The residency at Surface Gallery for EM25 began a current ongoing inquiry into the ecologies of my surroundings and current/past histories.

Through documentation and research, I explored my journey between my home (a quiet, green suburb in Nottinghamshire) and the gallery/studio (Nottingham town centre) and built a cartography of space.

• Texture

• Sound

• Photo

• Video

• Exploring

• Waiting

• Pondering

• Collecting

Ecologies situated me deeply with my surroundings, questioning how I can document a series of mundane happenings while on the residency. The walks through the city, the dirt dragged in, lay stagnant until swept up. The dirt on the ground is a direct ecology and a document of time, showing a history of use.

Nottingham Lace is a huge part of Nottingham’s historical identity and is embedded in the culture of the city. I explored the archives of Nottingham Castle and Wollaton’s Industrial Museum, gathering pattern samples and looking into the ironwork of the 1790 gate on the grounds of Wollaton Hall. A dialogue was created between the delicate patterns of lace and the wrought-iron metalwork of gates. This translated into pixelated designs I applied with masking tape to cotton: transforming, modernising, creating my intervention.

After 4 weeks, taped to the floor of the studios and dragged across the gallery building, the masking tape was removed to reveal the previously clean surface. I used a charcoal transfer to add a design of the gate from Wollaton Hall.