Brynn Aldred, 2022
For the hot house project I wanted to continue on with my themes of research around land and the stories that will carry us forward to a more connected life. I took the opportunity of the hothouse to work in installation.
Still finding myself drawn to wool I examined my personal reasons for being drawn to it. Wool is a dead material often left to waste and separated from its contextual environment. However wool carries our stories and histories in our textiles even though it is now disregarded.
This research was especially helped by Rebecca Wyn Kelly who helped guide me and have confidence in my love of wool just as she does. There was something continual and hopeful in wool, It has a quite continual perseverance that needs to be honoured.
Elena Grace, 2022
I found Hot House to be a great support through this daunting transitional period of life and practice after just graduating.
Having the residency to begin independent working with encouragement and support alongside the shared studio space to connect ideas and inspiration, has given me a lot of fulfilment in my practice.
It’s also been a refreshing reminder of the excitement of making work to show, communicating and working with new people.
Non Charles, 2022
The guidance and support offered through Hothouse allowed me to reimagine my work and explore new avenues, pushing my practise with the support of mentoring and studio access.
Organisations like Hothouse are vital for emerging artists to help alleviate the uncertain transition between university and the art world. Being in a new environment created an ideal space to react to the surroundings given and create site specific work.
Working in a small group fostered artistic discussion and shared knowledge cultivating in common threads forming from bouncing off each other.
Hothouse was a great experience and Zoe and Josh made it a welcoming and exciting place to be!
Erin Donnelly, 2022
The Hothouse residency has been the ideal transition from university. I felt at home there from the start - Zoe and Josh created a relaxed and welcoming environment which allowed us the freedom to play in the space without any restrictions.
Working in a collaborative space where we could bounce ideas off each other – rather than being confined to our own ideas by working alone - and having Zoe, Josh and Rebecca as mentors was invaluable. Despite our differing styles, materials and approaches we were able to find a common thread through our work and create a cohesive exhibition that tied together similar themes and colour palette.
It’s been a really fun month and it was exciting to end it with an exhibition showing what has been produced and giving us experience planning and preparing a space for a show.