Roseland was a participatory project which traveled to three different locations - Shetland, Roydon (Essex, near London) and Düsseldorf (Germany). Each place had distinct cultural characteristics and urban, island or rural qualities. Roseland 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 to develop the project, 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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