An Exhibition in Lockdown: An Exhibition for 201 Telephone Box Gallery

Abstract

When asked to put together an exhibition for 201 Telephone Box Gallery in Strathkinness, Fife  I was excited. I received funding via the Visual Artists and Craft Makers Award for a proposed project using the laser cutter at Dundee Contemporary Arts print studio.

My initial ideas had to change when I lost access to the print studio during the COVID-19 lockdown. I had to work from home, around my family, using a small home studio shed and garden. With limited access to the exhibition site and research material, I managed to find a topic of interest that I hoped would form a connection to the community of Strathkinness. Using site visits, historical research, and critical reading, I became interested in the Covenanter movement, one event, a specific place, and the notion that a space can be both physical and metaphysical. I produced an exhibition titled Heterotopia.

I had to simplify everything and use trial and error to work out how I could still translate my ideas into a print-based installation. As a papermaker, I made 100% plant-fibre paper using homegrown crocosmia and created a large ‘fake’ blind emboss in a small space, without a press. I could prepare for quick-fire screen-printing when restrictions were eased between the first and second lockdowns and used my kitchen table to put everything together so it was easy to transport and quick to hang.

I was eventually able to travel out to Strathkinness, where 201 Telephone Box Gallery’s Curator, Lada Wilson, and I, installed the exhibition. Once locked, the phone box provided ‘Covid-safe’ viewing for anyone in the local area.