Unsettled boundary

The ideas behind this work come from happening upon farm boundary where cans on a fence were being used as an alarm to warn of intruders. The wind however, was activating the cans and producing a rhythmical sound that I found comforting and mediative. I was fascinated by the dual nature of the construction, something that could sooth yet agitate, be music but also an alarm, something made from rough, cheap materials but be a valuable thing. The boundary, something that usually keeps people out, was musical and inviting and drew me closer.

In the UK we have a long history of containing land and having ownership of it. Through this work I am questioning whether a boundary can be a place of enquiry rather than a place of limitations and restraint. I am using the convergence of two or more things coming together to form a new whole. I want to create an experience that by pulling focus on the space between these differences, an awareness can be formed, something that can bring the ‘I’ or ‘me’ into the space. The work is constantly in flux, the cans moving and sounding at any moment, and an awareness of being present can be uncomfortable, but by questioning and valuing everyday life and being and doing in the moment, it can sometimes produce liberating thinking.