Why would you choose to make work in the gallery?
I am always interested in the reaction of viewers when they see the artist at work in the gallery.
Some people really like it and engage in conversation, the opportunity to talk about what you are doing – is this different when you are just minding the gallery?
There are some people who think that they are interrupting you – but this is never the case – it is not a performance in that way there is no line between me and the viewer. It is about a space of conversation and there is no direction or plan in the way that there might be in a performance.
I am trying to break down the barrier of visibility between process and end result. And I think part of the work as actually engaging in that conversation and opening up the possibility of process. I am not sure whether this would have the same effect if the work was complete and you were minding the gallery.
The conversation becomes part of the work because, like the making, the repetition of it allows the ideas to be thought through and played with, experimented with. You test out how you are thinking about the work when you engage in a conversation with someone. Sometimes they lead somewhere sometimes they don’t.
This is what makes it different from a drawing performance.
You can read more about Tracing Materiality, the exhibition in this work was part of here.