Field Station: HERE

by Jo Hodges 2021

A sonic field trip and a self-assembling exhibition of place

Entwined exhibition for VARC. High Green, Northumberland. September 2021

Background information:

“The exhibition was the culmination of the ENTWINED programme which sought to take a closer look at the interconnection between all things. Through the artists’ eyes and imagination, informed by research gathered from readings, personal observation, embodied experience and shared knowledge, the works unveil what lies within, beneath and beyond the tangible or intangible realms of what makes a ‘place’. Entwined was the work of seven artists, Sam Douglas, Catriona Gallagher, Shane Finan, Emily Ketteringham, Robbie Coleman & Jo Hodges, and Bridget Kennedy, as well as two associated artists Andrew Burton and Kate Liston who took up residencies hosted by local organisations.”

See our work with Tarset Village Hall HERE

Field Station:HERE invited participants to see and feel beyond their surroundings into the ‘lifeworld’ of social, cultural and temporal networks and hybrid ecologies that each of us are at the centre of and to reflect on the soft webs of interconnection that hold us all ‘in place’. Where and what is ‘here’ and how much of it do we bring with us when we arrive?

Above: Wall panels on arrival at Field Station: HERE

Above: Images from the exhibition process. On arrival, participants downloaded an app on their phones. Using GPS to locate their movements, the app then triggered a sound ‘essay’ when they walked into a delineated zone. This was delivered through headphones. Each participant took a haversack with them which contained a set of instruments with which to explore ‘here’. Participants were asked to collect and bring back a ‘specimen’ to label and exhibit.

Above: Wall based work. ‘Where systems Intersect‘. Black and white photographs.
Above: Additional materials in the exhibition space: Where Systems Intersect.
Money is not just a component within some of the systems and networks explored here but is the most touched object in human culture and provides a rich environment for the transport and exchange of bacteria, fungi and viruses. It is a pertinent example of how the ‘other than human’ world intersects and becomes entwined with ours in ways that we are often unaware of.Swabs taken from three different bank notes, cultured at the Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution laboratories at the University of Edinburgh.
Edges:Surfaces:Borders. Coleman & Hodges 2015)
Field Station:HERE. Flier

Following the exhibition at VARC’s home of Highgreen in September 2021, the show toured to Newcastle and coincided with the launch of the ENTWINED publication and online conference. The audio of Field Station:HERE was reworked for the urban context.

Above: Field Station:HERE. Exhibition and participatory artwork, Newcastle

ENTWINED publication

This full colour publication expands on some of the conversations and ideas sparked by the ENTWINED programme and reflects on VARC’s 21 years as an arts charity based in rural Northumberland. Authors include: Dave Pritchard, Susan Trangmar, Lucy May Schofield, Lesley Guy, Mike Collier, Alexander Marr, Ingrid Pollard, Julie Crawshaw, Ysanne Holt, Cynthia Morrison-Bell, Mike Pratt, Corrine Fowler, and Menelaos Gkartzios. There are also pages dedicated to each of the ENTWINED artists: Andrew Burton, Robbie Coleman & Jo Hodges, Sam Douglas, Shane Finan, Catriona Gallagher, Bridget Kennedy, Emily Ketteringham and Kate Liston.

The book is designed by Supanaught , published by Art Editions North and edited by Mike Collier and Helen Pailing. Copies can be ordered here

Categories: 2021, Community Engagement, Environmental, Exhibition, Participatory, Process, Site Specific, Sound, Strategy

Jo Hodges

Jo Hodges is a multidisciplinary public artist based in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
with a background in Human Ecology, community development and social justice.

Her work investigates ecological and socio-cultural systems, processes and relationships, and explores new strategies for working in public. Her practice takes many forms; temporary and permanent works, site specific installations and socially engaged projects and processes. She is often led by context, where the outcome is determined as a result of process.

She is interested in research, experimentation and collaboration at the intersection of environment, culture and technology and exploring the role of art in social change. She is joint Director-Curator of Sanctuary Lab, a public art laboratory in the Galloway Forest Dark Skies Park.