Mark Baldwin, 'Diary of a residency'
In: Annotations 2: Sonia Boyce: Performance. Edited by Mark Crinson. London: Institute of International Visual Arts, 1998, pp. 40-49
"Much of my recent work has got close to the body. Close to those areas of the body that are loaded with cultural significance."
(Extract from Sonia Boyce's application statement for the post)
January 1997
Residency begins.
21 January
Meeting with Peter Wade and Anna Grimshaw in the Department of Social and Visual Anthropology.
4 February
Meeting with Paul Bayley and Kate Jesson at Cornerhouse
19 February
Product analysis session with students on the Art Galleries and Museums Studies programme.
Introductory slide presentation to the Department of Art History and Archaeology.
Meeting with John Taylor, lecturer in the History of Art and Design at Manchester Metropolitan University and editor for Manchester University Press.
26 February
Open Studio day.
3 March
Leading a session for the Whitworth Art Society life drawing class.
4 March
Interview with the Mancunion student newspaper.
"She is here for a number of reasons. Firstly, we get to see the creative process at work and influence it. This is one of the reasons that Sonia enjoys residencies: 'It is an opportunity for me to get real feedback as I work, which is something you don't get from an exhibition'." (Extract from the Mancunion article)
5 March
Meeting with the lunchtime seminar group in Social Anthropology with Professor Tim Ingold.
"Since joining the Department in January I have been intrigued by the ebb and flow of traffic and social interaction that takes place in the corridor. With this in mind I have been thinking about making a work that travels along one side of the corridor." (Boyce's letter to Department staff, 5 March)
11 March
Strategy meeting for all the departments and organisations involved in the residency.
15 April
The Modern Art Museum - Project working with Mark Crinson's third year group.
"The project will be initiated by Sonia Boyce ... who will discuss with the seminar group her museum interventions ... Following this, five groups, with three students in each group, will devise an intervention proposal for the Manchester Museum." (Extract from the project plan)
29 April
Participation in the 'Options Appraisal' for the future of Cornerhouse following their successful lottery bid.
"The shape and the image of the building are things that remain quite sharply in my mind when I think of Cornerhouse. The fact that certain parts of the building (the eating, drinking, bookshop and bar areas) are quite visible, leaves a strong imprint as the image of the Cornerhouse. This is why, in my presentation, inside and out, the public and the private, become repeated themes. The translucence of the building could be an asset." (Extract from Boyce's appraisal)
30 April
Open Studio day.
May
Bienal de la Habana & Soroa International Artist Workshop, Cuba.
3 June
Simon Grennan - Viewpoint Photography Gallery, Salford.
Jane Speller (Visual Arts Officer, North West Arts Board) for interim report.
9 June
Informal social drink between Social Anthropology and Art History.
16 June
Meeting with Paul Bayley, Kate Jesson, Yuen Fong, Vicky Charnock, Marcus Verhagen and Mark Baldwin to discuss the progress of the work for the exhibition, the education programme at Cornerhouse and support in terms of the production of the work.
30 June
Meeting with Simon Grennan to look at Viewpoint's printmaking and darkroom facilities.
7 July
Follow-up meeting with Vicky Charnock and Kate Jesson (Cornerhouse) to discuss The Audition project further, plus support for the production of work.
8 July
Meeting with John Hyatt at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Meeting with Graham Parker to discuss ISEA '98 project.
15 July
Meet John Hyatt to look at the Metropolitan's art facilities.
22 July
Visit to Christine Woods (Curator of Wallpapers) at the Whitworth Art Gallery with Andrea MacKean, to look at the wallpaper collection and discuss how to make the Lover's Rock piece.
4 August
Meeting with Paul Bayley to discuss production costs and the publication.
"Some of the most challenging recent art produced by young black artists, both sides of the Atlantic, has seen the unfixing of black identities, offering a critical, yet playful awareness of the debates around race and gender politics. The position of the blonde 'bob' hairstyle ... as a signifier of white feminine desirability, has taken centre stage. Most interestingly, it is now considered a 'space' or a 'look' that the black body can adorn itself with." (Extract from funding application to the Arts Council of England)
12 August
Meeting with Yuen Fong and Vicky Charnock to sort out details of The Audition project.
13 August
Visit to the Henry Moore Institute, plus a quick chat with Penelope Curtis.
19 August
Quick meeting with Philip Dunn at the National Museum of Labour History to enquire about banners, fixtures and fittings.
20 August
Meeting with Kate Jesson to discuss progress of work and look at possible applications for production funds.
"The two models/actors in I Want To See It are identical twins. There is something disconcerting about seeing twins ... I find myself caught in a perpetual double-take, uncomfortably aware of their sameness and intrigued by their differences (a seemingly perfect synthesis of self and other), yet I'm embarrassed if I stare too long." (Extract from application to North West Arts Film & Video Production Fund)
1 September
Meeting with Gilane Tawadros (Institute of International Visual Arts) for an informal interim report.
10 September
Meeting with Amanda King and Lisa Haskel at the Arts Council of England to discuss the New Media publishing fund.
23 September
Meeting with Paul Bayley about the progress of work, the publication and applications for funding.
"A sound piece I Want To Be Loved By You and an audio-visual piece A Short Film About Sperm will be published on a cross-platform enhanced CD ROM... It is intended that this CD ROM will be given away with the publication. As this is the only way that these works will be documented it is quite crucial that the CD ROM becomes integral to the publication. In other words, this is not a 'stand alone' project, and as such will only earn income indirectly. However, through the services of Cornerhouse Publications, it will reach audiences beyond those that attend the exhibition at Cornerhouse." (Extract from funding application to the Arts Council of England)
29 October
Open Studio day.
3 November
Meeting with Ian Wolfenden about a talk to his Museum Studies group, and the workshop for the beginning of December.
5 November
Meeting with Andrew Causey and Mike Pollard to discuss photographing The Audition project and some other work.
10 November
Slide talk and conversation with the Museum Studies diploma group about the exhibition Peep.
12 November
Visit with Christine Woods to look at wallpaper samples.
Hosting Mark Dion's talk in the Department of Art History and Archaeology.
17 November
Move lights and tripod to Cornerhouse
18 November
The Audition at Cornerhouse - a day of photographing members of the general public wearing an Afro wig.
24 November
Panel discussion at Cornerhouse on the Turner Prize.
"I am writing to ask you to participate in an event that is taking place here on Monday 24 November during the afternoon. The event in question is our annual Turner Prize discussion. Cornerhose is one of several regional galleries organising events around the Prize." (Letter from Paul Bayley, 8 August)
2 December
Workshop with the Museum Studies group.
"The Morning Session: the day will start by everyone talking about the first record they bought. After the initial discussion everyone will be required to sing a portion of 'their song' - to be recorded onto audio tape." "The Afternoon Session: we shall listen to the singing tapes and explore the various ways and possibilities of exhibiting or presenting sound in the context of the museum or art gallery." (Extracts from workshop outline)
3 December
"I suppose the general intention for the display of Grace is a feeling of 'after the event'. I'd like the two banners leaned against the wall. The cloth slightly sagging. The placards seem abandoned, randomly stacked and propped around the banners. Plentiful and cheerful bunting across the ceiling of the top gallery (the brightest gallery at the Cornerhouse, because of the skylight), but still." (Letter from Boyce to Mark Crinson, 3 December)
4 December
Workshop with members of the Social Anthropology Department on swearing.
The residency continues until April 1998.