Output details

In Black and White

Elena Isayev, Classics and Ancient History, University of Exeter, commissioned Catrin Webster and me to be key artists in this project. Our role was firstly to develop and run two drawing workshops with international specialists from the fields of archaeology, history, geography, anthropology and politics, around the themes - mapping, place and memory. Secondly, we developed a new body of work based on the knowledge exchanged during the workshops, which was exhibited in a group exhibition of international artists. Using drawing as a shared methodology, the workshops as places of exchange, and the exhibition as a point of synthesis, the aims of the project were to support a multidisciplinary community of scholars and practitioners to explore the ways in which communication is articulated, transmitted, received and controlled. Key questions were: what causes a shift or break in the memory of a place? Can a better understanding of the physical world help us understand the bonds between memory, place and belonging? Can an artwork show us that our perceptions and identities are continually shifting, unstable and contingent? The workshops brought together academics and artists from around the world including America, Palestine, India, The Netherlands, England, Iraq and Ireland. The project also commissioned works from Iraqi artists, Hanaa MalAllah and Rashad Salim, and artists based in Palestine, Allessandro Petti and Sandi Hillal (Stateless Nation, Venice Biennale, 2003). Academics participating included: Nadje Al-Ali, Anthropology, Univ. of London; Susan Alcock, Classics, Brown Univ., USA; John Dewsbury, Geography, Bristol Uni.; Michael Dumper, Politics, University of Exeter; Chris Gosden, Archaeology, Oxford University; Linda Hurcombe, Archaeology, University of Exeter; Nick Kaye, Drama, University of Exeter; Ilan Pappe, History, University of Exeter; Mike Pearson, Performance Studies, Aberytswyth University; Michael Shanks, Archaeology, Stanford University, USA; John Wylie Geography, University of Exeter; Marion Wood, Director of Music, University Of Exeter.