Residency::
So I've been given a great opportunity to use an empty office space in the City for two weeks; there are other artists using it too, and have been for a few months so its not completely empty, but I have secured a small area in which to experiment with some ideas I've not been able to work on without a studio or other space. Hopefully I will have made a few new works by the end of the two weeks.
Experiements::
The first few days I've been playing with projections and videoing (things I haven't done much before). It's amazing how quickly ideas develop and leap forward when you actually start to make.
Research::
I've also been researching; delving into the history of 55 Gracechurch Street. I found out that it used to be home to a publishers of children's books, set up by Quaker William Darton (1781-1854). The engraving of Monument from the Gracechurch Street perspective, below, is from Darton's book "City Scenes, or A Peep into London" {Harvey & Darton; 1828}. He was also a successful cartographer; a detail of one of his maps is also below. I plan to go to Bishopsgate Library & The Quaker Friends House Library to delve a bit further and view first-hand a few of his maps & books.
