Линдалл Фелпс
covariance

source: lyndallphelps

My practice is site/context specific and strongly process based, relying on research and collaboration with a broad range of individuals and organisations whose interests reflect my own. I am drawn to an eclectic mix of subjects including history, flora, fauna, the military, flight, horticulture, architecture, the decorative arts and women’s craft. Even though many of these are strongly embedded in the scientific, I aim to uncover the highly personal and emotive within their academic framework.

I have always been attracted to objects and narratives that reveal a certain fragility or vulnerability; where rescue or escape, healing or protection, are never far from the surface. The work affords a glimpse into the unfamiliar, or a chance to see the familiar in a different light. I hope to invite a sense of wonder; that people will be curious and intrigued. The installations are deliberately playful, sometimes magical and at times surreal: a pigeon falls from the sky attached to a parachute, a taxidermy magpie uses radar countermeasures for protection and forensic markers invade the attic of a National Trust property. The distinction between fact and fiction is difficult to ascertain.

The way in which I gather information is very personal. I’m more interested in what moves me or excites me rather than an academic approach. I often describe myself as a magpie, or bower bird, in that I gather snippets of information and thoughts and bring them home, so I can live with them and revisit them on a regular basis. It’s at this point I begin to think about what form the work will take and how it relates aesthetically and conceptually to the research. I often combine a range of media including sculpture, photography, video, sound, ephemera, multiples and works on paper.

I am represented by Gina Agnew, London.

Superposition is a new artist-in-residence programme from the Institute of Physics which invites visual artists and physicists to work together – I have been collaborating with Dr Ben Still, a particle physicist from Queen Mary, University of London. Covariance, the resulting work, will be shown at the London Canal Museum from 24 August to 20 October 2013.