Charcoal, gouache, gesso, watercolour, vinyl tape on paper
Linking to the research field Environment and Sustainability, Kittiwakes 1 (Staple Island) is an interpretation of video data gathered while sailing around Staple Island, Northumberland. Pinstripe tape has been used to represent the flight patterns of birds. Through my practice, I seek to interpret and express interactions and relationships with the environment. The Farne Islands afford opportunities to observe the migration and behaviour of birds and their relationship with habitat and the environmental factors at play upon it. This work is one of a series responding to the N.E. English coast, exploring coastal erosion.
The work balances the seemingly fragile and chaotic motion and transience of the birds with the apparent permanence of the rocks. A chance encounter with geological researchers in Staithes provided excellent insights to the regional geology and environmental challenges. Rocks have emerged as metaphors for defining and questioning assumptions about permanence, resistance and protection. The animation of the work through the suggested presence of birds explores living relationships with environment, combining analysis and emotion.
Reproduced with kind permission of Sara Dudman
Copyright ©Sara Dudman
Research Theme: Environment and Sustainability