At 12noon on Saturday, a group gathered outside OUTPOST Gallery to join Townley and Bradby's street games which included Market Pac Man. We set off to Hayhill, a busy square outside Topshop and Next in the city center and Lawrence read out a statement from the people who work monitoring the CCTV around the city, and we discussed abnormal and acceptable behavior in public places.
I realise that a lot of my blog is about what i "enjoy" within art, and perhaps that is not so in keeping my my utilitarian approach to the work that i make, but i did "enjoy" the event very much - i liked being part of a group, with people who thought in a similar way to me, who i could have interesting conversations with and we laughed at the same oddities that the city presented to us. I liked walking through the city, with no mission or job to do, taking the time to observe what was happening around me, and having Anna and Lawrence lead us around.
Standing at the window in the upstairs of Primark (a pretty frightening place on a Saturday afternoon anyway), we observed how shoppers moved around Gentlemen's Walk beneath us. Anna and Lawrence described and demonstrated their version of the "Shoppers Shuffle" which amused the group and bewildered the other shoppers, only adding to our amusement.
We played Market Pac Man in Norwich Market, blending in, but behaving differently to the usual shoppers. I think it became quite competitive. The event ended with a cup of tea, and a special pac-man biscuit at Ruby's cafe stall to commemorate the event.
image: the view from the window of Primark, watching Anna make an intervention in Gentlemen's Walk beneath us.
On Saturday afternoon i moved into my new studio space at OUTPOST studios. I managed to move a few bits of furniture and some sketchbooks into the space. I was very precious about my space at Muspole Workshops, and that didn't really help me to progress, but at OUTPOST i have started writing ideas on the wall and mapping thoughts and research. I find it helpful to put elements of research on the wall, it means that i won't forget about it, unlike when i bury things in sketchbooks. The space is light and warm with a wonderful view across the city. Having a warm space is really helpful.
The best thing about my new space is that it is a space where i can write. Such spaces are few and far between. I struggled writing at Muspole because it was too cold and isolated, i can't write at home because there are too many domestic distractions and it is noisy and i can't settle to write in the library. The only other place that i can really write, and do it in a focused and sensitive fashion is at Edwina's house, which is in Finland. Even though i will gladly go to Finland at the slightest opportunity, it is useful to have a writing space closer to home.
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