Approved: 16.08.2006

Linda Gordon

Artist, Community worker, Maker, Writer

Archived
Approved: 16.08.2006

I pay close and sustained attention to place and the movement of life - particularly in relation to the earth and what we label 'the natural environment'.

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    Artist Statement

    I pay close and sustained attention to place and the movement of life - particularly in relation to the earth and what we label 'the natural environment'.

    My process requires full engagement on all levels: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. Although it might serve a particular social or environmental theme, the underlying motivation is always to align and come into balance with life all around - and to share my experience with others.

    I like to to immerse myself in my surroundings, and allow the work to develop naturally, in response to a given situation. Focusing on my immediate surroundings moment by moment is a way of reconnecting with the earth, and fostering a sense of being at home in the world. 

    All projects, of course, require planning and organisation, to a greater or lesser degree.. Large-scale sculptural installations most often involve earth materials (wood, stone, soil etc.), and can be combined with manufactured material: a fusion of nature and culture. In some cases, people participate in the work, perhaps in a form of ritualistic walking - or perhaps by helping with construction, as in my B10 labyrinth event for the North Devon UNESCO Biosphere anniversary, 2013.

    Recently, my main focus has shifted more and more towards a smaller-scale, more transient approach to work - though my general themes and preoccupations remain the same. This development involves short-lived sculptural works alongside photography and other media. It is, in fact, a way of working that I have always pursued privately, but has gradually become more prominent and public. It has evolved into much more widely disseminated outcomes, often online.

    Other threads in my practice are my small low-key art walks and workshops, designed to encourage intuitive responses to the environment through arts activity. These developed out of my Essential Nature project back in June 2010. They are a way of sharing my concerns and techniques, and have led to a number of people taking up their own creative practices, and some to continue walking with me on an informal, word-of mouth basis.

    I aim for simplicity in all my work, which allows freedom of interpretation and can often shed light on current concerns, globally or within my immediate locality.

    My practice overall is anchored in the exploration of 'place' moment by moment; and of being here, now.

     

     

    CV & Education

    Public realm 2012 - Resting Place (made for Land Art Festival), Park at the Museum in Kozlowka, Lubartow, Poland 2011 - Essential Nature, continuing self-initiated public events, North Devon coast Qualifications and training 2010 - MA Arts and Ecology (Merit), University College, Falmouth, Dartington College of Arts 1992 - BA (Hons) Fine Art, University of Brighton, Brighton Solo exhibitions 2009 - 'Skystones', Tapeley Park, North Devon 2007 - 'Flights of Fancy', Westcott Barton/ Devon Art Works, Devon 2006 - ' I Am Here Now', VARC (Visual Arts in Rural Communities), Northumberland 2000 - YOTA (Year of the Artist) Exhibition, Seven Sisters Country Park, East Sussex Group exhibitions 2009 - North Devon Open Art Show, Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon, Barnstaple, Devon 2008 - The Great Purpose of Landscape Art..., The Arts Pavilion, Mile End Park, London 2007 - Myth of Place, The Ox Warehouse Gallery , Macao, China 2004 - International Symposium Exhibition, Silbury Group Westgate Farm, Milton Keynes 2003 - Chantiers D'Art, Town Centre, Cunlhat, France 2001 - Japanese and Western Contemporary Art Exhibition, Global Café Gallery, Piccadilly, London 2000 - Celebrating Green Spaces, Q Arts, Derby 2000 - Voices of Earth and Air; two artists collaboration, Phoenix Gallery, Brighton Residencies 2005 - Ascension, Lez'arts en Adret, Hautecour, Savoie, France 2005 - Year-long Residency, VARC (Visual Arts in Rural Communities), Tarset, Northumberland 2004 - Sculpting Summer, South Norfolk District Council, South Norfolk Broads 2002 - Kamiyama Artist in Residence, Executive Committee (KAIR), Shikoku, Japan 2000 - Year of the Artist Residency (YOTA), Seven Sisters Country Park, East Sussex 1999 - Artist in Residence, Wysing Arts, Bourn, Cambridgeshire Private commissions 2010 - Divining Rods, VARC (Visual Arts in Rural Communities), Tarset, Northumberland Projects 2010 - Essential Nature Art Walks Project, supported by North Devon AONB Sustainable Development Fund, Northam Burrows, North Devon Site specific 2011 - A Dream of Ancient Sunlight, Knightacott Woods, North Devon 2007 - The Skern, Appledore Visual Arts Festival, Appledore, Devon 2005 - Overlay, Hebden Bridge Sculpture Trail, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire 2004 - Les Doigts D'Art, Town Outskirts, Salins Les Bains, France 2002 - Installation: High Tide: Low Tide, Chapel Arts Centre , Newhaven, East Sussex 2002 - Kamiyama Residency Exhibition, Town Outskirts (landscape), Kamiyama, Japan 1999 - Shiny Pebbles, , Brighton Festival Sculpture Trail, Brighton