Anna Hennings

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Date exhibit:2009-05-08

Type exhibit:Artist in residence activity |

Artist Anna Hennings was asked to create a workshop for a Watts Gallery educational project, 'Watts Art', in 2008, a one day family project at a community centre in Guildford, with the aim of having a clear up to improve the space for everyone to enjoy and an opportunity to meet other community members and to develop a sense of pride and ownership in this shared space.
Using ideas based on her own practice exploring negative space and spatial relationships Anna designed an activity involving participants working together to create outlines of each other, drawn on the ground using flour. The idea was to create a line of figures like those folded paper cut out figures almost everyone has made as children. The turf was then cut away leaving an earth silhouette which, when turned over, created another adjoining figure. The turf figures were planted with seeds of cress, lettuce, and Forget Me Not, giving the project further longevity and interest.
The idea of making a figure and planting it has other possibilities; to teach about growing food for health, or used to help children, or adults cope with bereavement, giving them a focus for their grief, somewhere to tend lovingly, to plant with colours and plants to create a visual image of their memories, using a variety of textures and colours, with the possibly of growing something that can be eaten and enjoyed. The planting plan can relate to the favourite colours, clothes, foods etc of the person it represents. A similar cut out of a pet could be made. This is a way of teaching about life and death, and an opportunity to work with a child to enable them to discuss their feelings, coming to terms with their loss whilst creating something positive and enjoyable