ARTIST IN RESIDENCE.

‘Making Art’, Maidstone.

Mixed media installation based on a quote from Tove Jansson.

‘Never have in your boat a single inessential object’, is a quotation from the Finish author Tove Jansson. I was drawn to her practical words, suggesting the benefits of travelling light, physically and spiritually.

With this as my starting point I worked spontaneously with materials, objects and techniques. I created a room telling a story about mid winter, where a warrior armed with arrows, her dress edged in tree bark and her skirt of jam jar pockets, crosses a landscape of discarded lampshades and paper plates. Looking on, a row of small chairs wait to be filled, watching for the story to begin. Alas my boat is too small, it will not hold a single essential object from this world.

Photographs by Artist and Fleur Alston.