As an AA2A student representative at the University of Wolverhampton, I have had the pleasure to interview one of this year’s artist-in-residents, Jayne Murray, to discuss, amongst other things, her ongoing projects and what interests her most while practicing as a professional artist.
Jayne has a long history of working in the public sphere and trying to engage people with economic issues that are important to her. She achieves this by collaborating with others and by building a network of contacts. Social media, we both agreed, is a useful tool in achieving this so long as it is kept up to date. She uses appropriate materials for each of her projects. Different mediums have ranged from ladders, glow sticks and even flowers, whichever strikes a chord with the public.
She was eager to talk about her new flag project, which is about places and how they work, highlighting all the historical data she had uncovered in the Wolverhampton archives including some interesting information about Enoch Powell. During the sixties, political leader Enoch Powell was systematic in the rebuilding of much of Wolverhampton’s infrastructure with devastating results. His political choices have left a long legacy of unforeseen segregation. Jayne feels the ring road, for example, creates a hierarchy in which the method of construction, imposed and brutal, was forced upon the people of Wolverhampton. This new road circles the town like a moat around a castle, likened by one councillor to the fortification of a medieval town, cutting it off from the people and prioritising the car. Jayne plans to draw attention to this issue by using the printed flag as a metaphor for failing economic systems, our break from the European Union and the lack of social housing available in Wolverhampton.
Jayne Murray is improving her printing techniques while on an AA2A project residency at Wolverhampton University and has discovered she likes working with trace best, preferring the see-through aspect of it. The two test cases shown above show the strong opacity of the print that can then be viewed from both sides.
Her interests are significantly based around public interaction, more so than the works themselves, as she passionately explained that her art is more about participation and encouraging social dialogue.
With this in mind, Jayne wishes to offer some placements covering three days between the 8th and 30th of June this year. This will be good experience and there will be media coverage of this event.
Any support for the Flag Project is welcomed. Jayne requests that people who are interested in taking part should drop her a short email expressing interest at: peoplemakeplaces@yahoo.co.uk.
