Richmond Research Residency

I am in the early stages of a research residency at Orleans House Gallery, a contemporary art gallery set in beautiful gardens overlooking the River Thames in Twickenham, London.

My residency is part of a wider ‘Cultural Reforesting’ programme of exhibitions and events exploring our connection with our habitats and ecosystems, both global and local. Along with artists Vicky Long, Eloise Moody, Ackroyd & Harvey and Nestor Pestana, I’m spending two months working across the wooded grounds at Orleans House as I interrogate the question, How can we transform our relationship with nature?

Resident artists, image by Cristina Schek, 2021

Specifically, I am building on my practice of wild drawing and exploring how mark-making of, with and in nature can evoke a deeper sense of attunement with the non-human world. I’m interested in what it looks and feels like to embody an eco-centric way of looking at the natural world around us and the barriers that exist to prevent us from shifting into that mindset, particularly for urban communities. Increasingly, I find that I am focusing in on the question of how do we activate our natural instincts so as to heighten feelings of belonging to and empathy for the nature world, both necessary precursors to the protection of nature and engagement in collective responses to the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. And how do these experiences support our own mental health and the wellbeing of our community?

During my residency I’m running a mixture of free public and community workshops, experimenting with mark-making and embodied drawing and integrating different knowledges from foresters, spiritual ecologists, urban ecologists, social scientists and eco therapists. Visit my event page to view upcoming opportunities to get involved.