Reflecting on my practice, I have reached a stage where l need to be more ambitious in the process, scale and technical complexity in projects that I undertake. In to achieve this I need training to gain enhanced recording, editing and production skills for my soundwork, equipment, and studio resources to experiment with my drawing and sculpture practice.
My ambition is to bring together 3 strands of practice – my soundwork, drawing and sculptural installation; experimenting with new materials and methodology to excavate intuitive states of being – a fusing of corporeal and ethereal.
My work is informed by people and place, as an itinerant traveller gathering the dust and debris, the pulse and heartbeat the shadows and light. A moulding of time and creating a mirror to the present. my work is always informed by place and people.
How this comes together as sound, drawing and sculpture is part of the alchemy of the process, however the luxury of time and resources to work like this is only possible when underpinned with a bursary such as the Dover Prize.
As part of my practice moving forward I need to research how to accomplish a shift in scale and location of production, from that of studio based work to the public sphere – the understanding of technical requirements for multi-media staging, underpinned by focused research, which demands an investment of time, research and collaboration.
If successful I would create a base in Darlington for extended visits over 2 years to engage with different communities immersing myself in the environment and history as an open ended creative experiment through my practice.
Through this process my practice will be significantly enhanced creating a profile necessary for working at a national and international level on projects that support the growing movement in the arts for strategies of resilience and survival.
The bursary would enable me to visit up to 4 (depending on cost) cutting edge sound art and sculpture exhibitions and festivals both in the UK and Europe and attending symposiums which is currently not possible due to financial constraints.
Raising the profile of the creative arts happens on many levels, at a local level in terms of access and engagement, and at a national level through showcasing process and work online and social media platforms.
Rooted in and around Darlington my work will be avilable via digital platforms and terrestrial media channels, for local and national audiences, both passive and interactive such as geo-located soundworks, create content for You Tube, Soundcloud, independent radio networks such as XMTR, BANDCAMP, Radiophrenia.
I would profile my work on AXIS artists network, A_N information company newsletter, ‘Walk, Listen Create’, Pink Loudspeaker, and other networks listings, local arts and media networks,in addition to the final exhibition.
Collaboration with Social Broadcast Radio XMTR producer Lucia Scazzocchio, to create a series of broadcasts at different stages of the project as a journal of the process of my work during the bursary period.
This would be available through streaming, or downloadable podcasts accessed via smart phones or computer.
Participation in workshops and talks in for Communities in and around Darlington would be planned as part of the development of my practice and to raise the profile of the creative arts as necessary relevant part of our cultural life.
My arts practice is site-specific, using of a wide range of materials and processes to create installations, objects, and sound-works. I collaborate with artists from different disciplines, writers and musicians, incorporating research into the narratives of place, people, the patina of human occupation, and the geographical impact of the location on our sense of identity.
I work to commission or developing self-initiated projects developing ideas through research and working with partners and groups in the community to generate the content and material for the artwork.
The theme that constantly fascinates me is ‘Sense of Place’ and how that develops over time.
Using material that I record, draw, and research using contemporary sources and historical archives. I incorporate symbols, text, spoken words, and recorded sounds to create an environment, virtual and terrestrial, that provides a setting where we can interpret and distill different elements into a representation of a moment or situation that can provoke or inspire.
I also work as an artist and consultant for Arts in Healthcare, and I am founder member of Radiator Arts, a Community Arts Company based in Hastings since 2004.
I have been commissioned to make work for Hospitals, Gallery and Museum exhibitions, and created installations and performances in the South East, Southport, Leeds, Hull, Brid- port, Harwich, Deptford and Eastbourne.
BA Hons Fine Art, Sculpture 1977, North Staffordshire University at Stoke on Trent.
Practice Development Grants from ACE, Awards 4 All and ACE grants for project development and touring of project about Floating Light Ships -2008- 2013 Last Station Touring large scale touring art project, multi media installations at De La Warr Pavilion, Southport Museum and Art Gallery.
-2021 Funding Awards in 2021 & 2022 for creative practice development from AN artists information company and ACE.
June – September 2020 Developing digital practice and Sonic Art knowledge and production skills; attending 3 online Soundart and Electro-acoustic courses.
I am a founder member of Radiator Arts a community arts collective since 2004.
The majority of my practice is self initiated and funded through partnerships and grants.
I worked for 10 years with Artist and and Architect Elise Liversedge on self initiated public Art Projects linking heritage and communities in innovative ways of engagement, funded through arts council and lottery grants.
January – September 2025 a major commission for Hastings Contemporary art Gallery ‘The Sun Feeds the Wind’ a multi-media installation, in partnership with Hastings Fishermens Protection Society.
https://www.hastingscontemporary.org/events/the-sun-feeds-the-wind/
Public Art commissions from Hastings Borough Council, UCLH, Brighton Hospitals Trust, National Trust at Chartwell, Culture Shift, East Sussex Hospitals Trust.
Sound commissions for MSL digital 2020-25 as part of creating multi-media installations to interpret and animate cultural heritage
2023 Tressells Children, a series of soundscapes with mixed voices, social history
– July 2020 Developing content and hosting 2 online salons for MSL Digital as part of a series of 7 salons broadcast on Hastings Isolation Station and utube.
– Looking for America Ground – Pick and Unpick – Pick and Unpick, and – The Great Storm of 1834 video and soundscape
– September 2019/20 ‘Is this for Everyone’ MSL hosted series of workshops to create an audio visual work for MSL Digital.
– 2025 collaboration to create sound for Trailer to create an out door live and VR event
– 2019/22 Artist Residency at Chartwell, school and community workshops, design, production and installation of art public trail.
– Sound commissions for Blue Heart Flood engagement project for Eastbourne and Wealden ReadingWater 2023, and for ‘Blue Heart’ history of the Bourne project in 2024
-2023-2024 Sound installations for Curious Town Dreams in Hastings 2023 &2024
Funghilious
– Research and Development for Sound Trail project for DLWP and Heart of Sidley for 2023-24.
– Commission for Friends of Coombe Valley in St. Leonards create Sound Trails revealing the history of the Coombe Valley Country Park and its flora and fauna. 2022.
Artwork has been reviewed in local newspapers and radio in East Sussex and nationally and AXIS artists curated highlights.
Soundwork featured on Radiophrenia Glasgow 2024/25, XMTR social Broadcasts 2024/25, BandCamp a track featured on Jez Riley French’s album mɜː.məˈreɪ.ʃən #5 – transmi
Soundwork featured on Cities and Memories Projects 2022-25, and currently at the Barbican for the Observatory Station
🔗 https://citiesandmemory.com/observatory-station/
Museum Residencies:
2005 UCLH collections touch and Wellbeing, Residency, Exhibition and interactive web-site
2002 Maidstone Museum, residency and exhibition
2003-4 Bexhill Museum, Natural History and Costume collections, residency and 2 exhibitions.
2020 ongoing: Oral History of Hastings Fishermen – ‘Fish Tale’ as part of Intangible Cultural Heritage project for Hastings Museum and Hastings Fishermen’s Protection Society. This work was developed for a 2025 major coastal education and arts project. Now active’The Sun Feeds the Wind’, major commission for Hastings Contemporary Gallery. A multi-media installation showcasing extracts of oral history recordings made over 15 years made with Hastings Fishermen. https://www.hastingscontemporary.org/events/the-sun-feeds-the-wind/
2019/22 Nartional Trust Artist Residency at Chartwell. Undertaking collection themed engagement with schools and community groups, design, production and installation of art public trail.
Email: maryhooper8@icloud.com
Address: 100 St. Helens Road, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 2EL, GB
Local Authority: Hastings Borough Council
