About Russell Martin // I am an artist // Who I have worked with // What I have learned // What I have written

Current projects // Portable Radio // studio1.1 // Constitutional // Rational Rec // Susak Expo // Other current projects

Past projects // Speakeasy // For Love and Money // Show Me The Monet // Way East // Other past projects

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For the whole of 2008 I will be artist in residence at studio1.1, Redchurch Street, London.

Taking part in a residency, with its limited time in which to make work, has challenged my usual working practices. Given only a year to make a body of work, and excited by the difference to my usually slow working practice, I have so far created three new projects:

My residency began with an artists talk. As an artist who does not make material objects, I have often been thwarted in my attempts to make a 'traditional' artists talk - images of pieces alongside a narrative of philosophy, influences and progression which the slides illustrate. The Artists Talk allowed me not only to redress this imbalance but also to explore the meanings behind a talk about my work of art. I choose never to describe the activities that take place during the works of art that I create and therefore did not describe my projects in this way - instead, through The Artists Talk explored what it means to say the simple and overused phrase 'my work is about...'.

The second piece, in March 2008, Self Portraits, consisted of 3 dialogues with three people entirely unknown to me chosen from a list of volunteers by the gallery. Three people were selected by studio1.1 to come individually to the gallery on a day when the gallery is closed to the public. Each spent as long as they chose in one-on-one dialogue with me talking only about themselves. My role was to question, enquire, ponder and encourage the participants to reveal as much as they want to in a confidential and private context, with the content of the dialogue never divulged in any way. Not even the names of the participants were recorded. With an unlimited supply of refreshments and the potential for overnight accommodation in the gallery space, each dialogue continued until the participant chose to stop. Self Portraits was a continued departure from my usual methodologies of working with people within my personal and professional networks.

Scotch Corner, the third piece in the residency, was a one-day Scottish accent training course for non-native English speakers.  Originally from Glasgow in Scotland, I have devised this piece to mark my tenth anniversary in London. One thing many Londoners have in common is their immigration to the city and each betrays the trace of their origins each time they open their mouth – for me, the most noticeable but invisible proof of my ‘foreignness’ in London has always been my accent.  With the huge international population of London everyone has to occasionally alter the way they talk to be understood, and mimicking the accents of friends is an entertaining pastime.  In the face of the low success rate of a good Scottish accent, the course will enable English-speakers from countries where English is not spoken natively the chance to assimilate into London life by way of my own peculiar difference, and explore the city as a different kind of outsider than before.

More information about forthcoming projects at studio1.1 will appear on this page throughout the year.