Hanham Blog Three

Creating work new work always excites me, it ignites my passion and curiosity. It is why I do what I do. Working with others in this process is the other reason. Glimpsing moments, possibilities and grappling with the seeds of ideas is thrilling, and a real privilege. Facilitating these ideas to develop, change and intertwine is even more exciting. On a project like this it is always hard for me to live by my motto of ‘Trust the Process’ as, well, people understandably like to know what they are getting themselves into (or funding, or investing in, or promoting etc) but yet again, this trust, sprinkled with a hefty dose of bravery, exuberance, trust and laughter from the groups has paid off. It’s week three and a corker of an idea for the year's work is shaping up in our collective imaginations!

I am always amazed at how quickly our RE:MAPPING groups come together and form a sense of togetherness. Strangers on week one, sharing secrets on week two, holding hands by week three!!  Following on from the outrageous tour of the library last week (I’m not sure whether I am eternally grateful or bitterly disappointed that Vivi, our documenter was not there last week!) we began to think about other types of tour using the library as our site.

Inspired piece of work by Rosanna Cade called Walking:Holding

https://rosanacadedotcom.wordpress.com/projects/walkingholding/  we discussed our thoughts about creating personal material, respecting eachother’s contributions and our responsibility to eachother, leading onto and how we could present work in very different ways from what might be expected of us. On the impromptu suggestion of a member of the group I threw my notes for the rest of the session away and we did some Walking:Holding of our own, enjoying casual conversation, unexpected intimacy and joyful communication.

In the afternoon we each conducted mini tours based around items we had on our person, learning more about each other and what we might like to present at the end of our time together. We explored the library through sensory tours and discovered what surprising things happen when we slow down, use our senses to guide us and allow ourselves moments of togetherness.