ARC session with Catherine Bertola

Dear Suzy,
Its a shame you couldn't join me for my chat with Catherine last week. I'll try and summarize some of the thoughts she had about our work while the conversation is still fresh in my mind.
We talked for a while about the nature of the collaboration; and Catherine suggested that the collaboration hinges on dialogue - in the way we research and develop projects, as the basis for making work in separate locations and in the process of putting different elements of the installation together where a dialogue is set up between the parts. She thinks we could place even more emphasis on this, looking for opportunities to set up discussion and exchanges. The Oxford/Paris project will provide plenty!
We wondered if the talk scheduled for 1st November could take the form of a conversation?
We talked about how our walking is an integral part of our practice and she suggested that we should make sure we keep this sense of change or an organic process in the way we hang the show. A sense of exploration.
If possible produce a publication using documentation (this will depend on funding). Perhaps in the form of a map/mind map? The exhibition itself might change and evolve (we have been anticipating this anyway but perhaps could push the idea further). I wonder if we could send small works between Paris and Oxford by courier so there is another form of exchange between the shows?
Another more practical suggestion that came out of the chat was how we might develop this approach in future commissions/public art projects. There is a lot of regeneration at the moment and this often takes place in inner city areas with estates on the edge overlooked. Catherine thinks this piece could create a legacy of future projects. Also there could be a legacy in Oxford itself as the project is generating a kind of archive which may continue to be developed or may have a role in the future.

I've done a couple more walks which I will write about in the next few days. Progress should be quicker now I've got some childcare set up for Zola.
Rachel x