Ellie Niblock, MA Fine Art graduate at Central Saint Martins was selected for the AER residency Yorkshire Sculpture Park and reports back to the Post-Grad Community.

Set up by Professor Lucy Orta UAL Chair of Art for the Environment - Centre for Sustainable Fashion in 2015, The Art for the Environment International Artist Residency Programme (AER) provides UAL graduates with the exceptional opportunity to apply for short residencies at one of our internationally renowned host institutions, to explore concerns that define the 21st century – biodiversity, environmental sustainability, social economy, and human rights.

Ellie's Report

I have admired the Yorkshire Sculpture Park from afar, ever since I decided to be an artist. When the residency opening emerged, I was aware of how prestigious an opportunity it was, and how stimulating it would be for my practice. I felt determined to get there. Amazingly I was awarded the residency, and one year later, I travelled to Wakefield.

It was my first time being in Yorkshire, the air felt extra fresh. Full of glorious gardens, dales, and of course, sculpture parks. As I arrived, I felt eager to immediately set off on an adventure to explore. I did not quite realise the scale of it at first, but I had in fact 500 acres of idyllic landscape to cover.

The park is rich with inspiration, and I really did feel lucky to be there among the sculptures and beautiful environment. It was the perfect chance to slow down and reflect. Having that time is precious, a real luxury, and it enabled me to wander freely and discover the unknown. I had two weeks to do this, and thoughtfully consider what I wanted to research and create. I knew what I wanted to explore and felt passionate about developing it. However, I went with an open mind, as I am aware that things can change, ideas can shift, which always results in a more interesting outcome. I was concerned that I would have an overload of ideas, which of course was the case in the end. Frantically writing down ideas on my notes, I began writing diary entries to myself so that I can look back, and continuously use them as a source of inspiration for new projects.

For the project at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, I intended to focus on visualising invisible particles fed by the Anthropocene, a geological issue in a human influenced age. The atmosphere being altered by humans is both a beautiful and grotesque idea simultaneously - to see the particles with the naked eye would be an exquisite experience, but it is in fact quite disconcerting. In my practice, I am interested in traversing the line between attraction and repulsion; something may appear beautiful on the surface, but as you get closer it becomes exposed, revealing its grotesque qualities, evoking a new reaction. The characteristics of beauty can be alluring and enticing, yet commonly deceptive and sometimes threatening. For example, the combination of candyfloss pink, squishy foam and sickly green, wet silicone spikes can evoke certain feelings - the seductive pink object becomes quite disgusting. So I thought, how could this be translated in the digital world?

I explored this concept through the process of collecting footage from the park with my camera and capturing visual content for the further development of the work which is influenced by the grounds of the sculpture park and inspired by the modern and contemporary artwork situated in the natural environment, a blend of the synthetic and the organic. The serene surroundings will become mutated, invading the space, through digital processes. I envisioned these entities flying and dancing, landing on sculptures in secret, with nobody being able to see them.

Earth in my Palms

The residency programme at Yorkshire Sculpture Park is self-directed, which provided me with the wonderful opportunity to freely explore the park, before it opened to the public and after hours. The chance to live and work on site, observe the sculptures, and experience the renowned sculpture park so closely was bliss, and very constructive. Being surrounded by such an inspiring and stimulating environment was a great chance to think openly, and carefully consider ideas.

In the mornings, I went for long walks which took me to the studio space. I experimented with some new materials such as glass wax. I was glad to have the time to test out these ideas and get to know the material more. What drives my practice the most is introducing new materials to my work, so I found this to be very exciting!

I used a wax burner to melt the wax. Once it had melted, I began layering the wax on top of the clay, again and again to build up the thickness, which makes it more durable. The experiments have an interesting texture, smooth in some areas and rough in others where the wax may have dripped off when cooling. The clay is captured inside, revealing some of the colour. The transparency of the wax attracted me at first, and after experimenting I found that the colour from the clay underneath is even more interesting.  These tests helped me consider how to incorporate this material in a larger scale, through the experimentation.

The following days, I took the pieces and joined them together using the same process to make them bigger, and 3D scanned it to see if the scanner would pick it up- usually scanners do not work with transparent or glossy surfaces, so naturally I wanted to challenge this idea. The scans taken will enable me to manipulate the 3D model of the sculpture, with the freedom to alter colour, scale, and form.

The studio at Yorkshire Sculpture Park was great because I had plenty of space to work, with lots of room to be messy and make the works, and a clean place for scanning to take place. Following this, I decided to take the sculptures out of the studio and photograph them in different places of the park. I tend to work in several stages, using multiple processes both sculpturally and digitally and building on this, taking the work out of the studio, and seeing it physically outdoors with the ground, trees, caves, lakes really helped shape how I looked at the work.

Usually work can sit in the studio for months, or years, and my time at YSP helped me understand the importance of photographing works outside of the studio. I spent the evenings drawing and sketching in the Archway Lodge where I stayed, illustrating my experiences from the walks and site visits, using charcoal, watercolour, and oil bars. I drew from the photographs I took, of my experimental sculptures placed in different locations, in the woodland, in caves and by Bretton Hall Lake.

In2 worlds

I am excited about the combination of the synthetic and the organic in my practice and I am interested in following this trail in many ways. Completely immersed in the sculpture park, it was clear to me that I had to investigate this further. In such calm, natural and serene surroundings it felt as though I was electrocuted each time that I approached a sculpture, or quite often, the sculpture approached me. Seeing the organic and the man-made interact with one another so vividly, confirmed my curiosity with both worlds and my decision to respond to this.

Gazing daily at the dreamy sunsets at 4pm, I was continuously struck by the glossy Damien Hirst sculpture ‘The Virgin Mother’ in the distance. The jolt of colour and the immense scale of the work had a huge presence in my experience of being a resident at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It seemed to always be in my vision when I began my walk each day, and it remained in my mind during the journey. I felt so small next to it, and it got me to thinking about scale in the physical and digital world. There are countless logistics when fabricating a large sculpture in the physical world, yet a simple click of a button in cyberspace and you have a monumentally huge object in an instant. Perspective is easily altered, and the amalgamation of these worlds is what continuously intrigues me, as there are endless possibilities and outcomes.

I ventured out to Leeds on two occasions to check out the city. I visited the Henry Moore Institute and the wonderful exhibition ‘Slip’ by Julia Crabtree and William Evans was showing – an eclectic series of works using processes from casting to glass blowing, to video and print. Additionally, I checked out Leeds Art Gallery and caught the show ‘Radical Reel: 40 Years of Moving Image’. Mark Wallinger’s ‘Threshold to the Kingdom’ had hypnotically caught my attention for the entire duration of the video. I had a coffee in the tiled hall café which was recommended to me, and it was beautiful. Both very inspiring days.

I contributed to the app ‘Bloomberg Connects’ which enabled me to share my work in progress, and I will continue to update this throughout the project. Additionally, I participated in a Yorkshire Sculpture Park Instagram takeover, which allowed me to share videos of process when I was taking 3D scans, and the outcomes.

My Eyes are Cameras

I brought equipment to play with during my experimental walks around the park. One of which was a pair of sunglasses with cameras built into each lens, allowing me to capture recordings from my perspective, each being a 30 second clip exploring the park in real time. I would wear them when approaching a new place, to gather realistic motion and instinct. When I moved my head, the camera would move with me, so I had the ability to record my reactions to everything. Whether it be a bird flying close to me, hearing footsteps, the splashing of water, the glasses allowed me to visualise my immediate responses to the park.

Another process I used was 3D scanning technology, in particular LiDAR scanning (Light Detection and Ranging) a process which is used to determine information about the ground surface and to gather geospatial information. The scanning uses the pulse from a laser that bounces off objects, and returns to the LiDAR sensor, which is then processed into a 3D model. I successfully scanned bridges, trees, walkways, and sculptures, which will be merged to recreate the park environment only through my perspective, and in the digital world. The clips will manifest as a memory of experiencing the sculpture park for the first time, preserving a moment in time.

I have started building several digital environments, where I will create 30 second animations based on my ideas and my experience living in the sculpture park, which in the end became quite predominant -they had a huge presence on me. It was an interestingly unique adventure, a city girl embarking on the countryside lifestyle. Living alongside sheep and highland cattle was totally new to me, I found them intimidating at first. Each time I would walk by they would stare at me and walk in the opposite direction, meaning regrettably I was unable to capture a 3D scan! However hilariously, at the end of the residency a small group of them crowded around the gate of my apartment- giving me a farewell party. Maybe when I return, they will let me process some scans.

From the chaos of London and its sensory overload, this quiet moment in time at Yorkshire Sculpture Park was greatly welcomed. The great thing about residencies is that they are always a different experience and being at Yorkshire Sculpture Park provided me with the time and space to think and consider my ideas thoughtfully and carefully. Over the two weeks I was able to undertake research, experiment with a new material and gather footage to create a series of video sculptures.

The residency at Yorkshire Sculpture Park allowed me to think and consider ideas. I can take my experiments and develop them further in my studio this year. I envision the footage captured from my cameras and scans to play through mixed media wax sculptures, combining the tangible and the digital, as the two go hand in hand.

I was so inspired during my time at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. I have an archive of ideas for future projects. It has also been an important time to reflect on the year that has gone by, and I am grateful for the world returning to normality and the residency being made possible again. I do believe getting out of your usual surroundings can spark many ideas and re-ignite old ones. I feel honoured to have spent time living on site, it was an experience I will never forget.

Related Links

• Art for the Environment International Residency Programme (AER)
• Yorkshire Sculpture Park
• UAL Centre for Sustainable Fashion
• UAL Post-Grad Community
• ellieniblock.co.uk
• @ellieniblockartist

Art for the Environment Residency Programme

The Art for the Environment Residency Programme (AER) provides UAL graduates with the opportunity to apply for a 2 to 4 week fully funded residency at one of our internationally renowned host institutions, to explore concerns that define the 21st century – biodiversity, environmental sustainability, social economy and human rights.

Founded in 2015, internationally acclaimed artist Professor Lucy Orta, UAL Chair of Art for the Environment – Centre for Sustainable Fashion, launched the programme in partnership with international residency programmes and UAL Post-Grad Community.

See all the AER Residency opportunity currently open for application

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Because of the Covid-19 AER residencies suspension last year, we are exceptionally accepting applications from postgraduate alumni within 2 years from graduation alongside current UAL postgraduates.