– When Night Draws In, 2006
– When Night Draws In, 2006
– When Night Draws In (installation view) 2006
WHEN NIGHT DRAWS IN
In spring 2006 artist Sarah Woodfine collaborated with eleven adults who were using two mental health resource centres run by Wandsworth Mind, an organisation that provides community based social care for people who experience long term mental health issues. Together, Woodfine and the participants undertook a creative journey, in workshops exploring the familiar yet fantastical terrain of the night, when darkness distorts and transforms elements of the real, creating space for the imagination to roam free.
For many of the individuals who took part in this project, probing their experiences of the night time revealed a mixture of emotions surrounding it. Beginning with concepts and processes rooted in Woodfine’s drawing-based practice, they collectively experimented with the transformation of drawing into pop-ups, model landscapes and theatre sets, working solely in black and white. The final photographic works play on the apparent three-dimensionality of these dreamlike worlds. In drawing their picture frames Woodfine was able to share her very individual and quite controlled way of working with others who enjoy a passion, as one participant put it, “for working from the imagination”.
From eerie forests glittering darkly in the moonlight to bats swarming around a gothic castle, prowling urban cats to peaceful country scenes, the work reveals personal tales about what lies in the night. At once beguiling and unsettling, these works ask us to examine the worlds we invent for ourselves after dark.
The final works, alongside drawings and objects made during the project, were exhibited at the Digby Stuart Chaplaincy, Roehampton, from Friday 9 to Sunday 11 June 2006. A limited edition 28 page catalogue of the works was also published.
When Night Draws In formed part of Artangel Interaction's Nights of London series of artist-led projects exploring the nocturnal city with people who wake, work or watch over it.
Artangel Interaction is funded by The National Lottery through Arts Council England, John Lyon's Charity and the generous support of Elizabeth and Vincent Meyer. With thanks to Wandsworth MIND. In association with Digby Stuart College and the School of Arts, Roehampton University.
