The Outposted Project exhibition
17th-31st March 2022
Opens for ticketed Private View on Thursday 17th March, 7pm-9pm
Open Tuesday - Friday 9am - 3pm, Saturday 10 - 3pm
The Setting gallery, Three Storeys, Old Bristol Rd, Nailsworth, GL6 0JE
The Outposted Project is the brain child of Susie Hetherington and JLM Morton. It came about in the surreal first two weeks of the 2020 ‘lockdown’, whilst they were both reeling from the impact of school closures, self-employment angst, and the shock of being separated from loved ones… not to mention the globally shared fear of the virus itself. Amongst bizarre dreams and moments of stress, they also shared a sense of joy and opportunity; a chance to connect despite isolation. They were pretty sure others were feeling it too.
Juliette and Susie decided to send out a shared canvas; more specifically an OS map of the Stroud Valleys, to a selection of 28 other local creatives; artists, designers, poets, writers and musicians, all dotted around their home turf. The hope was to create a chain of response to the situation they were all experiencing; the pandemic, the state of isolation, or, as many found it, contented solitude. Each artist created and pinned work to the map, or worked directly onto it, before posting it on to a new participant. The map became a kind of shared canvas, or a psychic space. A place where we could belong as artists during this strange time.
Over the following months, three additional maps were created to cover different areas; a map circulated round South London, Brecon in Wales, and Brighton... a deliberate mix of urban and rural, but this time with no set path. Instead of choosing contributors, Juliette and Susie trusted each artist to send it on to someone they knew, in the hope that the journey would continue and the map would be traceable. The maps, and the project, had gone rogue.
Now is the time to share these battered, abstract artefacts; a story that has passed between many. In March 2022, The Outposted Project will be two years old, and in that time our lives have changed immeasurably. To be able to put them on display; a physical exhibition, was a hope from the very beginning.
This exhibition is being supported by Three Storeys, as we are providing the space for free. Other funds needed to put on the exhibition have been pledged by 65 supporters of the project via a successful Kickstarter campaign, making this truly a community project.
www.theoutpostedproject.com
www.susiehetherington.co.uk
www.jlmmorton.com