My post of 8th March 2019 sets out my Practice Statement at that time. I am keeping my ideas under review as I do more research and undertake further practical exploration. I think that at this point it is relevant for me to consider the direction of my ideas and refresh my thoughts.
I have refined the wording of my Practice Statement so that it currently reads:
"I am interested in how human activity relates to and interacts with the natural landscape. Industry, housing and leisure impose themselves onto the landscape but nature will find ways of fighting back and surviving. Things left behind get taken over, plants and trees blend in to soften edges and balance an otherwise hard landscape. It is this concept and process which informs my practice."
I think that my work so far reflects many of these elements and thought processes. Examples illustrated in previous posts and displayed in my studio include works around the following topics which employ various methods and materials:
- Cement works South Ferriby/ locks/river
- Abandoned jetty
- Site of diverted river with drainage pipe and overhead factory chute
- Old boats and jetties
- Old ropes and driftwood
- Factory amid natural setting (trees/buds/ blossom/daffodils)
- Natural objects (hips/haws)
- Wildlife (heron/ducks)
- Things left behind (old post, bollards, snapped moorings)
Some further examples are illustrated below:
Human Activity over time and Climate Change
However, as I read more and make further visits to the site I am thinking of wider and bigger issues. My post of 26th March contains the following extract:
"I am continuing to develop my theme on the relationship between human activity and the natural landscape. When nature is under threat from industrialisation, re-development and natural disasters, such as those caused by climate change, it is important to consider how plants still manage to survive, thrive, and make a difference to an otherwise bleak and harsh landscape. They spring from nowhere, find cracks and crevices, grow up and around abandoned industrial machinery and things left behind. As changes take place, they provide a constant reminder of nature's resilience."
In the above paragraph I refer to the relationship between human activity and the natural landscape and the threat from climate change. I think about how plants generally can often survive harsh conditions, but what if the landscape cannot survive the overall effects of global warming?
As I have walked along the river bank and outlet to the Humber Estuary I have seen evidence of previous floods. This was especially apparent during walks around the marina. Boats lie abandoned in the yard, some under tarpaulin, and due to water damage will never sail again.
I thought about the devastation floods (and droughts) cause.
The first sentence of my Practice Statement states:
"I am interested in how human activity relates to and interacts with the natural landscape."
I think therefore that it is a natural consequence that I should make it clear that my practice includes the consideration of the effect of human activity over time and the threat of natural disasters from climate change.
I will review my Practice Statement and the scope of my practical work in that light.
Marina with boats damaged through flooding.
No comments:
Post a Comment