways of living and being that are yet unknown or lost in time. It started with questioning how I can quantify, catalogue, archive the bits in-between in life and how they fit into the ‘established’ world: past, present and future. Photo credit: Sue Palmer
After my exhibition, I gained private funding to visit the herbarium at Kew Gardens and travel to Brazil at the beginning of this year. Images: The house of Eduardo, Sao Paulo & On the plateau of Pico das Almas: Peak of Souls. Chapada Diamantina – Bahia.
Drawing using objects, oil pastel and coloured tape (detail). Based on the memory of my dad drifting in and out of view in the distance in search of plants. Made during Art Club, founded by Sue Palmer (@suepalmer_23). I joined this encouraged by my experience of Jamboree. It’s been online since Covid. A virtual space where I’m allowed to play, I love it.
’Up Down’, 2018. – A wheelbarrow and the construction and deconstruction of a tower. Presented with Preston Street Union (@prestonstreetunion) as part of ‘Galleries R Us’ for the launch of Exeter Culture (@exeterculture) at Royal Albert Memorial Museum (@rammuseum). I was commissioned to make this work by the collective PSU, of which Megan (#MeganCalver) and Gabby (@gabbyhoad) are associates.
Photo credit: Tom Kemp
@lucia.harley8