Report by Magz Hall, PhD student, London College of Communication
Magz Hall (PhD student, London College of Communication) was successfully selected for the 2015 Yorkshire Sculpture Park Art for the Environment Residency Organised by Professor Lucy Orta. Here is Magz’s Report on her experience of the residency opportunity.
This has been such a fantastic opportunity and so useful in terms of getting a full understanding of what is required for outside durational work of this type. YSP were extremely supportive of my tree radio project and it was hugely beneficial working with both the curator Nathalie and Simon from the tech team.
It was a very productive period and it proved to be quite a challenge installing electronic work outside without any hands on electronic guidance, which is something I would have really benefited from. The £300 budget was soon eaten away on a very simple set up of the installation, it’s clear more development time and funding is needed.
I have proved the installation works, and it was extremely gratifying to hear it broadcasting on 100 FM for the last weekend when a very clear signal was achieved at the site. The problem now is how to keep the tree transmitter dry in the long term. The resin I used in order to protect the circuit from the elements had the unfortunate side-effect of insulating it, preventing the circuit from fully working after it had dried, so perspex casing it is really the only option. The solar power seems to be resilient as were the sensors and resistance probes so far, although this all needs to be tried and tested over time. More tests are needed in order to find the optimum means to keep the transmitter dry and working full time.
You can see from the gallery on my blog how the work was set it up and how great the site is looking and sounding. What is needed now is time to reflect, test further and work out the best strategy to keep it going long term on the site and tweak the sound. The time I was there was very hands on and it would be really useful to have some further curational guidance from Helen on how to take the project and my practice forward.
I’m looking forward to talking about my post digital practice and especially this project on the 24th Sept as part of a conference and live radio broadcast from the Brighton Digital Festival.
Art for the Environment Residency Programme
In 2015, internationally acclaimed artist, UAL Chair of Art for the Environment Professor Lucy Orta launched the Art for the Environment Residency Programme (AER), in partnership with residency programmes across Europe. Applicants can choose from a two to four week period at one of the hosting institutions, to explore concerns that define the twenty-first century – biodiversity, environmental sustainability, social economy, human rights – and through their artistic practice, envision a world of tomorrow.
Through personal research, studio production time, critiques and mentoring sessions with Lucy Orta and a selection of Europe’s most exciting cultural institutions, the residency programme provides a platform for creative individuals, working across various disciplines, to imagine and create work that can make an impact on how we interact with the environment and each other.