Full Interview : August 2008 A selection of the questions and answers taken from 'The
Artist Interview', Portobello,
Scotland.
How did this Exhibition come
about? "The Portobello
Art Commissioning Group, 'Big Things On The Beach' (BTOTB) through a selection
process have commissioned 3 Artists to produce Temporary Public Art Works, under
the Exhibition title 'The Power of Three'. This coincides with the
Edinburgh Festival and the unveiling of the works will take place on August 2nd
2008 on the Portobello Promenade 2-4pm".
Where did the idea of Grass and Flowers : 'LandStream' : come
from? "Once
I had decided to enter the competition for the
commission, my starting point was to revisit Portobello. The award winning
seafront has changed considerably over the years and I wanted to gauge how the
community now uses this 'space'. I photographed the physical
structure/landscape of the area and spent time 'promenade watching' to see the
real mix of the local community".
"The next step for me was to research the name, history and present day Portobello, this was
fascinating! Due to the energy of the location and the obvious passion of
this diverse community, I decided to make a Site Specific work, for the
area shouted out for a personal focus. Cross referencing this
with the requirements of BTOTB I began the process of selection. This
involved letting the 'mind' shoot off through the reseach results, bringing back
ideas, images, words and path ways to follow... writing and drawing
quickly in my sketch book... then letting this 'simmer'. I wanted to
'detach' my personal emotion, as much as is possible from the art
work and let the strengths of Portobello itself rise to the surface.
This process can change the initial direction of work and encourage the Artist
to produce work outside of their 'safe' environment... it is worth practising as
the results often surprise even the Artist!!
"After
several workings of this process and using 'one minute brain storming',
the result was... 'Gorse'. If I may explain briefly, the layering of
surface upon surface, the progressing and constant change, the coded
continuum of life and death in Portobello seemed, to me, to begin with
the scrub land that once covered the area. The Gorse shrub would have
shined brightly across the land and even now here and there is breaking
through the concrete cracks to reach for the sun. A celebration
of the Gorse flower, can be enjoyed by the whole community, from Art
enthusiasts viewing the journey of the work to the children playing on the grass
and smelling the flowers. Interaction helps breaks the barriers between
public and the 'precious' Art Works... I fully expect that the 'enthusiasm' of
the public may result in 'transformation' of the piece back to the land fairly
quickly... its part of life".
What materials did you use and
why? "The opportunity to
produce a Public Art Work with the emphasis on 'temporary' permits the use of a
wide variety of materials otherwise dismissed by the need for
'permanency'. My desire for public interaction with LandStream and the historical 'building and erasing of
layers' of the landscape at Portobello in most part dictated the
materials. The synthetic grass chosen can be layered across the promenade
without becoming a barrier to anyone and has a soft feel on your feet. For
the flowers, I chose to make wire frames, a skeleton, covered in plaster of
paris bandage, then waterproof paint; strong but fragile. As an example of
the making involved, there has been nearly six hundred meters of wire cut,
manipulated and tied; nearly fifty square metres of plaster bandage
measured, cut, watered, moulded and dried and six litres of paint used.
Each petal consists of three pieces of 12cm long wire, tied together both top
and bottom, then tied to the stem. I have made three petals per stem and
three heights of stem. I also used plaster board 'plinths' to emphasise
the separation and layering of the work".
Did you find it hard work to
make? "Wow! It has been complete dedication of time to produce the work, around
250 hours of work just for the flowers. Due to the tight time frame from
being awarded the commission to installation date I roped in any friends and
family available... a community spirit for a community art work.
It really has been great fun!".
What do you hope the people of Portobello will gather
from your work? "Personal interpretation is just that. It was important for
me to produce a work that can be enjoyed at many levels and focusing on the
BTOTB requirement to be 'fun' was a challenge in itself. I believe the
work stands alone and does not require a great historical knowledge of the area,
an understanding of contemporary art works or a love of horticulture... but can
be seen as a fun and accessible art work.".
Do you have
an Art background? "I have been producing art works, in many mediums, for a number of
years. I gained an Honours Degree in Sculpture through study at, Chelsea
School of Art : London : UK; Wimbledon School of Art : London : UK and Ohio
State University : Columbus Ohio : USA. I am a contemporary Artist, who
has trained in many traditional disciplines... I have had exhibitions
both in America and across the UK, including the award winning group show
'Work In Progress' at the Changing Room Gallery in Stirling,
Scotland".
What are you
doing next? "I have just started a new body of work, which I will take to
the 'Art Market' to gain further exhibitions. I intend to sign up with a
Gallery by the end of the year and hope to increase my international
portfolio. I am increasing my 'surface layering journey' experimentation
and will endeavour to push myself to 'make mistakes' and progress my work out of
the safe zone".
"I would like to add the
following; 'LandStream' is dedicated to the
three: Patricia, my mother who encouraged me to
embrace the ever changing journey; Stuart, making the now complete and to Thomas, the stars unite us".
To contact Angela with any further question, to discuss private
commissions or exhibitions: Email: landstream2008@yahoo.co.uk or Mobile number: 07790 737
295
The Portobello Public Art Commissioning Group 'Big Things On The
Beach' is a charity registered in Scotland. For further details, image
selection and exhibition film go to the website : www.bigthingsonthebeach.org.uk