Chris A. Wright: Hatchery

Chris A. Wright is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher and writer, exhibiting nationally and internationally primarily using sound, sculpture, drawing, film and live art. She is motivated by the need to explore and understand the why's, what's and how's in an experimental practice that lies at the intersection of fine art and philosophy. She is concerned with time and space, particularly transitory spaces such as borders, and the moment where one thing becomes another, ideas generated by found objects, dropped words, snippets of light, materials and process.

"Waking up the day after lockdown, time seemed endless. It was like luxuriating in a long hot bath with no-one knocking on the door, like a cat stretching out in the warmth of the sun. No more temp work, no more driving through rush hour, no more ironing and wearing not-me clothes. Ahhh! It lasted at least three days before I realised what it really meant. Living on a narrowboat means keeping very few materials with me, sharing the boat means little space.

My approach to my artwork has been an exploration of concepts and ideas which are investigated through whatever medium seems most relevant. The work aims to ask questions and further thought rather than trying to resolve a specific problem or find a particular answer. I use live art, video, sculpture, installation and sound. My themes are borders, edges, the change from one thing to another which is, essentially, time and space. For the last few years, however, I have been mostly using sound for the way it interrupts the border, disrupting the time/space continuum through its interface with the body.

Lockdown meant quietness, I could hear everything, almost overwhelming when it was not mediated by the flow of traffic or aircraft. As a way of making sure I did not lie in bed all day with my new-found freedom, I signed up to with the group 120° to do 30 days of artwork. It was not always easy but I gradually developed a broader art language. I have developed a lot of new ideas which I can use when things change and these will feed into my work with sound. Nothing is ever wasted.

I saw all these activities as a self-directed residency which I called Hatchery. I realised that I was not alone and asked others to join me, taking the solo artist from isolation into togetherness. It became a group of self-directed residencies. We meet on Zoom once a week and discussed progress, the work of other artists who have influenced us, and had online gallery tours, with very lively WhatsApp exchanges in between.

Since then, we have had a two-part exhibition, She'd 1 and 2, which was supported and hosted by Artcore, Derby, who made a much better job of the technical side that I ever could and were wonderful to work with. Now, we are twelve artists with twelve different approaches who are based in UK, Canada, Italy and France. I am looking to see how we will continue now the world is opening up. I hope Hatchery will work alongside my own work."

Chris's studio practice can be seen on her website and you can view the Hatchery project here.   

CuratorSpace are currently featuring articles by artists, curators and organisations who want to share their experiences of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, whether that is artists using their practice as a way of exploring new boundaries of isolation, or as a way to connect more broadly with their communities. We are also interested in hearing from curators and organisations who are offering support to artists and audiences during this time.

Contact us at louise@curatorspace.com to share your story.
 

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