LOCAL ISN'T A SWEAR WORD
Exploring how staying local for the things we need and enjoy can help us tackle environmental issues, condense our efforts and build on a sense of community.
As a community artist I started to grow a sense that we were crossing paths . I’d drop in to communities, do my work and leave and another artist would do the same where I lived. International artist held more esteem than national with local at the bottom of the heap.
During lockdown we were forced to focus closely on the local and I created several projects which explored this.
Now I’m wondering how the lessons learnt then might help me stay put and grow something where I live. Can we develop the sense that local has value and get rid of a sense that the good stuff is somewhere else?
Bird Life
Exploring the impact of throw away plastic on wildlife. The work is currently manifest as a series of sculptures made from plastic milk bottles and oil paintings showing birds who have fallen victim to thrown away plastics.
Project Garage
A project to turn the unloved items in a garage into usable and lovely items. Changing perspectives on waste and challenging our aesthetic preferences.
Mini Friends
What to do with all the little scraps of half drawn on half chewed up paper? Mini friends were born. Tiny illustrations of people and animals with a short story on the reverse.
What then? people have put them in envelopes to send to friends, they went with young people starting uni to give a little comfort, they have illustrated books and been considered for prisoners. They have hung out on countryside egg stalls and hidden in library books.
