I decided to arrive at Studio 459 residency with a completely open mind.
I made a conscious choice not to plan too far ahead — instead, I wanted to fully embrace where I was and respond directly to what was in front of me.
On my first morning of studio time, I felt the need to loosen up and explore freely. To let go of expectations, I wandered into one of the workshop spaces and decided to create some live, temporary ‘drawings’ using only what I could find around me.
I had a good rummage and unearthed a treasure trove of materials: off-cuts of wood, delicate sticks, and remnants of wax. With these elements, I began crafting immediate compositions — gestures that felt somewhere between sculpture and drawing.
Some pieces resembled asemic texts: marks that suggested writing but carried no literal meaning, only the energy of the moment.
Each material brought a different rhythm to the process.
The structured shapes of wood off-cuts lent a certain architectural quality to my first composition, grounded yet open.
The supple, bending sticks allowed me to create fluid, almost calligraphic lines across the rough surface of the workshop floor.
And with the wax — both brittle and pliable — I built layered, tactile symbols, almost like a visual language just out of reach.
This beginning felt perfect: a quiet collaboration between myself and the environment, guided not by preconceptions but by curiosity and trust.
It set the tone for the residency: a journey of responsiveness, experimentation, and open exploration.