A purpose-built public ‘drop in’ studio was the site for conversations with visitors which informed the making of a ‘text blanket’.
In the foreword to the group exhibition publication as it is, 2000, Jonathan Watkins, Director of Ikon Gallery, describes the conditions within which Big City Small Talk was developed: ‘Occurring within a context of assertive urban regeneration, as it is focuses on actual human experience. Artists here are concerned with the ‘soft city’, the fluid and impressionistic space between architectural exteriors. They are responding to the city ‘as it is’ for its inhabitants.’
The purpose-built public ‘drop in’ studio that we designed for the gallery was the site for the production of a ‘text blanket’. Conversation lead to the sharing, collection and dissemination of visitors’ ideas and opinions about Birmingham. Questions that Tracy & Edwin posed included ‘What role does cultural identity and nationality play within the city?, What do you see as the city’s future?’. Citizens and visitors alike revealed their aspirations, their experiences of daily life and their visions for their city.
The blanket exuded warmth, care and tactility and established an interactive relationship between Tracy & Edwin and visitors. Throughout, the artists were engaged as makers, mediators and editors, composing with words, text, fabrics and colours.
Gallery staff played an important role by establishing connections between visitors and Tracy & Edwin, contributing to the work through dialogue. Visitors who chose not to engage in conversation established virtual conversations through email correspondence, while others wrote and drew their responses on flyers.
Once complete, the blanket became a portrait of Birmingham city, used in turn at the end of the project by those who contributed their thoughts during its production.
Supported by the Mondriaan Foundation, Amsterdam