I felt that the aim of the residency was to engage with the community on a more personal level.
At first, I have to admit that I found this challenging. I initially got stressed at the idea of having to adhere to a set task. As the weeks progressed, however, I found myself working in a way that rejigged my usual, somewhat depressing way of working. I felt this way as I kept finding myself applying for competitions and exhibitions that were asking for only positive work, saying that because of the state of the current world, more of this type of work was needed, and therefore, I didn’t feel like I could apply because of the subject of my work. I initially found what galleries were asking for to be a bit like toxic positivity. However, I managed to work with the negativity of this and turn it into a positive.
Due to the welcoming energy of the gallery, I finalised my residency by hosting an origami workshop where myself and members of the public made and wrote positive and welcoming messages on origami boats, which I then gave to refugees in collaboration with Bristol Refugee Rights.
