Workshop / Helen Carnac: Marking Place... Antwerp 2011 (with BA3)

I have worked with six students of the jewellery bachelor course over the period of 4 days, spread out over two weeks. We began the project by taking two walks, these, chosen by the group at the beginning of the first day, took us from St Lucas University College through the historic city on the right side of the River Schelde and then through the foot-tunnel to the left side and the edge of Linkeroever. After a break, over night, we took a second walk from the Main station to an area north east of the station and through ‘China Town’, the ‘Diamond Quarter’ and back to Sint Lucas. During these walks we collected photographic images, found objects and thought about our views of walking Antwerp. After these two days I left and went back to my home and studio in London. Meanwhile the students were asked to chose a place, from the walks already taken, that they would revisit, re-investigate and where they would establish a system to record something of that place that they can now share with you -the viewer. What you see displayed here is a visual and written document of our original walks. The objects displayed in this circle are some that were found on the walks, there is a map detailing our journeys, images remembered by the group in words remembered 11 days after the walks were taken and a selection of all our images in a line on the wall, beginning at this end where we began on Sint-Jozefstraat. The students have connected their individual projects to an image on the line of the place that they chose to go back to and reflect on. This project is a formative part of the jewellery students’ studies, whilst it does not explicitly connect with what we may think of as jewellery, it is intended to encourage thinking around ideas such as collecting data, research, mark-making, the identity of a place, individuals and place and how we experience place by being in it, on our feet.
- Helen Carnac –

Helen Carnac is a maker, curator and academic who lives and works in London. Drawing, mark-making, the explicit connections between material,process and maker and an emphasis on deliberation and reflection are all central to her practice as a maker and thinker.

Running an environmentally grounded practice, Carnac develops projects using design methodologies that are rooted in an acute awareness of physical location, place and working practices. The populated environment is of key importance and through her practice and projects she aims to bring people together, creating social and creative engagement and collaboration in an open-ended design process.

www.helencarnac.co.uk/
helencarnac.wordpress.com/