"The Two Contrasting Views from Mary's House" was part of the Student Showcase and was created for a 'Spacial Practices' module. It is mapping and an artistic exploration of sight. Millie made artworks in response to what she saw while walking by Mary's house and experimented with space and movement.
She has written a blog post telling us more about her work.
What inspired you to make this work?
I suppose a combination of things! I’d say the work we did at the start of the module was where my ideas first developed. We began by looking at creating interventions within an environment, small installations in response to our surroundings. Initially I wasn’t too sure what to do, but I found some colourful scraps of fabric at home and thought they might be interesting to experiment with. As I began using the fabric outside, I became more aware of my surroundings, taking note particularly of the wind and the sound of the sea aswell as its motion and movement. I then used the fabric to mimic these sounds and movements, letting the forces of nature manipulate the fabric, which I found mesmerizing to watch.
To resolve and develop this line of thinking and experimentation, I decided to look at my local area in Nesting and create a site-specific fabric intervention, drawing on the idea of movement. Near the back of my house into the hills is a small croft house, which I discovered was lived in by a woman named Mary around the 1920’s. I thought this site would be interesting to explore as the house is situated in-between a beautiful view of the sea and a contrasting view behind of windmills. Using Mary’s house I was exploring a wider theme of contrast, looking at the old and the new. When Mary was living, she wouldn’t have heard or seen the windmills. She would, however, have heard the burn that was right beside the house - the constant sound of running water, rather than the whooshing sound of spinning windmills - which I found to be an interesting concept.
In terms of the fabric, I really like the contrast of the bright coloured material against the grey stone, as well as the idea of something flowing, movement against something static. But I feel ultimately, I wanted to take images that felt fun, playful and engaging to look at!
What module was it part of?
It was part of the Spatial Practice Module, for year one of the course. To be honest I wasn’t too sure what to expect from the module to begin with, but I’d say it quickly became my favourite module from the whole of the first year. I really enjoyed looking at art in spaces, considering large scale and small-scale installations, which is something I had never really done much research into before.
Do you have any plans for progressions of the themes or explorations?
Yes! I've just started second year and have started using fabric as part of the Creative Practice 1 Module. I’m beginning to continue my thinking around the materiality of the fabric and the idea of contrast, looking at how that relates to the surrounding environment.
How did you feel when you won the award?
It was a great feeling! Definitely surprised - a fabulous way to end first year!
How does it feel to have your work on display at Mareel?
Its super! It’s nice to share it in a public place after having it hidden away in the studio space at college. It’s definitely given me a confidence boost, it's fab to have your hard work on show for others to see and hopefully enjoy!
