Due to Covid-19 I was not able to be in the shows which I had planned, in this I, along with many others had to rely on virtual exhibitions and social media ‘take overs’ which meant taking over and posting your own work and research online
The first ‘take over’ I was part of was with Window Gallery, I was scheduled to have a show there at the time but due to Covid-19 that didn’t become possible, and instead decided that it would be best to introduce people to my practice before I show, giving a small insight to what I usually make. The team at Window was very helpful and professional with the whole process and making sure that I was okay with the situation at hand.
The second ‘take over’ I did was on the Whitecliffe Demo_akl page, which consisted on taking over the account for a week, I decided that I would focus on the main parts of my practice which I found helpful and useful with making. I began with an introduction to my practice and what it encompassed, then talked about photography as an aid to making and finding spaces. Drawing was third as this is a process I do before getting into a studio, it helps me map ideas out but also experience the space in a different way as it engages me toward light and flattening what I see, being in the environment you view it in the 3 dimensional, theres objects all around you but with drawing I can focus on in one spot which I find intriguing. The fourth was paintings being made, testing on materials. and then was the digital as this is how I typically set out a plan of where objects and paintings are going to go within the provided space, I had also started experimenting with creating sections of river in the virtual to make a connection between the artificial and natural but also using an achitecture programme to comment on housing. finally was the objects and markers used within a conservation context, looking at track markers and tracking tunnels. Ending with a summary and importance of a ‘studio’ and what that studio means to myself and my practice.
I found these takeovers to be a refreshment within the making process, they didn’t take up much time but allowed to think and be with the work in a very different way, it was an alternative to the lack of contact with physical art but also created a space of engagement to people that may have been longing to see something. The weird part of posting online is that you’re forced almost to see works, you get to choose who you follow but you are confronted by everyones projects or photos at once, and I thought there was something in that which may not be helpful but could have invited another idea of thought.
Llenyd Price 