Valerie Gleeson Development Bursary
Isabel English
As I outlined in my proposal, I wanted to use part of the Bursary to fund a research trip to Poland, but due to the material and manufacturing costs of putting together two new sets of work this part of the proposal could not be fulfilled and was solely used to create and manufacture work that I included in the group show Homo Ludens (Man at Play) and my first solo show Unclosed.
In developing work for both these group and solo shows, I began to create new bodies of research, still centering around ideas to do with Utopia and Possibility, where I began to further dismantle these notions and used this idea to create ‘fragments’, pieces suggestive of an architectural body, whether that be a building, monument, facade or a piece of a wall. These objects started as larger more imposing pieces used in the group show Homo Ludens and ended up becoming quite discreet and poetic within the show Unclosed. Both these shows went on to be reviewed in the Irish Times, whilst Unclosed received an extensive article in the periodical The Enclave Review.
These shows created a platform from which my newly emerged arts practice could be viewed upon, granting me new opportunities and relationships within the arts community both in Cork and Dublin. Both of these events coincided with my residency within the National Sculpture Factory, where this residency nurtured my creativity, whilst also providing a space where I could work, store and fabricate objects for these exhibitions.
I feel that it was through these dependent events that enabled me to create a platform from which to launch my artistic career. It allowed me to develop my practice, without hindering me with what materials or manufacturing processes I could use or afford, and whilst I didn’t have to worry so much about how to finance these projects, I was free to work solely on developing my research and practical skills used in developing my artistic practice. Currently, I am living and working in Belfast, where I have recently become a member of Flax Art Studios.
Since receiving the award, I have also been part of several group exhibitions, some of which include The Encounter That Never Was as part of The Kilkenny Arts Festival in Kilkenny Arts Office, curated by Leah Corbett, and Burning Down The House with TACTIC at The Gallery at no.46, curated by Alison O Shea. I am currently working on a piece to be included in the show Radical Arcadia, an off-site project with Catalyst Arts Belfast for the Zaratan Arte Contemporanea as part of the Lisbon Architecture Triennale.
