JEMIMA HALL
Studying seaweeds has allowed me to connect the islands that I live in. Islands which I had considered a periphery, became centres of people full of history and innovation. Coastlines that seemed uninhabitable, became known for their abundance. I learn and know the world we live in through presence, exploration and curiosity. Expanding our understanding of remote landscapes feels essential to adapting to our fluctuating environments. The seaweeds in my art practice began to tell a story that echoed the broader challenges of our changing climates. Building seaweed shelters on the periphery of land, to be swept to sea at the next tide, I question our ability to adapt between shifting environments. To consider dwellings and the spaces that hold us, whilst living in a vessel atop a vast uninhabitable sea, feels an important perspective into those thoughts.
Adapt at studying the coastline from land, I feel excited at this opportunity with the North Atlantic Islands Residency to be at sea, moving with the tides and reaching into the shapes of land in lieu. I think of T.S. Eliot’s Dry Salvages: “The sea is the land’s edge also, the granite into which it reaches...” , reminding us how land on our maps is decided by the tides. Heyerdahl’s ‘Early Man and the Ocean’ inspires me to study the human relationship to the sea, map making and navigation. Having spent much of my youth sailing, I look forward to the possibility of reconnecting to these skills and sensations on the Excelsior.
Whilst in my art practice I work mostly solitary, I feel excited at the anticipation of living at sea with other artists, and to have the opportunity to share inspirations, conversation and to collaborate. I wish for this time to encourage me in collaboration and in my writing, which I both want to play more actively in my art practice. I will capture my interactions and observations through visual and written poetry and drawing, and use my knowledge of ethnobotany and ancestral skills.
I look forward to the possibility of exhibiting and publishing the work made individually and collaboratively and to attend workshops following this residency, encouraging growth in my art practice.
Being offline on my 33 day winter solo research expedition to the uninhabited Shiant islands, as well as living 16 days in a cave on Gometra taught me a deep understanding of my body, rhythms and self, as well as practical food organization. In these expeditions I learnt true strength and resilience in solitude and overcoming challenges alone in harsh weather. I am experienced in educating people of all ages on edible plants and seaweeds, having run over 100 foraging walks. Volunteering with NTS on Mingulay and Staffa with the rangers expanded my skills in seabird and wildlife identification. Over six years I have worked in a team of 3-8 adults, 10 days to 1 month at a time, in remote landscapes of Harris with artist J Brook, working with stone and sea. I am accustomed to working and collaborating with groups of people of different ages and backgrounds. I have strong observational skills, I have experience in navigation, I am used to getting in and out of boats and I feel confident working in all weathers.