LAND IS
MARKED

‘Land is Marked’ is specially designed as a site-specific project defines to enable participants to evaluate their individual spaces as artists and to rest their artistic exploration and exercise within the contemporary context of art production and presentation. This extensive a week artist residency session has inspiring experience of intellectual exchange, research, and professional development. The participating twelve Artists had an opportunity to build lasting connections with the fellow artists and the local inhabitants.

The project initially began with four participating artists, then the choice of a group of artists from different residing states had joined to work in residence. The emphasis was given to find, contemporary artists with an experimental approach rather than artists of a particular medium. It was beginning, with the interaction between artists during the ongoing pandemic through a virtual medium, that had provided the opportunities to each artist to explain the relevance of their work through ‘Land is Marked’.

The project aimed to show that it was possible to successfully integrate art, nature and community involvement and that it was beneficial for acquaintance, skills, interactions and environmental attitudes. By understanding the significant role of nature, exploration of materials and space, the artists have expressed another relevant factor in contemporary art, that the residency has developed. By going beyond the conventional medium and approaches these artists have explored the indigenous, experimental, unconventional materials accordingly towards the site-specific orientation. The artworks and installations presented through Land art which moving beyond museums and galleries to the outdoors, without any barriers and limitation exploring the vast milieu of creativity, with the gigantic stretches of space and endlessly extending horizon lines with earth colours.  growing disengage between urbanization and nature is one of the greatest sustainability challenges at this period. The residency observes the potential of artistic approaches in reliance on the local communities, language, land and divulges the shades of human and nature coherency. Reconnecting humans to nature may therefore establish a leverage point for sustainability conversion, also creating a dialogue between these diverse idioms. Each artist was capable of tapping into passions and embodied their experiences on their respective sites.

During this residency, the artists were able to produce works that were socially engaged towards drawing attention among the local community also their perspectives, and in some occurrences likewise involving those communities in the artistic creation. These artists lean towards working with their primary audiences in mind, and in most of the artworks, multiple instances were portraying the local landscape in respective with their space. It was acknowledged that this project challenged people’s comfort zones, and as this was the first collaborative project amid challenges each artist had given their utmost inventiveness. Hence, with the mark of openness and creativity the artists required, there was uncertainty about how they could be accommodated, as most of the participating artists have belonged to the same region. Some of this anxiety was quite solved, as for some the region was unfamiliar and unknown, but among some artists, this was also part of the excitement and curiosity. For all participants involved in this project was fostering strong associations, ensuring good communication, helpful, being open and flexible were some of the essential approaches that ensured commitment towards the execution of the project. In the residency, the artists were vital about explaining their role through discussing and directly communicate or illustrate their works at the end of the day. Also exploring the neighbourhood places where the ideas that shaped though nature and local area of the village that served as an inspiration to many artists.

‘Land is Marked’ the site-specific collaborative artist residency initiated by Doare studio, provided a unique opportunity for the artists involved, and their skilled expansion was the key in encouraging them to take up this opportunity. The cooperative efficacy of the group has its first time that they had conducted an artist’s residency, of whom the group were working collaboratively and efficiently. Concerning, the logistics of nature and culture that embraces the arts, but also because it risks losing the stances upon urbanisation, the creativity of thought that artists delivered to the society have created a wave of contentedness. When the residency was completed, the resulting work and documentary materials have exhibited at their respective space in which they were created. The project was also accessible on the Doare studio website, Facebook and Instagram pages.

While interdisciplinarity has been achieved, however, there is a hunger among the group of artists to explore their potential in future projects. Nevertheless, how these artists explored their theme and represented with their artistic outputs, did on case inspires a new way and reconsider their work from an innovative perspective. The frequency and depth of eventful and professional approach in this very project, are most likely depending on the depth of involvement of each member then the receptivity and responsiveness of those specific individuals who have made the residency successful.