*Covid Context: Closed to public, no visitors.  1 Month Live Residency inside the Gallery – this was my workspace.
The limitations and restrictions of the Covid19 pandemic, in this situation, allowed for unprecedented access and time with the sculptural work and space.

I really decided to capitalise on this, with a uniquely undertaking Laboratory working in close quarters with the Installed work. I really lived with that work, process was Queen and she was inventive, responsive and constantly playing hard and in discovery.

Questions

How do I occupy the space without making it a ‘stage’ or a backdrop? How do I not dance/ move ‘around’ the installation’. Instead how do I become part of its landscape, fabrics, noises and it’s framing. My approach was to extend these ideas into the body. I considered the body as a moving material across the rooms, a tool that was also a moving part making choreographies in meeting, intercepting, and extending this constructed landscape.

Spatial Palettes & Choreographies

The gallery was made up of 3 rooms with open doorways that led into one another. The installation constructed a very distinct architecture inside the gallery’s building. It housed beams, bold shapes, curves, heavy sheets, planks, wheels and precarious stacking and balancing. Moving through the gallery, there was a constant framing and reframing, discovery, opening up the gaze of the viewer and expanding sight lines which reminded me of French New Wave cinema camera work. The arrangement gave rise to a fluid travelling sensation. McCullough also utilised a distinct colour palette of vibrant green, pastel pink, blue, purples, wood and metal tones. The very considered positioning of the materials, objects and records speaks of buildings, architectures, workspaces, laboratories, frames and movement but also speak to the architecture of the building at the same time.

Laboratory Working

On residency I took my observations and experience of the installed work as a point of departure. Over the 4 weeks I shared what became a catalogue of images in series, short clips of movement ideas, material exploration and camera experiments on Instagram, stories, reels and Facebook.  I spent a lot of time in investigating, in being curious and through this work I extend that curiosity to audiences/ public/ visitors

Pre- Residency / Written by Director Catherine Hemelryk

At CCA, Priya’s starting point is a response to Jan McCullough’s body of work Tricks of the Trade currently installed in the galleries. Tricks of the Trade explores spaces of construction through sculptural installation, referencing elements found in workshops, garages, factory floors and shed with their improvised ladders, offcuts and storage solutions. Priya’s work will unfold over the coming weeks and whilst we cannot invite visitors into CCA during the pandemic restrictions, you can follow Priya’s activity via social media @ccadld and @whatsthebigmistry. For Priya the process is the work.