TATE EXCHANGE:
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TIME WELL SPENT:
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'TIME WELL SPENT' WAS A TWO-WEEK PROJECT AT THE TATE CURATED BY RICHARD MARTIN ASSESSING HOW WE SPEND AND VALUE OUR TIME.
IT INVESTIGATED HOW DIFFERENT WAYS OF SPENDING TIME MIGHT BE CONSIDERED PRODUCTIVE OR UNPRODUCTIVE, HOW DIFFERENT FORMS OF WORK MIGHT BE VALUED OR UNAPPRECIATED AND HOW DIFFERENT SOCIAL AND POLITICAL MODELS MIGHT CHANGE OUR EVERYDAY PRIORITIES, OR EVEN OUR NOTIONS OF TIME ITSELF. |
JUST A MINUTE!:
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‘JUST A MINUTE!’ WAS A PARTICIPATORY DRAWING-BASED WORKSHOP THAT I LEAD AT THE TATE EXCHANGE.
I DEVISED A SERIES OF PATTERN MAKING EXERCISES PERFORMED UNDER VARYING CONTROL, RESTRICTION AND INSTRUCTION AND INVITED PEOPLE TO SKETCH SCRIBBLE AND DOODLE THEIR WAY TO HAPPINESS. |
ABOUT:
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'JUST A MINUTE!" QUESTIONED HOW USEFUL DEADLINES AND CONSTRAINTS ARE FOR PRODUCTIVITY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF TIME SPENT ON PROCESS, PLAY AND EXPERIMENTATION IN RELATION TO A FINAL OUTPUT.
‘JUST A MINUTE!’ ALSO LOOKED AT THE VALUE AND IMPORTANCE WE PLACE ON OUR LEISURE TIME, SELF-SOOTHING, DISTRACTION, COMFORT AND REST AND THE IMPACT THIS CAN HAVE ON OUR PRODUCTIVITY BUT MORE PERHAPS IMPORTANTLY, ON OUR MENTAL HEALTH. |
BACKGROUND:
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FOR ME, PATTERN MAKING, IS ABOUT ESCAPING DAILY TECHNOLOGIES AND IMPROVING MENTAL WELL BEING. THE RHYTHM CREATED BY MARK MAKING TAKES ME TO A COMFORTABLE AND MINDFUL STATE.
THERE IS ALSO AN ELEMENT OF ROUTINE AND ORDER IN PATTERN MAKING: A GRIDDED STRUCTURE AND VARIOUS RULES ARE IN PLACE, YET I ALLOW AN ELEMENT OF CHANCE TO CREEP IN THROUGH THE FLIPPING, ROTATING AND TWISTING OF THE REPEAT. WHAT BEGAN AS A WAY TO SWITCH OFF AND ALLOW MYSELF ‘TIME WELL SPENT’ RELAXING, SELF-SOOTHING AND DISTRACTING ME FROM DAILY LIFE, SOON STARTED TO TRANSFER TO MY OWN ART PRACTICE. MY WORK FOCUSES ON MY EXPERIENCE OF MENTAL ILLNESS AND INVESTIGATES HOW OUR MINDS ARE STRUCTURED. THERE IS A DIRECT PARALLEL WITH CBT (COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY); I BREAK DOWN CHALLENGING THINGS IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THEM,RE-PURPOSING THEM INTO SOMETHING MORE BEAUTIFUL. THROUGH PATTERN MAKING, I SIMPLIFY DIFFICULT SUBJECT MATTER AND EMOTIONS IN A QUEST FOR A MORE POSITIVE OUTCOME. PATTERN MAKING HAS BECOME AN INTRINSIC LAYER OF MY MIXED MEDIA WORK. |