Practising Place – Forms of Inscription: surfaces, patterns and the typography of place

Abstract

Practising Place is a programme of public conversations, designed to examine the relationship between art practice and place. Each event is hosted at a different venue in the North of England and explores a specific aspect of place by bringing artists together with people from different backgrounds, who share a common area of interest.

‘Forms of Inscription’ examined the relationship between communication, meaning and landscape, through reference to Joanne Lee's and Paul Wilson's individual research. Foregrounding the, often overlooked, ephemera of everyday places, such as ‘chewing gum constellations’, fly tipping sites, and the typography of working men’s clubs, Lee and Wilson presented their own methods of ‘close looking’, and discussed the value of interdisciplinary approaches to engaging with a place.

The discussion also coincided with In Return – a group exhibition at Sheffield Institute of Arts Gallery, which explored the legacy of post-industrial landscapes and production, and included new work by Joanne Lee, developed in response to her explorations of Sheffield’s Don Valley.