Alpine Desert Summer in Spain

A summer spent in Spain, in the heart of a national park, removed half an hour drive from any nearest town and shop! It was like a dream. But it wasn’t a dream but a reality! I went to Joya: AiR, an environmental artist residency set in between the ravines of white sedimentary rock walls full of fossils and fields, almond trees, and bee-eaters. Oh boy, I had some space to breathe! I love London, but I was a happy bunny to be away from it.

I was asked to write a little summary of what I did at Joya, at the end of my three weeks there. Here is a little excerpt, please follow up the link to continue reading.

“I’ve flown to Joya: AiR from London with an open mind. I wanted to relax, refresh and escape from my city life. Having done an art residency at Walthamstow Wetlands in London which stores around 40% of the water that will arrive in peoples’ taps after cleaning I wondered, what the landscape could be like in a desert environment? I wanted to know how the land and its’ habitat is affected by the driest spells of Andalusien summer.”

Following two images are taken by Jaron Rowan. Thank you!

Travel portrait/lifestyle photographer Kazumi Sakurai and I enjoying the sun.

WaterAid Project for Dambusters Week at RAF Museum

With a winter frost and wind, an art commission has landed on my art studio doorstep. I’ve been interested in the water filtration processes since my Walthamstow Wetlands Art residency (2015-2016) and my dream project based on these dynamic systems is now happening!
Wateraid‘s Learning Department approached me at the end of 2017, however, I’ve kept it quiet as things have been developing. Now, after a couple of research visits at Thames Water’s Coppermills Water Treatments Works and at the Royal Air Force museum where the installation will feature during a week-long of events celebrating the 75th anniversary of Dambusters in May 2018, I’m firmly engaged in the process and very excited. To read a blog post about water filtering research visit at Coppermills click here.

WaterAid is a wonderful charity and I’ve learned from them so much about water. This video summarises what they are all about. I’ll be mentioning them in my work in progress posts a lot.

 

 

What am I creating?
I’m designing a concept and a sculptural interactive installation based on the principles of a sand dam. I can reveal the installation will carry three conceptual elements (water, concrete wall/dam, and sand/sediments), see the image below.

 

While I’m creating a physical sculpture and its concept, I wanted to bring another layer of interaction into the RAF museum’s outdoor space. I’ve invited Danny Saul to collaborate with me. Danny Saul is a London-based composer and sound artist whose work explores connections between sound and space, and between (real-world) recorded sounds and synthesized electronic sounds. How very exciting! Welcome, Danny! Learn more about his work on his website.

Composer and sound artist Danny Saul.

 

Sketchbook insights, ideas for learning and exploring a sand dam.

 

I’m going to return to sketching to finalize some ideas, but I will share with you more work in progress soon. Thank you for reading this blog post and I’m looking forward to your comments. See you on May 19th between 11am to 3pm at Collindale’s RAF museum during a wonderful Dambusters anniversary week!

#Dambusters75 #legend #legacy #WaterAid #sanddam #RAFmuseum .