Project Title: ‘Chasing Thoughts’
Curatorial Narrative Text
What affords us our identity? What are the determinants of how we present ourselves? What influences how we interface with the world around ourselves? How does our individual lived experience over time formatively inform how we ‘become’ in the world?
My project is about a nascent examination of these and the many other implied questions that surface and swirl around the concept of identity and how that shapes both our collective and individual relationships with the world we live in. Through the frame of a reflexive looking glass into my own life, I will initially offer a series of 30 diverse works that examine four dimensions – Experiences, Feelings, Beliefs and Presence – that have coagulated and shifted over time to lead me to my current ‘state of identity. Through trying to visually represent the exteriority and interiority of who I am and how I make sense of my ‘belonging’ in the world, I hope to create an intersubjective space that invites viewers to contemplate with curiosity and empathy, the complexities of their own lived experiences, and how those shape their relationships with the world.
Works and Mediums
The proposed exhibition will initially contain 30 works, which will grow over time as more are created, dependent on the space available in the virtual gallery. These works will be grouped according to 4 themes that I feel have contributed to my identity: Experiences, Feelings, Beliefs and Presence. Over time these themes may grow or change as my thinking develops and new research surfaces. The work displayed will evidence my growing interest in interrogating diverse materialities (from resin to painting to drawing to found materials) and their influence on the facture of pieces, and how they can combine to both manifest an idea and reveal my embodied subjectivities. Examples of work to be included are as follows:
‘The Glove’
2025. Watercolour, gouache and pencil on rough watercolour paper. (45.5 x 35.5cm)
‘Adam’
2025. Water soluble graphite pencil on pastel paper, resin and found objects. (64 x 33.5cm)
‘Unearned Privileges #1’
2025. Computer printout, tape measure, nails and old school desk. (60 x 34.5cm)
‘And Jacob wrestled the Angel, but the Angel overcame’.
2025. Oil paint on corrugated cardboard. (55 x 40.3cm)
‘The Collapse of the Temple’
2025. Acrylic resin and hair. (5.5 x 6 x 10cm)
Format for Delivery
My body of work will be exhibited in a three-dimensional online space that replicates the appearance and presence of a physical gallery. As with a bricks and mortar gallery, this space can be walked through with the aid of input from a computer keyboard or mouse. This three-dimensional digital exhibition will be available on the world wide web, open to any visitor, from anywhere and at any time of the day: there are no restrictions that hinder access to it, though it may be less or not available to people with sight or motor disabilities. That is something I wish to address in future iterations. There will be no attendants and no time limits on how long visitors spend in the gallery. There will be no access fee and no entry rules. Visitors can come and go freely, with no judgement on their presence or the time they spend within. By offering my work in this online space, I want to free visitors from the perceived, implied and the actual boundaries that galleries often present, removing the sense of exclusivity or ‘being in the know’ that deters many from accessing art. While this digital gallery does mimic a traditional ‘white cube’ mode of presentation, I hope that by enabling unfettered access for all, I can go some way to democratising the art viewing experiencing and help detach the concept of a gallery from patriarchal foundations.
Choosing to exhibit in a virtual space also allows me to play with essential aspects of the artwork in a way that is not as possible with finished pieces in an actual physical space. This digital gallery allows me to experiment with scale, the inter-relationships between works, and their presentation within a space, to see how these factors affect the body and materiality of the works, as well as the body of the viewer. Essentially, this digital gallery offers me a long-term ‘sandbox’ where I can iterate old and develop new ideas to expand this or create future exhibitions.
Budget
| Income | |
| Sponsorship | N/A |
| Donations | N/A |
| Other | N/A |
| Expenditure | |
| Virtual gallery rental | Circa £9.65 / month (Charges are in US$ at $13/ month) |
| Artwork rental | N/A. Artworks loaned by the artist free of charge |
| Artwork transportation | N/A |
| Setup of online gallery | £195.36 (16 hours of work at national minimum wage of £12.21) |
| Catalogue Design | £500 (20 hours at £25 per hour) |
| Marketing and promotion | Included in virtual gallery rental |
| Home Utilities (electricity) | £2.40 (based on 2 days of electricity usage for online gallery setup) |
| Gallery utilities (electricity) | Included in virtual gallery rental |
| Miscellaneous costs | £20 (meals and drinks during 2 days of setup) |
| Artist fees | N/A |