Artist Statement

 

Jilly Morris's practice is concerned with marks that tell a story in the landscape or moments that retain a physical presence in the human condition. Jilly is primarily interested in creating work that is response led to a place, or process driven and researched.

 

Her work spans different disciplines, including, drawing, installation, sculptural interpretation and enamel. Her artwork is often considered to reside in the 'grey area' between fine art and making; fusing traditional techniques such as stitch into contemporary artworks.

 

Jilly is interested in the relationship of action and result. Her working methods are often repetitive and deliberately painstaking, reflecting her on going pre-occupation with the passage of time. Jilly is particularly fascinated how time effects landscape, whether by nature or human intervention.

 

If you would like more information on the artist then visit   www.jillymorris.co.uk

Salty Responses

 

I spent November and December 2015 in the Observatory as artist in residence in Lymington Keyhaven salt marshes, it was a unique and amazing project to be part of. I found the landscape to be fascinating, both in a visual sense and also in a historical sense. I believe it is vital to connect with a place and each residency gives a different perspective and opportunity to do this. I initially wanted to explore experimenting with salt but the weather conditions made this impossible, the salt became damp and unusable in the winter months. One of the reasons that I believe residencies are an important and a fundamental practice for artists, is that they push you to work in a different way and often force you to work out of your comfort zone, this is an exciting and important factor. As I could not experiment with salt I treasured hunted instead, I explored my surrounding landscape to see what inspiration and materials it could offer me.

 

These are just some of my inspirations and motivations:

 

I found oak galls which allowed me the opportunity to make ink.

I discovered treasure hunting at dawn.

It was the closest to nature I have ever been.

I daily recorded the colour of the sky and water and fell in love with grey skies.

I became fascinated by the acoustics of the nature reserve.

I realised how important a building can be in a landscape.

I discovered ancient wood and a new material to work with.

I met and interacted with lots of inspiring people.

I discovered I don't like wind.

It made me understand how much I enjoy interaction with both place and public and how important this is for me in my creative practice.

Jilly Morris

Observatory Resident at Lymington Keyhaven Salt Marshes - November and December 2015