Contents of
Application Pack for ‘Wirksworth Festival - Lodge Project’:
1. Cover Letter
2. Proposal
3. Artists Statement
4. CV
5. 10 artworks
The Maltings (Formerly
The Parish Room),
Church Walk,
Wirksworth,
Derbyshire,
DE4 4DP.
Dear Carol Taylor,
I have been once to Wirksworth in the Derbyshire Dales
briefly before, but I haven’t explored the area thoroughly, so I am curious to
explore it some more. As a soon-to-be graduate artist from Staffordshire
University, I would like to have a residency to start after I graduate, and
when reading about the opportunity to explore a new area, my first thought was
to physically walk the area, which is my favourite part about my methods in the
research of my projects. To create an exhibition from this would be amazing.
What will be included in this application pack is a proposal for the project,
my CV, my artist’s statement, ten pages of images of my chosen artworks and my
website.
When it comes to exploring new locations, I always start
with the method of walking the trails, while taking photographs with my camera
to view later when I’m working in a studio. I may also work outdoors in the
area producing art with materials I find there, leading to site-specific
artworks. I communicate with the public of who has more experience in this area
than I, to find out more information. Also, I learn and use the history of a
location in my works sometimes. I then use the photographs I’ve taken and any
other public info to influence my research and possible outcomes of my artworks
for an exhibition. Because I’m currently working with memory in my practice, it
would be interesting for me to think back to that one time before and what
sights I might recall when I see it.
As a fine artist studying at Staffordshire, I have the
skills of producing artworks in many mediums like drawing, painting, ceramics,
photography (editing through photoshop), printmaking, installation, canvas
making, found and natural objects. So, my use of mediums is flexible and a
widened range. I also have organisation, researching, exhibition planning,
communication, problem-solving and IT computer skills as an artist.
I look forward to meeting the community of the festival upon
my suitability for the opportunity. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Best regards, Rebecca Shaker.
This residency will allow me to explore a new area which is what I love
doing as a starting point in my studio practice. I walk the area while taking
pictures, doing quick sketches and finding out information about the history of
the area. Depending on what I find, I’m considering producing site-specific
works that could be made as well as the artworks I create in studio work. There
will be a rich variety of ideas leading to artworks that will be made from this
starting point.
I am visualising in creating an art exhibition from an outsider’s point
of view who thoroughly explored Wirksworth, as a public event. If I still have
time to organise it, replicates of these artworks could be sold in a sale,
unless someone makes me an offer for the original artworks, after the
exhibition ends. The artworks outcomes will depend on my exploration of
Wirksworth. Because I’m not sure of what I will find I like the idea of working
with improvisation and chance as well. I hope these artworks will encourage the
audience to explore new areas around them.
As a fine artist, I can produce a wide variety of mediums in art, such as
paintings, drawings, (edited) photographs, sculptures of natural materials
(depends on what I find) or installations, etc. If there are any other artists
in this project, and depending on their practise and ideas, I would be happy to
collaborate with them.
I will take part in as many of activities as possible to gain as much
research for my produced works. For example, walking the trails while taking
photographs myself; using the land materials for artworks if I get permission;
communicating with the public and taking part in available public activities I
find in the community. For example, the Art & Architecture Trail weekend.
I’ll also be learning the history of the area and looking for artefacts while
walking the trails, such as limestone quarrying. This, in turn, relates to my
exploration of how time changes landscapes and memories in my studio practice.
I will be working in a studio space when producing artworks or out in the
countryside.
The residency will take place from July to September 2019. The festival
will take place from 6th to 22nd September 2019, so the
exhibition will be during that time. I might come to Wirksworth sooner than
July only in visitation for a day or 2, because I prefer to have all the time I
can get, to produce artworks, make and change my decisions in planning, in being
prepared.
At this stage and judging on my studio practice, I think paintings and
drawings will be my outcome for the exhibition but as a fine artist who is a
stranger to this area, the investigation and research will lead to a more
conclusive idea about what will be produced. The work itself may contribute to
preserving the industrial history of Wirksworth.
I will most likely need an indoor gallery space and plenty of wall space
for my 2D artworks. I still have yet to see the venues, but I think it will be
in the Maltings and St Mary’s Church venues. The £3000 fee I will receive
should be enough for funding. With this, I will pay for: paints, paper, MDF
boards and any art materials I will need. If there are any other artists
applying, I would be happy to work with them working towards a duo exhibition. I
usually bring my own equipment in producing artworks. If you have any computing
or printing equipment, that would be very helpful. I will need white and
cartilage paper, canvas, acrylic/oil paint, which I will buy from the nearest
art shop or online. If I were to fundraise, I would do cake sales and ask the
volunteers of the Wirksworth festival to help at their events.
If I work with panels and canvas’s, there may be risks in using drills
and nails putting the artworks up, in the gallery space. Apart from that, there
are no risks. If I use photographs of the public, I will use permission slips. Until
I see the venues of the festival, I will not be able to predict where I will be
displaying them. Most likely in the Maltings or the town hall.
Artist’s
Statement (2018)
My practice currently explores how time changes memory,
using my own personal memories as a starting point and example. I’m also
exploring the space between memory and photography because photography records
a high level of detail while memory is economical, but you might remember
enough to recognise something. The outcomes of the work are often paintings on
paper or canvas, or drawings that come from photography. The other mediums I
also use are: video, edited photography, found objects, cheap objects, mixed
media, installation.
I always start with photography as my research source, taken
during my walks or travels. I change these photographs to other mediums to
develop towards final outcomes, because that is how I make the events/memories
of these photographs more ‘human’ and no longer ‘digital’. This is because
today, a photograph takes only a few seconds to take, that lasts forever,
whereas mediums like paintings or drawings take longer to complete, therefore
I’m spending more time in remembering the moment/event of when this photo was
taken. It also is an interpretation of how memories shown in these photographs
change through time. The change from photograph to another medium gives me the opportunity
to manipulate the outcome of them. Also, by travelling and taking photographs,
I’m exploring 2 different perspectives; through a camera’s lens and the 360
degrees understanding of lived experience.
I have a desire to record and document my travels. I use
those photographs as a recall of memories. I come back to these memories to
express connections and narratives like a visual diary.
CV
Rebecca Georgette Shaker
Education/Qualifications
2016 - present, Staffordshire University, BA (Hons) Fine Art, Stoke-on-Trent
2015-2016, Sheffield College, Foundation diploma, Art and
Design – Merit, Sheffield
2014-2016, Bilborough College, A-Levels – Art and Design -
D, Dance - C, Drama and Theatre Studies – D, Extended Project – D, AS level –
Media Studies – D, Nottingham
Exhibitions
‘Equivocal’ - End
of Level 5 Exhibition Degree Show – As part of a group exhibition, I produced
an installation of a fabricated and temporal studio space which shows the
experiments and artworks of a project of me exploring and documenting the
changes of Hanley Park through time. You see the behind-the-scenes of this
project – May 2018, Stoke-on-Trent, Hanley City Centre, Airspace Gallery
‘Phoenix’ – In
a residency placement in Hanley Park, I produced a solo exhibition of my
artworks in documenting the changes the park was going through in its
restoration combined with my own studio practice – March 2018,
Stoke-on-Trent, Hanley Park
‘End of Level 4 Exhibition Degree Show’ - I did a collage of what I pictured Greece to be
since I’ve never been there before, using found google images. It was frozen in
the process of being 100% complete – June 2017, Stoke on Trent,
Staffordshire University Campus
‘Samara’ - A
group of 4 artists doing their individualism in the themes of the stages:
Birth, Life, Death and Reincarnation. Mine was life in a collection of found
objects describing a fictional person’s life - March 2017, Stoke-on-Trent,
Staffordshire University Campus, Cadman Building
Sheffield College, ‘End of Foundation Year’ - At the end of the foundation year at college we selected
our theme; mine had been Greek mythology and found objects and symbolism of
these myths. The exhibition was carried out in a public space with audience
participation - June 2016, Gage Gallery, Kelham Island, Sheffield
Skills
As a fine artist at uni, I’ve had experience in
painting, drawing, Photoshop, ceramics, wood work, plastic work, canvas making,
photography, surface pattern and film. I have research, organisation, problem
solving, and teamwork skills in creating an exhibition. I am always currently
developing my own artistic practice. Currently, I am focusing on my personal
memories of travels in photography and how time changes them.
Voluntary work
August 2014 – National Citizen Service, Nottingham -
assisting at Nursing Home
2nd November 2017 – 4th
November 2017 – British Ceramics Biennial, China Hall – exhibition assistant
June 2017 – Sheffield Care Fertility, admins office
- organising folders and helping where I can
25-29th June 2013 - Bulwell Crabtree Primary
School - Teaching assistant work experience
Employment
Leaflet distributor – Nottingham Building Society,
October 2011
References on request
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