CURIOUS NARRATIVES, Artist in Residence, 6-10 May 2014
Working in situ: 10.00 - 5.00 pm daily
Art/literature installation: 6-17 May 2014
Swindon Literary Festival.
Swindon Central Library, Regent Circus, Swindon, SN1 1QG
01793 463238
Do you know what you are going to be doing at the library? was a question recently asked. No, I replied, but I do know that today I have about six proposals to write for other projects/events, but most importantly I need to go to the library to pick up a reference book. The question started me imagining where I will be invited to place my tiny artist in residence self in the library environs, as part of the Swindon Literary Festival. I love book arts, and visited Swindon Central Library when I first started researching the Sibyls, before my awarded travel bursary journey to Italy. I was intrigued to find ancient books which gave a mention of these mythological women being the story holders, the keepers of the books, foretellers. Looking through the art books in the reference section, lucky for me, there were some huge tomes with big pictures. Not a natural researcher, more a discoverer, I find myself discovering Sara at the upstairs reference information desk. In hushed whispers I enthusiastically share that I had been given the gift of a trip to Northern Italy, and my idea was to visit the Island of Silence and also see if I could find paintings/stories relating to the Sibyls, secular women storytellers, who were depicted by Michangelo in the Sistine Chapel, Rome.
What a star, Sara the librarian continue to kindly research and found further information, links, books and papers to support my unearthing process. I had forgotten how great a resource a library could be, with such interested and supportive staff. E-mails were exchanged with notes of books, insight shared and the kindly ordering books from the British Library felt really special, whilst I wrote back and sent a photograph of my desk, which is always of a image of my thinking in 3-D. The whole exchange made me realise the lonely human experience of sitting on a computer with no one but Google or Wikipedia to assist with unearthing stories, associations, facts, fiction or ignite the imagination.
In the SILENCE and warmth of the library cathedral like space, I had really enjoyed photocopying the pages of the book, and whilst illuminated by the glowing mechanical light, meet also an Art History Lecturer from a local college, falling into an enthusiastic conversation,then getting a nicely delivered telling off for being too LOUD.
Later, I was to go back to the Swindon Central Library to meet Leon, Outreach Officer, and it is agreed I will located in the Travel Section. I tell him I have already started to flag up to contacts to drop in and have started to blog. I promise to install a story installation as part of the Swindon Literary Festival and feel excited about ideas around journeys, creatively responding to the library and the offer of using out of date books as part of the project. "A gift", said Leon. I wonder what visitors to the library are going to make of books being altered. When once more back home at my desk, I am inspired to immediately transform pages from found old books, Master's paintings, and why not, only copyright to worry about.
Working in situ: 10.00 - 5.00 pm daily
Art/literature installation: 6-17 May 2014
Swindon Literary Festival.
Swindon Central Library, Regent Circus, Swindon, SN1 1QG
01793 463238
Do you know what you are going to be doing at the library? was a question recently asked. No, I replied, but I do know that today I have about six proposals to write for other projects/events, but most importantly I need to go to the library to pick up a reference book. The question started me imagining where I will be invited to place my tiny artist in residence self in the library environs, as part of the Swindon Literary Festival. I love book arts, and visited Swindon Central Library when I first started researching the Sibyls, before my awarded travel bursary journey to Italy. I was intrigued to find ancient books which gave a mention of these mythological women being the story holders, the keepers of the books, foretellers. Looking through the art books in the reference section, lucky for me, there were some huge tomes with big pictures. Not a natural researcher, more a discoverer, I find myself discovering Sara at the upstairs reference information desk. In hushed whispers I enthusiastically share that I had been given the gift of a trip to Northern Italy, and my idea was to visit the Island of Silence and also see if I could find paintings/stories relating to the Sibyls, secular women storytellers, who were depicted by Michangelo in the Sistine Chapel, Rome.
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| A book of oracles is found... |
In the SILENCE and warmth of the library cathedral like space, I had really enjoyed photocopying the pages of the book, and whilst illuminated by the glowing mechanical light, meet also an Art History Lecturer from a local college, falling into an enthusiastic conversation,then getting a nicely delivered telling off for being too LOUD.
Later, I was to go back to the Swindon Central Library to meet Leon, Outreach Officer, and it is agreed I will located in the Travel Section. I tell him I have already started to flag up to contacts to drop in and have started to blog. I promise to install a story installation as part of the Swindon Literary Festival and feel excited about ideas around journeys, creatively responding to the library and the offer of using out of date books as part of the project. "A gift", said Leon. I wonder what visitors to the library are going to make of books being altered. When once more back home at my desk, I am inspired to immediately transform pages from found old books, Master's paintings, and why not, only copyright to worry about.
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