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Open borders live project
Open adjective 1. allowing access, passage, or a view through an empty space; not closed or blocked. 2. exposed to the air or to view; not covered. Borders 1. a line separating two countries, administrative divisions, or other areas. 2. the edge or boundary of something, or the part near it. I was first drawn into this live project as I was presented the brief. The way it was ‘sold’ was to, think of land and ownership as the basis for political stance. I thought it would be a good live project to be involved because, although I do not have a great knowledge of political matters, I do have a great interest in how people are governed, how leaders and the way society is organised impact on the people within. That seems to always be the basis of my motivations for making work about. I never thought of myself for being an activist artist but making art for the sake of change either personally or in a larger scale, trying to bring an awareness of what it is like to be in someone else’s shoes so that we can better live amongst each other, is surely what I believe I make art for. Before starting a project, I like to dissect the words within the title so I can better understand what it is asking of me and which side of its meaning I feel naturally inclined to concentrate on. After doing that I decided that talking about Open Borders would be about land ownership and value. I am currently researching about Birmingham and found a lot of good research material at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. One of the things that really caught my attention was the story of when the land that we now call Birmingham was first found. Peter de Bermingham arrived in the area and purchased the land for £1. For a while the land didn’t mount to nothing until Peter decided to open a market. He noticed that a lot of travellers coming and going from different parts of the lands would eventually cross through his territory. The market was a success which then attracted farmers, crafters and all manner of different makers and producers to the area. The market grew and grew, settled people were renting and selling land for profit and that’s how Birmingham became to be what we now know. I have been sharing my thoughts with my module tutor. We diverted the conversation to how water is important for a thriving society/town. Much of the success Birmingham has had is due to the many canal systems that were built in the 1700’s and 1800’s, facilitating the logistics between cities nearby or far away. My statement of intent states: “The main theme of my work is based upon the relationship between land and power, and how that has affected society since the 12th century when Peter De Bermingham purchased the land we now call Birmingham, hitherto. I have ideas to explore what it means to own land, and who we are serving when we labour on the land.” Insert pics of peter de bermingham and Birmingham in the early ages I watched “Robinson in London” and “Robinson in Space” by Patrick Keiller. I couldn’t get much into the swing of the films, perhaps the over-elaborated text makes me ‘zone out’ and I lose focus. I did, however, notice the way the movie was filmed. Still images, photograph-like, at some shots might as well have been photographs we wouldn’t know the difference. That intrigues me, it gives the films different perspective and combined with the text I got a sense of memory or photo-album storytelling, if such term exists. I couldn’t get hold of Robinson in Ruins unfortunately, there isn’t one in the library and it’s a very low-key film – can’t find it easily https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Noa7i9qqq3c Research Derek Jarman
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June 2023
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