Exploring Landscapes Residency

EXPLORING LANDSCAPES

Residency with Creativity Works, Preston

October 2012

Exploring Landscape was an artist-led residency organised by Creative Works Preston. Amy was invited to be one of seven artists working with art in public spaces in Lancashire; she spent three weeks exploring Brungley Park.

On the first day of her residency, Amy drove her campervan into the park. Both an intriguing new landmark and a potential nuisance in public space, Amy spent every day of her residency here, meeting people and having conversations. She approached dog walkers and asked if she could draw portraits of their dogs, to break the ice. Characteristically, these drawings were both standalone works of art, and excuses for Amy to talk and listen.

Amy also made small interventions into the fabric of the park – leaving signs, for example, that drew attention to unusual aspects of the landscape. Combining the perspective of a curious tourist with the critical eye of an artist, these small acts encouraged everyone who used the park to experience it in new ways.

Over the period of the residency Amy amassed a collection of dog portraits which she exhibited in her campervan, creating a touring exhibition that visited the park, the supermarket and other local areas for one day. The portraits were also collected in a book, published by Creative Works Preston.