Orographic – A project about landscape by Oceanallover

Alex Rigg in Sea Hames (photo N Armet)

Oceanallover  who performed in Orkney to great success last year are seeking 3 young ecologists who would like participate in a collaborative arts- based project.

Oceanallover  and the Slovak Wildlife Society  have designed the project which  looks at the links between landscape, emotions and community. The project is called Orographic and will begin in May 2018.

This will be an internship with a small stipend of £1,000. Successful applicants are required to commit to thirty days of mentored work between June 2018 and December 2019.

To see some of the work produced by Oceanallover watch: Sea Hames Part 1

What will Orographic involve?

• mentoring from professional ecologists and artists.
• creating an interactive response to the landscape, the communities tied to that landscape
• Orographic project performances by Oceanallover.
• team work essential
• to  devise and implement a model for both stimulating and measuring human response to landscape.
• invitation to join Oceanallover for selected performances outside the Dumfries and Galloway

What do applicants need?

Applicants need to live in Dumfries and Galloway (or have a strong connection with the region), be between 19 and 25 years old, and to be either current students or recent graduates of ecology or related subjects. You must show a strong commitment to your subject as well as an interest in sharing ideas with the wider public.

The deadline for applications is Friday the 25th of May and interviews will be held on the 4th of June to begin the project from the 18th of June onwards.

The Project Description

This project is about mapping, describing, showing and epitomising; it is about mountains, desire, emotion, landscape, drawing, moving, ecology and responsibility.

An Inclination to describe what we have seen leads us to make communications with other people and with the things around us. We are a descriptor for our own behavior and a description of physical action. What we see is how we are or may become. To look at a mountain is to look at something vast; we become filled with a desire to be part of that enormity. What may feel like a desire for conquest is a need for assimilation and belonging. If we break something to discover what it is made of then we are trying to become like the thing we have destroyed. The short circuit of seeing linked with a desire to own can prevent us from seeing and understanding.

This project will look at the landscape and at massive, lithic structures in particular. Artist and public will be invited to consider the physical form and effects of mountains on their own lives. At more than one location we will create a response to a monumental landform.

Beginning with the physical shapes, colours, textures and lines of the site we will make costume and movement that talks about the mountain and its historical place within local culture and ecology. As the project moves on to a second location we will look at a mountain from that place, following the same process of emotional cartography. This mapping will be presented at the second location and will include elements of performance and costume from the first location. The project will continue onwards through differing landscapes discussing a series of mountains and bringing with it elements from all previous mountains in a cumulative geology of ideas.

The project will begin with a trial project in Scotland. This trial will involve choosing a location, making contact with local people and other interested organisations and then carrying out an artistic, scientific and philosophical response to the chosen site. The responses will be presented as an event that will include sculptural costume, dance, poetry, food and debate.

Application Form

Please complete the following questions. It isn’t necessary to write lots of words but do try to say how you feel personally about the subjects below.

1. Please outline your interest in Ecology as both a subject of study and as an important social issue. (500 words max)
2. What is your experience of and response to Art in its broadest sense? (300 words max)
3. Have you any previous experience of involvement with an Arts based project? (200 words max)
4. What are your main areas of interest beyond education or work? (200 words max)
5. Are you based in Dumfries and Galloway or do you have a strong connection with the region? (200 words max)
6. What is your current occupation or area of study? (100 words max)
7. Do you have any specialist or specific working requirements? (200 words max)
8. What is your own response to the word Orographic? (300 words max)
9. Do you have a valid driving licence?

Please provide a current CV or a link to an on-line version.

Please provide a contact address, phone number and e-mail.

Submit your responses to:
Alex Rigg: Oceanallover
live@oceanallover.co.uk

Photo N Armet

Photo N Armet