Connecting With Gertrude

Connecting With Gertrude is a series of five artworks created as part of a 15 month residency at Plymouth College of Art. During my residency I was granted access to the collections held at Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery. Here I explored a collection of artefacts collected by female explorer, Gertrude Benham during the period from 1904 to 1938. The string related objects in the collection took me on an unexpected journey involving literally unravelling the 'truth' about Gertrude through a process of interrogation into parts of her legacy. Through this investigation of Gertrude's journey, my own has led me through the exploration of craftsmanship and related stories and to the discovery of some unpredictable connections of invention and mechanical developments. The expression of this journey is the series of animation installations, which are grouped with the title Connecting With Gertrude. In this exhibition visitors were invited to participate in - or contribute to - the function of the work. Through this active involvement it is possible to discover relationships and connections with the objects contained in the work, thereby exploring the making and unmaking process relative to the time and space of the components presented in three forms: firstly, as original artefacts; secondly, in the animated examination; and thirdly, in the time and space of the exhibition itself.