The public discussion event for ‘Still Here’ at APT Gallery was well attended and the audience contributed some interesting insights to the debate.
Each artist asked a question to the other artists and to the audience. Here are recordings of each question.
Sheila: Why sculpture? Why abstraction? Each artist gives a short synopsis of their work, in answering these two questions.
Gillian: How does gender play a role in the work of abstract sculptors in terms of materials and process, conceptual focus and career progression? Is this affected by location and other social factors?
Alexandra: How do we see our work changing over the next few years, what new technologies might we each embrace, and with money no object, would we want to expand the scale?
Jill: The big question for me is around ageing and disability. How do we make those transitions – is this viewed upon as positive or negative- how do curators relate to aging artists – does this differ if we are women? Is this an opportunity or a threat for our career? How does it affect the way we work? Emotionally how do we deal with these inevitable facts of life?
Anna: Abstract has become a shorthand for work which isn’t representational, but are there specific narratives, subjects, or forms of representation intended within your work? What does the abstract offer us in terms of a radical position?
Beatrice How do we encourage viewers to engage with abstraction on all levels and feel as comfortable with the language of form, materiality and making as we do?