Collaborations with a fellow practitioner

Life can be so unpredictable, but as thee seek, so thee find; usually the outcome I find is not rewarding! However, just occasionally something challenging and rewarding comes along. I have for some time now actively searched for a fellow practitioner to collaborate and bounce ideas with; an individual whose mind-set possesses a love of intellectual enquiry similar to me. A craftsman whose practical skills complements my own, and an artist whose visionary artistic quest explores new approaches to art.

I first met Jamie House at a workshop on Marketing in the Arts, held at Plymouth College of Art in February 09. Jamie introduced himself as a photographer whose research interests explored ‘pin-hole’ photography. His introduction and enthusiasm for his work encouraged me to view his website: http://www.jamiehousephotography.co.uk; since this first contact Jamie has also created a blog: http://www.pinholeparcelproject.com.

My first impression of Jamie was his presence, for me he epitomized my idea of how an old master would look today; tall, thin face with drooping moustache and Van Dyke goatee. A medium built man who well dressed attire of medium brown blazer and buff cord trousers reminded me of a solicitor! An image probably impressed upon me by his highly polished brown shoes - and in my experience a traditional and firm favourite with representatives of the legal professions.

Our collaboration for this project is at an early stage, but we have identified three avenues to explore: firstly, Jamie has kindly agreed to model for me. To add additional interest, I propose to render him upside down – partly as a challenge to myself and also as a reference to Jamie’s profession. Secondly, Jamie has suggested we record the spatio-temporal aspects of the painting – an aspect which complements my last project Jojo Two. Jamie proposes to record the different stages of the painting by placing a number of pin-hole cameras in static locations around my studio. He also plans to place two cameras at each location; camera a) will record the painting session, while camera b) will be exposed during the whole of the entire painting process. Finally, we intend to combine our talents on a series of artworks inspire by the experience.