red thread install day 3 (final day)

well, that was that.

it was short, but the residency-of-sorts at Spinach was definitely sweet. i would like to thank all the Spinach crew for letting me potter about their offices, leaving traces of red thread about the place - it was exactly the kind of project i loved and from the feedback that everyone gave me, it worked for them too.

one of the staff said how great it was to be able to actually engage with the artist, ask questions, comment, etc - when usually the work is just there and i had a nice moment with one her when she was reminded of a childhood memory of her parents hiding her birthday present in a cupboard on the top floor and she had to follow a trail of wool to find it - what a lovely gift to give someone, the gift of a (nice) memory.

one of the other great moments for me was hearing about how chuffed one of the staff was dragging his papers/books to his locker, in his own little world and got a nice surprise when he felt the key all covered in red woolly stuff!

having the spinach crew opening their eyes up to see red bits and pieces around the place, looking for hidden 'thread' and meaning in their environment was a fantastic outcome and for clients to be involved in the process of 'thinking about thought' was also delightful. i'm interested in seeing what affect that has on research briefs in the future!

today was about tying up loose ends (pun intended). i spent some time making some little gift for the staff, making some little 'marks' about the place, extending the thread to another corner



and even outside.



i wrapped some pipes




and cords.



i documented the whole lot and then left. it felt quite weird to be not going back tomorrow and i'm looking forward to the private view - to see everyone again and to be able to see how it fares over the next couple of weeks.

it seems to have been a really successful project, for both parties (which is the definition of a successful partnership, right?) and i'm looking forward to pushing forward for another project like this (or two) before i head off again. this has been true art in the making and the exact reason i've become an artist, doing the things i do.

and well done spinach for having the insight and forethought to think creatively about creating an innovative workspace.