India Boxall and Shona Robin MacPherson: Bursary #6 Update

As one of the recipients of CuratorSpace Artist Bursary #6, collaborative-duo India Boxall and Shona Robin MacPherson discuss their project 'THOSE WHO POSSESS DIRT', and how they’re overcoming the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our creative research excavates the narratives of invasive and non-invasive species around the High Street and East End area of Glasgow, where both the New Glasgow Society and our shared studio space resides. We are drawn to specific ‘wild’ plants, the species which have escaped cultivation and spread amongst the human-made architecture of the city, rooting within steelwork and concrete and springing up in the untamed wastelands that appear between buildings and developed areas of land. Lichens became an important fauna reference for us, as their symbiotic composition (a mutualistic relationship between fungi and algae) spoke of the lives of more-than-human-others and the way in which all species encounter each other within and outside of our city limits. 

This research involved working towards an exhibition which was scheduled to be installed at New Glasgow Society gallery in June 2020. As part of the exhibition, we were also collaborating with performance artist Clarinda Tse and curator of botany at the Glasgow Museums, Keith Watson. Unfortunately, our exhibition and associated events have been postponed until 2021, however this extended period will allow us to collate an extensive and critical body of research, incorporating the work of ecofeminist writers such as Donna Haraway, Lynn Margulis and Anna Tsing as an active aspect of our making process.

Before the lockdown, we were able to investigate the history of the High Street area using the variety of resources at the Mitchell Library in order to explore the topography and the historical significance of this street within Glasgow’s wider history. We performed research walks that involved taking notes on invasive and non-invasive species we found in various parts of the High Street and taking photographs to record these species. We also took part in a one day natural dyeing workshop with Julia Billings, an eco-dyer living in the Southside of Glasgow. Natural dyeing is one of our main methods of merging our research into Glasgow flora and fauna with an artistic output and we are continuing our experiments with this medium, using felled species from the East End area such as alder cones and various species of lichen such as Old Man’s Beard, to create dye baths for dyeing fabric, yarn and thread. 

During this extended period of isolation, we will continue our creative research by creating slow-made artworks, while adapting to our current situation of permanent home-living. One of our initial interests when formulating ideas for this project related to the notion of contamination as an attribute or identity associated with particular invasive species. It seems even more relevant to explore these notions of dirt/contagion/virus in the context of our new world during Covid-19 and to really understand how human/non-human interactions are at the heart of global dynamics. 

We share our thoughts and ideas whenever we can, and I am intrigued to see the way in which our creative research will meander and flow across our physical separation. We are hoping to be able to come together at the end of 2020 / early 2021 to collaborate in our shared studio, tying together our respective investigations and artworks." 

To keep up-to-date with their creative research, follow them on Instagram: 

@paperseeps 
@shonamacpherson 
@muck_____ 

 

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