Roseland was a participatory project which to date has traveled to three different locations - Shetland, Roydon (near London) and Düsseldorf (Germany), each with its distinct cultural characteristics and urban or rural qualities. In each location the project contained elements of sculpture, installation, live event and social exchange. The work had different emphases and took different forms in each place, so that I could respond flexibly to the different situations I encountered.
The work is linked through ideas of the ‘garden’. I used forms of garden architecture, accessories and tools, such as the garden shed, the summerhouse or gazebo; wheelbarrow or parasol; as well as flowers, plants and seeds to link the work across these different cultures. I used the ‘Roseland’ carpet as another way to make connections between the work in each place by using it in each event or installation and then by making souvenir postcards from it.
I tested different forms of correspondence and communication to make links between locations. In Düsseldorf, where I worked for two months in 2006, I used the Roseland Weblog as a form of reportage as well as archive. A Roseland postcard exchange linked visitors and their friends from all parts of the world.
Roseland was supported by the National Lottery through the Scottish Arts Council, Shetland Arts, Epping Forest Arts, Malkasten Society of Artists, the Cultural Department of Düsseldorf and the Cultural Ministry of Nordrhein-Westfalen.
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