Celebrating apart - my dad was 80years old at the end of January. A fine old age. He is fit & well, has listened to advice, stayed at home majority of the time since last March, and kept himself and my mum safe.
He has even had the first dose of the vaccination a couple of weeks ago.
​
The lockdown has disrupted many celebrations - a year ago we would have enjoyed a family lunch out, moaned about who was sitting where and argued over the bill!
​
Now it’s door step present and food parcel drop offs, plus zoom bingo - how things have changed!

Celebrating Apart


During the 'first lockdown' in 2020, I observed that what we use, how we live and that the items we take for granted are quite precious.
​
Replicating a 'passport' booth, in my kitchen, with natural light, I identified key objects, food, general items that are fairly mundane and quite ordinary, then photographically realised still life 'portraits'. 
The recorded 'sculptures' instigated many conversations at home. Evidence of the frustration from the pandemic!

Everything Looks Different

Funbox / objet trouvé 
​
Observational diptychs, that merge collected discarded items and skatepark 'architecture' curated from my local city park - April 2021
​
The skatepark is quite a magnet for the local kids of all ages. Some skate, scoot, ride and others just hang out and gossip...(my daughter generally is the one who likes the ‘tea’ and doesn’t really skate)!
​
However, I was drawn to the neglected and discarded ‘treasures’ surrounding the area - small facets that reflect the life the park and human impact on the ramps, curbs and structure. The texture and markings created by the constant daily use are quite beautiful and compelling.
​
#skatepark
#objet trouvé
#discarded
#urbanimpact
#parkarchitecture
​

Funbox / objet trouvé 

Fifteen Hyacinths Later
 
A body of work that seems to have inadvertently tracked ‘time’ during lockdown part two - instead of buying flowers, I have been drawn to these quirky bulbs and have managed to keep them constantly flowering as a positive symbol that spring would come and fortunately now is here. It has proved quite popular as they sit on the kitchen window sill, sprouting, over growing, top heavy and drooping all over the place. Not forgetting the lovely fragrance ( natures perfume) and mystery random colours. The bulbs will placed in the garden soon and will pop up next year, not as a negative reminder of the lockdown but a strong reminder that as a family we survived the cold weeks, working from home, and dark nights.

Fifteen Hyacinths Later

Funbox / objet trouvé 
​
Observational diptychs, that merge collected discarded items and skatepark 'architecture' curated from my local city park - April 2021
​
The skatepark is quite a magnet for the local kids of all ages. Some skate, scoot, ride and others just hang out and gossip...(my daughter generally is the one who likes the ‘tea’ and doesn’t really skate)!
​
However, I was drawn to the neglected and discarded ‘treasures’ surrounding the area - small facets that reflect the life the park and human impact on the ramps, curbs and structure. The texture and markings created by the constant daily use are quite beautiful and compelling.
​
#skatepark
#objet trouvé
#discarded
#urbanimpact
#parkarchitecture

Funbox / objet trouvé 

A body of work that seems to have inadvertently tracked ‘time’ during lockdown part two - instead of buying flowers, I have been drawn to these quirky bulbs and have managed to keep them constantly flowering as a positive symbol that spring would come and fortunately now is here. It has proved quite popular as they sit on the kitchen window sill, sprouting, over growing, top heavy and drooping all over the place. Not forgetting the lovely fragrance ( natures perfume) and mystery random colours. The bulbs will placed in the garden soon and will pop up next year, not as a negative reminder of the lockdown but a strong reminder that as a family we survived the cold weeks, working from home, and dark nights.

Chops

In the past, I regularly shopped with my sister Rachel, we visited random local destinations every Saturday to the big superstores for our weekly essentials. During one of the days out I found a scrap of paper with note of ‘spray oil and butter’ written on it in my basket - the shortest shopping list ever I thought – it really amused me! That was the day, in 2006, that I started to collect discarded shopping lists. It became a bit of an obsession for a while, looking in trolley’s for abandoned notes, it was almost treasure to me  – a portal to other people’s lifestyles and weekly meals. I created a piece of work called ‘Brussels and Bleach’ in 2009 from some of my ‘finds’ but also regularly squirreled away many other shopping lists in bags and boxes. 
On-line grocery delivery to your doorstep seems like a normal part of life now. It thankfully removes certain elements of the shopping experience and reduces the temptation to buy things you don’t actually need or want from the comfort of your home. It makes our hectic lives a little easier – no queues or screaming kids to contend with.
I have been getting a weekly delivery for several years now, so I don’t really get the opportunity to discover the little scraps of paper in the baskets anymore, but the other day, I saw a shopping list when I was out and about, I wanted to pick it up but resisted due to the current climate. It did however spark a need to revisit and catalogue my lists, some of which have been sadly thrown away, although I did locate the digital files that I used to created ‘Brussels and Bleach’. 
So, I have curated ‘Chops’. It is photographic visual catalogue, a mini museum and archive of over 120 shopping lists left by other people, carefully preserved forever – PS. Don’t forget the butter!


Chops

I love investigating objects and details of daily items within my home at close range and I have used the traditional process of 'photograms' to explore manmade and natural fibers, textures that we don't see in black and white or at such close range.


Close Range


Lockdown and the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed lives, disrupted the young & old, and deeply impacted on how we exist.
It has also shown us how resilient and creative, we can be in isolation.
This body of work is a glimpse of my life under lockdown. It embraces my new found love our garden. Being forced to spend more time at home, missed holidays, outdoor schooling and fair weather has resulted in a series of still life creations, almost a contemporary archive slide show for generations to come of what we did in the months between March and August 2020. Catch bugs, crochet rainbow flowers, lots of BBQ's and watch the birds. The garden - my beautiful sanctuary and outdoor space that became the natural extension of our home. 

The Broken Gnome Diaries - 2020 ​ ​

Has Leicester ever really been out of lockdown since March 2020?  I feel like we were known as the forgotten city. Bombarded with numerous confused messages over the summer months, residents of the City and adjacent areas were kept in ‘special’ measures compared to the rest of the country - seriously, I sometimes felt embarrassed and ashamed of my postcode. Some of our schools finish earlier than the rest of the county and country - the local banter and whispers discussed that some neighbors were suspiciously ‘not around’ and ‘rebelled’ against the new Leicester lockdown restrictions. Sadly, plenty of families missed out on their normal ‘July fortnight holiday’ - a tradition that has been in place for 55 years. Created so that families could take a well-earned break to the seaside - many factories closed for two weeks; this was known as the much-beloved Leicestershire Workers’ July Fortnight. 
 
Sitting at home, unable to travel, I could visualize what it would be like looking out to the sea and embracing the open spaces, even though I could not reach the sand and coast. So, when Boris gave the green light, we left. The abandoned the city that had held us captive. I know now, we were one of the lucky ones who managed to ‘escape’. 
 
This body of photographic work -appropriately titled ‘Escape’, explores space, reflections, light, freedom and
subtle illusions in the landscape. It is my response to the paradise I love, yearned for and managed to briefly enjoy. Shot during two visits to Norfolk in August and October 2020 the imagery
symbolises my retaliation to being restricted, yet quietly reflect my anger to being confined for the summer. This is the place I feel safe and free. The question that does concern me as we commence yet another lockdown, is will I get back to the place I love, how long will the restrictions go on for realistically? The burden of daily life can grow heavy, we all need something focus on and aim for. Fortunately, I am an optimist, I know I will revisit my sandy footprints. However, while I am coping with the short days and dark nights, not without bubbling anxiety of more possible lockdowns, I have these photographic memories and reflections of freedom and release - my escape. 

Escape

This image from a project, called 'Repair' is collaboration of text, diagrams & still life photographs that has been Developed inspired by my father - a humble technical genius. He is a maker, mender & compulsive repairer.
We need to acknowledge that it is essential for our society to take responsibility in ‘extending functionality’ & creating a ‘good relationship’ with our possessions. 
Pride, ownership and desire to learn how to prolong life of our appliances, digital equipment, over aesthetics and current trends needs to be prioritised. Respect for environmental needs, engaging education, plus a positive dialogue with advertising, and the manufacturing industry needs to change the way we think and act.
Excessive consumerism is choking our vision, we need to change our mindset & have more confidence of our skills - repair, not replace.


Repair

SATs – Tick one box’
​
Almost all parents and children in year 6 at primary school will have had many discussions about SATs - Standard Assessment Tests. You will hear mixed opinions about the relevance and if indeed they are important, and if so to whom?
My 11 year-old daughter, has spent much of her time this year devoted to working on Maths, English (grammar, punctuation, spelling and reading) by working though many practice papers. The ‘assessments’ (we used to call them tests) were planned for May 2020. The lockdown CV19 crisis had an unexpected impact on doing the SATs - basically they were abandoned.
Bizarrely enough, I was quite disappointed; on one hand I feel they can put unnecessary stress on young children, on the other I wanted to know what she would have got. I like numbers, scores, and % - I can be a bit competitive. So, we missed out or did we? All that hard work that would have been celebrated with a mass trip to the local bowling alley – do we feel a bit cheated?
So, my house is full of practice papers, scribbles, questions and booklets about Maths calculations and English grammar skills that I honestly struggle to answer.
‘SATs – Tick one box’ is my response and visual tribute to all those children and parents, who feel they lost out this year or maybe dodged a bullet.
 
After conducting a poll from local parents, 42% were fairly indifferent to if their kids took the SATs or not, 37% would have preferred them to take the assessment (yes - I am one of them) and only 8% were glad their their child didn’t have to take part this year.

Add

Clair Robins

Celebrating Apart

Everything Looks Different

Funbox / objet trouvé

Fifteen Hyacinths Later

Funbox / objet trouvé

Fifteen Hyacinths Later

Chops

Close Range

The Broken Gnome Diaries - 2020

Escape

Repair

SATs - Tick One Box

Opportunities

For Artists

ArtConnect

Support

Add

Clair Robins

Celebrating Apart

Everything Looks Different

Funbox / objet trouvé

Fifteen Hyacinths Later

Funbox / objet trouvé

Fifteen Hyacinths Later

Chops

Close Range

The Broken Gnome Diaries - 2020 ​ ​

Escape

Repair

SATs - Tick One Box

Opportunities

For Artists

ArtConnect

Support

The Broken Gnome Diaries - 2020