I intend to create an interactive, walk-in installation, using mixed and augmented reality. I am applying to The Dover Prize specifically as I have been trying to scale up my work for some time. I have been considered and shortlisted for commissions working at scale, including theatre set design. I know I have all the necessary skills – I have been doing ‘big builds’ in the form of custom, themed exhibition spaces for years, I have created stop motion animation, virtual 3d exhibitions, added sound and video projections to shows and created small mixed media builds with electrical and mechanical components. What I lack is an example of my doing them all at once and that’s where I keep running aground. I need one opportunity to experiment and demonstrate that I can do this work, to achieve a step change in my practice and turn those ‘almosts’ into projects.
The purpose of the work itself is to create a deliciously unearthly but inviting atmosphere and tell a tale that inspires people to share their own stories in response. Using local folklore as a jumping off point, I will create drawings that become ‘magic mirrors’ that speak when a smartphone or tablet is held up to them. The work would be displayed leading to a chamber in which projected animations create shadow-play on the walls, bringing the stories to life and immersing the viewer, invoking memories and experiences. I hope to demonstrate that traditional old school art forms, modern technology and accessibility can go hand in hand, enhancing everyone’s experience when used together.
I want this to be a living work, something that grows and takes on the personality of the area and so I will be hosting a drop in workshop as part of the exhibition, with an open invitation for people to share their responses to the theme. Having a live digital component using projections and the technology on hand, I can capture drawings and paintings, combine video elements and audio if people want to add their voices and music, and feed that directly into the show.
My preferred venue from my research for this application would be the library exhibition space on Crown Street. I like using community spaces where people already feel at home and that have accessibility built in.
I have identified Darlington Age Uk’s Craft and Natter group and Darlington Mind’s art group as being ideal potential collaborators in the development phase and I will of course be inviting their members to be participants. I would be reaching out to other creative and social organisations in the area as well, I have focused on those with an obvious recent online presence as examples here.
As there is an experimental element to this proposal, I think it’s important to include my intended audience in the design rather than trying to prescribe solutions based on assumptions. It has the added benefit of breaking down social barriers to engagement as we’re already in conversation.
I would like to create a digital archive of my work including the community input, a how-to guide for the additional elements, and my findings to act as an ongoing free resource for creatives and groups in the area. What I’ve learned can then aid future exploration and development.
I am a full time self employed visual artist currently living in Newcastle. I have had my own practice, Drawing in Dark, for over 30 years and I specialise in charcoal pencil drawing. My subjects include wildlife, landscapes and gothic illustrations. Much of my work is commission based, and has included album covers, book covers and illustrations, and tattoo design. I am also director of a Community Interest Company, Tales in Sombre Tones CIC, which I co-founded with an American partner to create accessible arts experiences that are open to everyone. Through Tales in Sombre Tones, I have been able to explore other art forms from tactile art, in the form of 3d printed versions of my drawings, to puppet making and animation. It has been a fascinating experience, being forced to perceive my work from a completely different perspective – for example realising that detailed charcoal drawings behind glazing are, to someone with significant visual impairment, quite literally neither use nor ornament. That in turn led me to question what other barriers I might be accidentally reinforcing such as the idea that art is exclusive, precious, not to be approached and therefore ‘not for me.’ It has become an adventure, thinking of each idea as not just one expression but many, not a note but a chord. I still create those drawings but aim to include other translations, tactile work to be handled, other sensory experiences and adopting technology for versatile accessibility. My two most recent exhibitions as a solo artist are: ‘Courting Corvids’ A crowdfunded exhibition of 33 original charcoal drawings of local corvid species. The work was on show at Newcastle City Library On October 2024, before being sent out to collectors worldwide. ‘Reflections’ A sell out show initially created as a Kickstarter ‘Make 100’ campaign in January 2023, 60 original charcoal drawings of water droplets, each reflecting something different, were created. Subjects included the Tyne Bridge and Heaton Windmill. The work was exhibited at Newcastle City Library in June 2023 before being sent out to its new owners.
In 2019, I was awarded an ACE Project Grant to create access materials and put on a touring show based on the illustrated anthology ‘Tales in Sombre Tones’ (before the project became a company) created by myself and author Sean Walter. The tour included 24 original artworks, audio readings with BSL translation videos and stop motion animation. I also created the first 3d version of my own artwork (printed in PLA and hand finished) as part of this project, and a virtual online 3d gallery to make the experience accessible remotely.
The tour itself
10th-11th May 2019 at Vane Gallery, Newcastle
7th-8th May 2019 at All Saints Church, North, Street, York
4th-5th May 2019 at The Brunswick Centre, Whitby.
‘Story Bocs’ East End High Streets project 2024
I received funding from Newcastle City Council to put on a series of workshops culminating in a group show as part of a scheme to rebuild the local community and invigorate our high streets. I did 10 sessions in different shops, cafes and pubs. The final two were held in store at Veterans at Ease, a local charity who kindly gave me space (and the use of some furniture) to host the show.
In addition to the self-created exhibitions listed earlier, I also curated Art D’Morte, a series of 3 group exhibitions over 2 years, on behalf of Marquis Masquerade, as part of the biannual town wide gothic festival in Whitby. The show featured genre fine art alongside short film screenings, talks and a feature film each day. In April 2020, the show converted to an online event due to covid, which gave me the opportunity to include international artists.
I have also co-created two books:
The Monster Field Guide, McRay Press, 2020
A collaborative project with a small press and graphic designer to create a simple a-z of monster characteristics using my sketchbook drawings. This was a light-hearted lockdown project to help support an independent press when they needed it most.
Tales in Sombre Tones, paperback and ebook, 2019
This book was a collaborative project with author Sean Walter, working on ideas we had together to create an illustrated anthology of gothic fantasy horror. This book and our mission to make our initial tour of northern England accessible, is what inspired us to set up the Community Interest Company of the same name.
I was commissioned by Scarborough Borough Council in 2022 to design a series of 5 artworks as part of a new wayfinding scheme to improve tourist experiences in the town. Four large images representing different zones in Whitby were printed on permanent boards in 10 locations around town alongside other information, with a 5th smaller image as a finial design for fingerposts to tie the signs together visually.
Email: drawingindark@gmail.com
Address: 185, Grace Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE6 2RR, GB
Local Authority: Newcastle City Council
