Arteles Catalogue 2023-2020

Silence Awareness Existence program / MARCH 2020
Lorraine Hamilton
Scotland
www.lorrainehamilton.co.uk
About
I have been working with sculpture, collaborative performance
and installation since graduating from Glasgow School of Art
in 2011. My work oscillates around the contradiction of the
highly personal and the collective; that which is expressed
privately, deeply, emotionally and that which is shared and
impressed upon by others.
Ephemeral and non-traditional materials are often the
bridge through which I articulate these opposing desires. I
have previously used tactile and absorptive materials such
as powders, jelly, sugar, plaster and cloth which invite
audiences and participants to touch and interact with
them, but which also prompt ethical decisions around one’s
actions, as a reflection of how we all shape one another and
our environments. I aim to enable a deeply personal and
embodied experience for those that interact personally with
my work, whilst prompting reflection on collective and social
activity. My work is deeply rooted in feminist practice and
those which are considered domestic, drawing out subtle
power balances and questions of agency.
”...but does it melt?”
During my time at Arteles I became friends with silence.
Apprehensive about what this new experience might reveal,
I was surprised to find joy in the quiet; a lightness in myself
and a new way of being around others.
My work is often rooted in impermanence; things are ever
changing. No material stays the same, and there is beauty
in that uncertainty. The daily shift in the landscape was
matched by our ever-changing circumstances.
The biggest lesson was to not trust in what tomorrow brings,
but focus on what today has to offer. Take that walk, laugh
loudly with people, go to the public sauna, share in the
salon, do what you want in this moment because next week
may not bring the same opportunities. The daily meditation
practice also served this change in perspective; a focus on
experiencing the moment was an important lesson.
What I created in my residency reflects this learning as well as
contradicting it. I started the month creating works in ice and
soap, materials I contrived to be worn away by the elements
and the viewers touch. I ended it creating paintings that are
like time capsules, setting transient moments in a clear resin,
like leaves suspended in amber. I wanted to freeze these
moments of impermanence and capture them forever.
This residency has given me so much; my time was sadly
cut short due to the global pandemic but the 18 days I had
revealed unexpected things about myself and my work.