Sunny autumn days in Uruguay. During a two week residency run by Curatoria Forense. I got to know the small beachside town of La Pedrera. The crashing waves and sand dunes made a stunning back drop, but what interested me more was the deserted ghostly feeling of the town. There are only 150 permanent residents, however during the summer the town swells to 20, 000 holiday makers mainly from Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil.
I found an empty kiosk used during February’s carnival to dispense drinks and chose it to make the latest installation for the work Take Spaces and Make Them New.
The newspaper filled the space hanging by threads. As the wind blew in through the broken glass the forms knotted and became something new.
More images form Take Spaces and Make Them New 34South|61North, Facebook.
I spent Monday the 13th at two schools in El Pinar, Uruguay with local English teacher, musician and Couch Surfer Claudia. She invited me to talk to three groups of children about my home, life and 34South|61North in English and then to answer questions. I happily agreed and prepared information and a photo show.
The first group were teenagers who attend UTU Atlántida Formación básica profesional en deporte school, a technical system offered as an alternative to high school for Uruguayan teenagers. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to hold the attention of the class for about quarter of an hour and then they asked me some questions about my work in English and wanted to take a photo!
The afternoon saw us move onto Escuela Pública 162 primary school. I was leading Two Year Three classes with Claudia. I gave the same presentation to begin, modified for younger children. I went onto ask them if they would like to make an installation with me. They were keen! So two times over I explaied how to cut and stick re-cycled paper to Take Spaces and Make Them New. These works were quick made with sixty children participating in total. I was amazed that the kids needed to be encouraged to make big shapes and not to be too careful. Even at at a young age children have learnt to be cautious and to perfect things. I hoped to introduce the idea of experimenting and being quick and drawing freely. I hope that this activity will have introduced ideas of experimentation, observation of the environment and the concept of re-using and re-cycling materials.
Mapping culture and art from Chile to Alaska.
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