Ligan
Lead, steel, gold, brass, cork, paint, thread; 2008
In Their Own Words was a project aiming to explore the relationship between art objects and the words used to describe them. In 2007 nine artists were invited to submit a description of one of their works, together with the work itself, for inclusion in the exhibition. Nine poets were then asked to produce a piece in response to a visual representation of an artwork, and nine jewellers were asked to produce a piece in response to a written description. The project is concerned with a wide range of issues arising from gallery display, literary stylistics, museology and the categorisation of artistic practice.
The first round of the project was exhibited in Sheffield and Manchester, and curated by artist and writer John Clark and jewellers Maria Hanson and Julia Keyte. In 2008 the original artists, poets and jewellers were asked to invite further participants.
I was provided with a textual description of a physical artwork and in response produced a set of five pins using fishing tackle, silver and cork, that were intended as ligan (goods which are abandoned at sea but attached to a buoy so that they can be retrieved later).
The 2008 exhibition was postponed, but opened at Bank Street Arts in November 2009.