2 WOODS in Dialogue

May 2021

Calgary, Canada + Chopwell Wood, UK

As part of our residency in Chopwell Wood this spring we had the wonderful opportunity to work with Jane Gower and Tony Scandrett — artists who have been working in community arts for over 30 years in the North East of England. Throughout April and May we met regularly via video chat, texted back and forth, and discussed our respective art practices, personal histories, and our reticence of using technology. Both of our practices are largely analog and the prospect of trying to beat the limitations of in-person collaboration by using new technologies or imagining ourselves meeting in virtual reality or online social spaces was not only daunting, but uninteresting.

Instead we looked at what technologies we do know how to use. They are very much pedestrian in nature: texting, photos, videos, Google docs etc. After a few conversations we started to explore different ways of communicating that wasn’t exclusively over Zoom and in our studios.

Tony and Jane would walk us through the woods and then we’d walk them through woods in Canada. Eventually, we started sending each other poetic gestures (photographs, drawings, videos, and audio) of Chopwell Wood and a small forest in Calgary.

As part of our GIFT Exchange session, we shared a dialogue that we are just beginning to have about the woods. We wanted to know: how can we experience distance, create wonder, and develop a shared vocabulary that can be used to create future works?

On the left side of the video you will see Chopwell Wood. And on the right, a special place in Calgary called the Douglas Fir trail. Click the image to start the video.