Gina Kawecka - Avon Residency - September 2019
As Artist in Residence for AFON 2019 I was able to truly immerse myself in my practice. The residency was more than I had anticipated; the cottage, the greenery, the waterways and the community kept me transfixed, energised, enlivened and inspired.
I didn’t realise how much I needed the quiet gentle wild solitude to restore my creative energy! The community were so open to participating in swimming with me, taking me to their special hidden swimming spots and sharing their stories whilst I photographed them and the water.
I installed my MA Moving Image piece ‘Immerse’ in the cottage (with full technical support provided as part of residency) yet went beyond this to create new projected work entitled ‘AFON’ (Welsh for ‘river’).
The residency pushed me to make and share work publicly within the space of a week – which was new for me (the quick turnaround). It was a joy and privilege to reflect back photographically to the community a new vision of their underwater world and to connect with other AFON artists and their interpretations of the incredibly special surroundings.
