“can i feel you? are you mythological?” – Julia Holter (‘Feel You’)

always been a favourite of mine, especially due to Holter’s intonation. i’ve been considering it recently in relation to:

“no i’m not impossible to touch – i have never wanted you so much, come here.” – kath bloom (‘Come Here’)

i love how this line switches perspectives and modes so effectively – the first half a negation of someone else’s tentative thought, the second a fierce assertion, followed by a final demand. rarely have i seen a sentence so concrete and direct, each clause building upon the last to drive home the point: shut up – come here.

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This year I would like to create a multi-faceted work, using the mediums of sound, moving-image, art writing and space. I have no definite focal point for this work yet, however I would like it to make persistent and experimental use of the voice, and to build on some of the research I conducted last year into choral techniques and apostrophic speech.

What will you learn about yourself in undertaking this course of enquiry? 

I hope most of all to narrow down my practice to a navigable area, as I am still unsure of the final form my work should take. 

What are the personal skills you have that you can use in this work? 

I want to make more use of my compositional skills this year. A lot of the work I have made over lockdown has been more music based than usually, and I always enjoy artworks that employ music in a creative and developmental way. Especially in regard to using the voice, I would like to compose more scores and explore experimental vocal and choral techniques. I would also like to write a lot more, and for this to form a basis from which other work can spring from – this technique has often helped me in the past and I would like to practice various forms of making to hopefully creative a holistic outcome of different mediums.

Are there other skills that you need to develop? 

I would like to develop acutely my skills in moving-image editing, and I have recently been experimenting with Premier Pro. I also would like to reach out to more people this year to form creative connections – people who could provide their voices for compositions or performances, as well as for research purposes.

how will you achieve what you had hoped in this year? Can you achieve more? 

I will make the most of the connections I have already fostered and the skills I have developed in order to create a strong groundwork in order for my work to grow from.

What can you do to extend your knowledge and push yourself? 

I am always reading and researching around my areas of interest, yet I do need to try harder to push myself towards more ambitious outcomes, which I often theorise but rarely realise physically. Given the environment of this year I hope I will be able to achieve these more ambitious aims I often disregard.

How will you plan your activity? 

I feel confident in my ability to work from home for the moment, and I am lucky to be in a creative environment with other art students. This helps me focus on making work as well as giving me an outlet for which to talk about processes and ideas constantly. In terms of general structure my flat-mates and I have decided to hold weekly crits in the flat, and I hope this well help foster a steady stream of artist output for all of us.

How can your recorded your creative thinking? 

The blog seems like a vital tool for recording ideas across the year, and I plan too use it regularly and liberally. I have tried to keep a studio diary in the past which was an interesting experiment but one I was not able to keep up – I am hoping having this diary format online will help me collate research and sources more easily.

How will you evidence your outcomes? 

By uploading samples of work and completed projects regularly to the relevant platforms, collating them all on the blog, and documenting work physically when it requires installation.

How well can you communicate your ideas and processes? 

Hopefully this should be easier with the blog if I keep it up to date. Communicating ideas and processes personally with my flatmates and friends I hope will also provide interesting discussion and development.

How well can you present your outcomes? 

Not excellently in the current conditions, but I am open to working with other modes of presentation (online). I enjoy working in sites, and engaging with the spaces I exhibit, so not physically exhibiting is a drawback. I do believe there are interesting ways of engaging with online spaces however, which I am keen to explore.

What are the skills you needed to complete this body of work effectively?

Confidence, mainly.