What are the main concerns within your practice?

We are collaborative artists with our practice based in film, sound, installation and performance. We have been working together for around 18 months. The conceptual underpinnings of our work focus on the ideas surrounding what moving images are and how they operate culturally as well as experimentation with visual language and the psychology of a viewer. Our current project centres on an arbitrary pink character. It explores the tension between the bizarre and banal as well as cinematic and amateurish modes of representations.

 

What are your biggest influences?

Our main influence comes from being part of a generation surrounded by a media saturated culture. The omnipresence of film and video in daily life offers a plethora of visual languages that we play with. We also both have a passion for cinema and it’s historical languages and conventions.

We have a shared interest in the performance and video works of artists such as Rachel Maclean, Stan Douglas, Marvin Gaye Chetwynd, Bill Viola and Samuel Beckett.

 

What’s the first thing you do when you start/ what’s your process?

We normally start with either a set of instructions or prop which we then use as the foundation for our work. These often arbitrary ‘instructions’ form the basis of our script which we use to inform the concepts, costumes and choreography of our piece. Much of our practice is founded in the dialogue between ourselves.

 

What do you like most about the studio?

Although most of our work is created outside of the studio, it serves as a great environment to meet and discuss our work amongst creative peers. The studio also offers an area to experiment with installation which is beneficial as most of our work is digital and takes a non-physical form.

 

How has your work changed over the course of your degree?

We originally worked individually during first year so our practice has changed and developed with the influence of each other. Beth originally worked with dance, costume and choreography and Toby worked with sound and often animated visuals. Our practice has combined our collective interests and strengths and we now continue to work with sound and performance as the main medium. We continually learn new skills from each other and develop our work accordingly. Our continual communication is key to our practice.

 

What are you plans after graduation?

We are both currently undecided, Toby is looking to work in film in some capacity and Beth is interested in working in arts development and community projects.