Exploring grief and loss through art

My cyanotype ‘They concreted over the garden and the cats ran away #2’ has been selected for ‘Exploring grief and loss through art’ at Willesden Gallery - group exhibition featuring London-based artists, that explores artists’ experience of loss and grief in contemporary art practice.

SYMBIOSIS

I am co-curating and exhibiting in ‘Symbiosis’ opening next Thursday 18th (6:30 - 9:30) at Hundred Years Gallery. ‘Symbiosis’ is an exhibition organised by London Alternative Photography Collective at Hundred Years Gallery - curated by Hayley Harrison, Melanie King, and Ky Lewis.

Exhibition Open: 18th January - 27 January 2024.

Hundred Years Gallery: 13 Pearson St, London E2 8JD.

Opening Times: Wed - Fri 14:00 to 19:00 Sat: 16:00 to 19:00 Sun: 13:30 to 19:00

Evening Events opening: 19:30 to 22:00

Private View: Thursday 18th of January 2024 6.30 to 9.30

Photo-scanner synth demo by Hack Modular.

Closing event & artist tour: Saturday 27 January 2024 4-7.30pm.

Alice Watkins / Anna Kroeger / Anna Luk / Anna Lukala / Catriona Gray / Constanza Isaza Martinez / Ed Sykes / Eileen White / Eric Fong / Esme Papa / Hayley Harrison / Imogen Locke / Katrina Stamatopoulous / Ky Lewis / Leanne Wiggers / Magda Kuca /Megan Ringrose / Nettie Edwards / Paeony Lewis / Roelof Bakker / Sayako Sugawara /Sophia Sherwood / Walter and Zoniel

Image: Leanne Wiggers

Poster: Hayley Harrison

and we walk

‘and we walk’ is a performative meditative walk at dusk on Tuesday 1st August along the Regents Canal towpath from Islington Tunnel to Broadway Market.

You are invited to walk through this urban landscape following a repeating call - in the form of projected text-based light. We will also follow the light of the full Sturgeon Supermoon. 

We will meet at 9 pm on Colebrooke Row above the east end of Islington Tunnel (Angel entrance).

The repeating call is from Hayley Harrison’s ongoing ‘repeat after me' series projected (with a handheld-projector) and cyanotyped texts. These short repeating texts are an invitation to share deeper relationships to each other and the more-than-human.

Find out more information and book here.

circle of listening

To coincide with the exhibition ‘To be we need to know the river’ I will be holding a 'Circle of listening' on Saturday 26th August (11am to 1 pm) starting at Lot Project Space.

The morning will be made up of a silent walk and short meditative listening activities. There will be time to share and reflect.

This circle will explore how we are in relationship to each other whilst in relationship to the more-than-human. We will bear witness to individual sounds, simultaneously, via each other and via the natural elements we encircle. We will gently move to, from and around the trees as we listen.

This event will be part of my ongoing ‘Circle of Listening’ gatherings exploring deep listening and holding space together.

Book via Eventbrite

Listening with: Reflections on the earth crisis

In this publication, I reflect on how we can have meaningful conversations about the Earth crisis.

During 2022, Cubitt Gallery delivered Going Greener, a project supported by Islington Giving. The fund invited local organisations to consider their impact on the environment and how they can operate in more environmentally friendly ways. From this project came the publication ‘Listening with: Reflections on the earth crisis. It shares reflections from artist and Cubitt’s Community Projects Curator Hayley Harrison on how we can have meaningful conversations about the Earth Crisis.

Design by Mariana do Vale & original artwork by AMSI Students

Nunhead Open Day

In May I was commissioned by Narrative by Design to run a drop-in workshop at Nunhead Cemetery Open day with artist Charlene Sandy. Memories and wishes for Nunhead Cemetery were shared as a wishing tree, and sculpted offerings made from natural materials. This workshop informed consultancy for Nunhead Cemetery East Lodge project for Southward Council.

Watford Neighbourhood Exchange Project

In December I ran a cyanotype workshop for Watford Neighbourhood Exchanges Project at Meridian Community Centre. The workshops was commissioned by Bridget Sawyers Art Consultants for Watford Borough Council. The cyanotypes were made by local residents in a custom made UV box. This workshop fed into Watford Councils’ public art strategy.

Going Greener workshop

I recently ran a workshop with a Cubitt Gallery community group to tease out ideas about our individual and collective responsibility towards the earth crisis. This session fed in Cubitt’s Going Greener Project funded by Islington Council.

'holding resilience' cyanotypes available

Since finishing my a-n bursary I have continued to experiment with making cyanotypes and toning with plants.

A selection of my 'holding resilience' series is now available to purchase directly from my shop as part of the Artist Support Pledge.

They are made on the back of old wallpaper, sized A4. There is a selection of untoned prints and prints toned with Barley Grass. The Barley Grass has shifted the usual blue colour towards green.

Each cyanotype is a unique variation and includes marks from the wallpaper it is printed on, and hints of the wallpaper pattern behind.

🌱

The plant I am holding is a Cow Parsley.

The Cow Parsley grew up through my interactive installation 'how did we become so resilient' - installed at Phytology: Bethnal Green Nature Reserve while I was in residency. The installation was an interspecies conversation that started with me weaving this question into the netting of a found plastic sack.

To install the work I cleared a patch of ivy – a resilient plant. The Cow Parsley replied, as did more ivy - more resilience.

I’ve been stuck on the word resilience since the beginning of the pandemic. How much resilience do we have in the face of our experienced personal and collective traumas? Is all this resilience a good thing?

The cyanotypes are printed on discarded wallpaper - and hints of the original pattern can be seen, echoing the grid of the original installation.

🌱

Do get in touch if you have any questions or you would like to discuss framing recommendations.

Dark Mountain: Issue 22 - ARK

I am delighted to have a piece about my performance ‘Projection’ included in the latest  Dark Mountain Publication - ARK. In it I share some of the ideas behind my work and residency at Phytology: Bethnal Green Nature Reserve. 

‘In between the questions and in the one minute of listening that followed, we waited for a sign that the nonhumans could hear us. There weren’t any tangible answers. Yet as the projected light highlighted the surfaces of the trees, the questions were reformed and recontextualised by their bark and the foliage of their leaves.’

The Dark Mountain Project is centred around the Dark Mountain books published in autumn and spring - making art that doesn’t take the centrality of humans for granted. We are tracing the deep cultural roots of the mess the world is in.

This is a special all-colour edition, including many beautiful pieces by other writers and artists, and a front cover by Graeme Walker. Dark Mountain: Issue 22 - ARK can be purchased here.

To celebrate Dark Mountain: Issue 22’s release, do join us for an online launch on Tuesday 25th October starting at 19:30 BST. You can book a place here. 

Dark Mountain: Issue 22 is a hardback book, 256 pages long, printed on FSC-certified paper

Editors: Neale Inglenook, Joanna Pocock, Philip Webb Gregg. Art and Production: Charlotte Du Cann.

Cover and contents artwork Graeme Walker

Circle of listening

I will be holding a 'Circle of listening' at Phytology: Bethnal Green Nature Reserve on Sunday 23rd October 4- 6 pm. 

You are invited to ‘Circle of Listening’, a meditative gathering where we will sit and walk silently together, listening to what the Nature Reserve has to say.

The session will be made up of short experimental listening activities, including time to share and reflect on the listening experience. Together we will make a record of what we have heard, a snapshot of time will be included in the nature reserve’s ongoing ecology survey.

The circles will be led by artist Hayley Harrison, whose practice explores possibilities of deeper connection to each other and the non-human world.

Location: Phytology, Bethnal Green Nature Reserve, Middleton St, London E2 9RR

Time: 4pm – 6pm Sunday, 23rd October

Free, but places are limited x 12 people - please book a place here 🌱

There will be an option to sit or lie on the ground – you may wish to bring a blanket or mat to sit on (there will also be stools). Walking will be at a gentle pace within the nature reserve. If you have any accessibility requirements, please get in touch.

CUBITT 30 at Victoria Miro

I am exhibiting 'Winter Blues in the Forest' in CUBITT 30, a celebration of Cubitt's 30th Anniversary and fundraising show hosted by Victoria Miro. 

CUBITT 30 AT VICTORIA MIRO

16 Wharf Road, London, N1 7RW and online at @vortic.art

Please join us on 16th & 17th September 2022 to kick off a year-long celebration of Cubitt’s 30th anniversary. We are excited to announce our partnership with Victoria Miro gallery and Vortic to present an exhibition and sale of works by over 80 artists from Cubitt’s past and present.

For 30 years, Cubitt has provided studio space for artists in Central London alongside a renowned non-profit gallery and a community-based arts programme. The proceeds from the sale will go directly to ensuring the future of London’s most influential artist-led organisation.

Exhibiting artists include: Tomma Abts, Flo Brooks, Helen Cammock, Angela De La Cruz, Billy Childish, Dexter Dalwood, Tacita Dean, Jeremy Deller, Cecile B. Evans, Roger Hiorns, Mark Leckey, Rosalind Nashashibi, Chris Ofili, Elizabeth Price, Cathy Wilkes, Joy Yamusangie.

A panel discussion will take place within the exhibition on Saturday 17th September, when visitors will be able to hear about Cubitt’s rich history from the people who made it.

Throughout the coming year, celebrations will continue onsite at Cubitt with open studios over Frieze weekend and events exploring Cubitt’s diverse curatorial practices. Live performances and programming will continue in the gallery and across local communities, as well as on CCR, Cubitt’s Community Radio Station.

Re-Wild

I have been invited to exhibit a new moving image and two cyanotypes in ‘Re-Wild’ a group exhibition and community project curated by Sheyamali Sudesh at Ilford Spark Lab. The project explores ‘Sacred Symbiotic’ relationships in relation to green spaces in and around Ilford.

You can visit my work, as well as film and sound work by other artists at the opening event on Friday 26th August from 5 pm to 7 pm. Book tickets and find out more information here. Ilford Station is a 20-minute train journey from Liverpool Street Station on the Elizabeth Line.

The project continues from 19th August - 18th September (Friday to Sunday) and 22nd  - 25th September (Thursday to Sunday). Opening times: weekdays and Saturdays 11 am - 5 pm, Sundays 11 am - 4 pm. 

‘Sleepwalking in Hainault’ is a continuation of my ‘Sleepwalking’ series and is filmed through a yellow plastic bag. The moving image captures recognisable landmarks of Hainault Forest and the Country Park, an ancient woodland and once a royal hunting forest. It celebrates what we have come to expect from our human-shaped recreational spaces – Canadian geese, benches, dogs, wildflowers, and the distant voices of families and children.

The yellow-tinted dreamlike state of this moving image also explores our complicated relationship to the more-than-human in a year of record-breaking temperatures – as we sleepwalk through cracked earth and dead grass.

a-n bursary update

I was recently awarded an a-n bursary to make cyanotypes on discarded packaging, toned with plants - working with Melanie King, who is experienced in sustainable photographic processes. Cyanotypes are an alternative photographic process made using chemicals that create blueprints when exposed to sunlight.

The picture above is 'holding resilience' - a cyanotype on discarded brown paper, being toned in a tray of green tea. The cyanotype image is of me holding a Cowslip plant that grew up through my interactive installation 'how did we become so resilient' - installed on the grounds of Phytology: Bethnal Green Nature Reserve (BGNR) whilst I was in residency. I am now experimenting with toning, using local plants and herbs that I am growing. These cyanotypes will be available to buy from my website soon.

In July, Melanie and I ran a cyanotype workshop at BGNR. I also ran a cyanotype workshop at a residential care home in Islington. It is a really relaxing and gentle process suitable for all - do get in touch to arrange a workshop or to pre-order a print.

Galvanise

I am showing my new work ‘how did we get here’ in the group show ‘Galvanise’ at Spitalfield Studios curated by Annette Fernando.

On Thursday 4th August there will be an open day from 12-9pm and I will be there from 6-8 pm. If you can’t make this Thursday, there will also be a closing event on 6th October and I will be performing ‘Projection’ at dusk.

Spitalfields Studios, 7-15 Greatorex, SE1 5NF

Join Spitalfields Studios artists and guests for our GALVANISE exhibition open day. Join us for a timely reflection on collective struggle, action and hope, spanning themes of migration, oppression, climate change, technology and mental health.

Participating artists include:
A Clueless Pedestrian, Deborah Aitken, Asad, Tanaz Assefi, Kavan Balasuriya, Chris Bird, Mary Bloomly, Claire Cansick, Graham Carrick, Catherine Chambers, Charlie Chronbik, Yu Ting Chung, Aliyah Coreana, DMINTN, Ferha Farroqui, Georgie Fay, Annette Fernando, Nelson Ferreira, Abu Foysol, Emily Hana, Elizabeth Hannaford, Hayley Harrison, Sam Hart, Kevin Herlihy, Katie Horwhich, Michael Johnson, Marion Jones, Katherine Jones RA, Shen Ka Yee, Gabrielle Kardos, Ursula Kelly, Kirsty Kerr ,Petra Kneile, Daniele Lamarche, Christopher Lane, Temsuyanger Longkumer, LUAP, Meija Liepins, Peter Mammes, Sonia Martin, Zaman Md Fakruzzaman, Medea, Sabi North, Paloma Orts, Jane Palm-Gold, Husna Parvin, Ash Patterson, John Pedder, Biddy Peppin, Sumi Perera, Ness Periam, Perspicere, Gabrielle Poitras, Nicola Pritchard, Ian Rawlinson, Matteo Razzano, Reece Robinson, Nina Schulze, Marianne Simonin, Morgan Sinton-Hewitt, Chloe Smith, Sam Van Strien, Charles Williams, Helen Wilson & Karen Wood.

an evening of listening

The evening will include ‘Projection’ my participatory interspecies performance, bat echolocation led by Michael Smythe - accompanied by fresh nettle pakora, herbal tea & a campfire.

Thurs 7th April 7:30 - 9 pm - Performance by Hayley Harrison at 8 pm

Phytology: Bethnal Green Nature Reserve (Middleton St, Bethnal Green, London E2 9RR)

Since the spring of 2021, I have been collecting questions from different communities - ‘If you could talk to plants and trees what would you ask them?’ The questions vary from humorous to poignant – ‘what did you have for breakfast’ or ‘do you feel welcome’. Now, these questions will be projected onto plants and trees and read out collectively. This interspecies event is a chance to stand together and listen to what the answers might be.

‘Projection’ will be performed at dusk around 8 pm - followed by bat echolocation and listening session with bat detectors led by Phytology’s Michael Smythe. Nettle Pakora harvested from BGNR Medicine garden and made by Frank Kelly.

Book your free ticket here via Eventbrite. This event will be filmed - participation in the participatory performance is optional.

‘Projection’ is part of a new body of work developed at Bethnal Green Nature Reserve as part of my Developing Your Creative Practice project ‘Practicing Outside’ supported by Arts Council England

No, I Don't Want No Scrub

I will be performing ‘Projection’ at ‘No, I Don’t Want No Scrub’

On Friday 18th March from 6-9pm join us as we embark on an evening of live performance at hARTslane gallery, featuring 11 artists:

Michal Adamczewski, Kara Hondong, Siin Lee, Sarah Nahas, Max Melvin, Lewis Baxter, Rachel Lonsdale, Hayley Harrison, Kyran Gilbert, Serafina Min Sungwon and Theia Maldoom.

Where:
hARTslane Gallery
17 Harts Lane
Nearest station: New Cross Gate

To Book :

Limited tickets available: £4 via Eventbrite There will be a small number of tickets on the door as well!

a-n bursary - Time Space Money

Very chuffed to have been awarded an a-n Artists Bursary 2021: Time Space Money. I will be experimenting with large scale cyanotypes working with existing art works, natural and plant materials. I will be tapping into the expertise of the wonderful Melanie King.

The bursaries are designed to offer Time, Space and Money to support the development of new skills, knowledge and networks and enable arts practice to thrive. For a-n Artist members and Joint (Artist and Arts Organiser) members.

TILT

I will be showing one of my works in this group exhibition TILT at Hoxton Gallery - opening on Friday 20th August 6-9pm

🆃🅸🅻🆃 - Hoxton Gallery Summer Show
Opening - Friday 20th August 6-9pm
Canapés and drinks at the private view
www.hoxtongallery.co.uk
Hoxton Gallery, 17 Marlow Workshops, Arnold Circus, London, E2 7JN

Planted

I am excited to be showing my text-based moving image ‘Home is now’ in the Group show, ‘Planted’, at Art Walk Projects new Project Room pop-up space, in Portobello (Edinburgh).

‘Planted’ shows a series of installations, artworks and film/projections that draw upon the physical act of planting and our relationship with the natural environment, featuring artists Annie Lord, Felicity Bristow, Susie Wilson, Jonathan Baxter/A&E, Joanne Matthews, Hsin-Yi Wang and Hayley Harrison.

Open Thurs/Fri 11-4 and Sat 11-5. The show continues until 14 Aug.
189 Portobello High Street