Wednesday 20th February

To day has been a make or break day. With posters saved in the wrong format and an extra page to add to my booklets I was feeling a little overwhelmed. But with lovely technicians helping things got done. I will have to do final touches on Saturday morning to the house. And tonight I will set up the equipment to see if I can master it on my own. Quite a big step for a technophobe like myself. All of the practical details that surround a public showing rather put the creative juices on hold.  I am looking forward to getting back into the studio on a regular basis and have put two new canvases on the wall in ready! It will be great to work as a group when we get together as a group to do our final show. There are so many details to think of and things to do.

So my posts are not as creative as Nadja’s and Rachael’s but Oh how I have been enjoying looking and hearing about their gallery trips! I go to London next week with my tutor so we will have some exchange of stimulae then.

Well here is a little preview of my pamphlet. Created as a result of a project that I did at the end of last year. It relates to one of my films.

Below is the brief summery of this project.

Burqa PROJECT

My interest in the burqa and the environmental and social world around it, evolved primarily from my interest in trying to do develop my art and research practice. I wanted to try and understand a very foreign subject matter, and to learn to overcome a taboo subject matter in a sensitive and considered way. (In a liberal society I feel that many are in denial of taboo) My starting point was feminist, however during my research I came to understand the many subtleties surrounding this subject. There came a point in my studies that I needed to wear the burqa in order to understand what it meant for the women who wear it. I also needed to understand different perceptions that others might have when confronted face to face with some one who was both wearing it and willing to talk. I also needed to experience what it was like to be a minority in this culture.

I wore it anonymously in UCA for one day. I also spent a few hours walking around Canterbury wearing it. On both occasions I collected peoples comments, or a single word on either their reaction to being confronted by me in Canterbury, or about how they felt about some one wearing it. These labels are some that I collected. They were all collected anonymously by posting them in a box. Some people saw it as a chance to have a debate about their feelings or thoughts, some wanted to get their unease off their chests, and some just did not care. (Those who had lived in London thought it was no big deal)

I was the only person dressed like this and in fact the Burqa (especially a black one) is rarely seen in Canterbury.

These are two pages of the pamphlet to give you an idea of peoples responses to the Burqa. That is if they are showing up. We did the booklet in idesign and nothing seems to load up onto the blog.

Finally I got the projector to work. But the monitor will give either sound or visual effects!! Thank goodness I had the sense to be on the cautious side.