Sally and I de-installed Hidden yesterday with mixed feelings. It was a beautiful day at Wicken Fen and we enjoyed seeing how the work had been affected by almost a month exposed to the environment of the hides. We photographed the work before we took it down. Paper had buckled, wrinkled and come loose. Rain had left water marks. Sunlight had faded exposed areas and altered colours. We found insects sheltering in folds or layers. And spiders had built their webs around and behind the work. It was beginning the process of becoming part of the fabric of the hide and it would have been fascinating to leave it there.
It was a bright, windy day and we were distracted by the effects of sunlight flickering through the holes in the walls of the hides. In Charlie’s Hide we stood for some time, filming one flickering sunspot on a piece of painted acetate we had taken down and laid on a bench. Sally filmed it flickering like a flame on the palm of my hand. In East Mere hide I photographed the patterns made by the sunlight shining through cracks and gaps in the walls.
Taking down the installations marks the end of this project. But not the end of our collaboration. It’s time to pause and take stock but we are thinking about the next phase.
In the meantime, we both have other projects. Sally will be teaching for FibreArts Australia in July. Some of my work from the exhibition in Ely will be included in Bircham Gallery’s Spring exhibition starting on 19 May. And a separate group of work, Thorn, will be going to Gallery 57 in Arundel for A contour, a curve - the lie of the land.