EM24: Spotlight on Harriet Pritchard

How are you finding the residency so far?

The residency has been really good and has allowed me to find a new place that I can create, work and think effectively. With only finishing my MA a month previously I was struggling with the lack of studio space and Surface has become somewhere that feels safe and abundant to me. I absolutely love the building I find the architecture of it inspiring and I feel that has really elevated how I've been able to develop more ideas and gain more inspiration from the building and area surrounding me. Having the residency be a month long has also really pushed me in the way I create art and has meant that making tough artistic decisions has been easier as it has been more necessary.

You focus on the relationship between nature and humanity, tell me more about it.

I believe that everything on this planet holds energy and has a voice. Symbiotic relationships are evident in the relationship between humanity and nature. There is a chain of connection that constantly is moving around us from fungi giving to trees, to trees giving back to fungi and other trees that surround them and then in turn trees giving to us as humans, the flow is endless. We as humans communicate constantly and so does nature, we all form bonds and we all inherently want to help each other.  The natural world and the human world directly mirror one another and that is beautiful. I want to be able to show this to others so that they can form deeper connections with the abundance that surrounds us that is easy to take for granted. 

The combination of sculpture and poetry is fascinating, do you write as well as create?

Writing is a true passion of mine and something that I believe forms a large part of my practise. Both words and art come from the soul and have the power to adapt and change a narrative of anything. In a previous work I wrote a poem that I developed into a choral piece. Words and emotions allowed power to come from pain and in turn talk to sculptures and the environment I created. Words can connect both human and form, there is a transaction between them that marries together so instinctively. I feel as though writing is an outlet that so easily can be taken for granted but highlighting words within an art practise allows them to be able to have their moment to shine and stand as a form of communication and care. 

Do you create in other mediums besides sculpture? 

In my practise I often use various mediums together alike to what I am creating for this ongoing residency. I love to create video and sound pieces to really create immersive environments and acknowledge our five senses. Exploring scent has been something that has interested me forever and I believe is a powerful tool in art making. During the past year I have also began to develop a practise in Virtual Reality drawing and sculpture. I feel this was real turning point for me and something I am so passionate about as it allows me to physically create full 3D environments that can be inhabited and take an audience to a different space and time entirely while still be present in the real world. 

What might an individual gain from your exhibit?

In a vast majority of my artwork, I truly just want an individual to be able to take a break from the world outside and the pressure of the everyday and be able to immerse them in a world of calm and connection. From this exhibit especially, I would love to be able to allow an audience time to hear and understand the inaudible voice of trees and understand how their connections and lives truly imitate ours or should that be how we imitate the connections of trees. Being at one with and reconnecting with nature is important and I am hoping that that can be found within this artwork. 

What do you hope to do with your work in the future? 

My exploration into the voices of the natural world is something that I would love to be able to keep expanding on. I love to be able to give an artwork a new iteration and chance in life, so this artwork is a great building block for that. I would love to continue giving objects and living organisms' voices especially the ones that don't necessarily have one and allowing audiences to be able to step into natural environments and take a breath and be at peace. 

Interviewed by Charlotte Pimm-Smith.