Previous AA2A Artist

Brigid McLeer

Year:
2002-03
Project summary:

Habitat is a project about notions of 'knowledge' and notions of 'work' - it reflects upon the process and intention of art-making, while also relating this to larger questions of how we determine belonging, identity and purpose in our day to day lives. This work was shown in an initial version, with an accompanying text read live by the artist, at 'Creative Re-Use: The Body of Knowledge' symposium held as part of the Goat Island summer school in Bristol and at 'The Studio and After' conference at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, earlier this year. Currently the work consists of two videos and a 40 min recorded text. The main video was generated from over 80 still photographs of a performance activity done in Feb/March this year. The activities shown in the photographs were all done in response to a random set of books that were taken from a friendís bookshelf. These books also formed the basis of the text that was written to accompany the videos.

This is the work.  The work knows.  Foucault is missing. The fight begins.

Some people need only one or two books and other people need eight or more medium sized paperbacks. To get a round idea of how many books you will need, stand against a wall with your bottom and shoulder blades touching the wall. Stand as you would normally stand if there wasn't a wall there. Now measure with your fingers the space between your head and the wall. Add an inch to this measurement and this will give you the depth of paperback books that you need. Your teacher will help you find the exact height of the books for your personal head-neck relationship, taking into account that it may change because you are changing.

'Habitat' (work in progress)
Video and still image.

Photo the artist