Can you tell us a little about yourself and your practice?

I’m a visual artist based in Preston, Lancashire. I’m interested in the politics of landscape: its ownership, management, value and the influence these have on natural ecologies and people. Habitat loss, decline of species, sea level rise and water quality are some of the subjects I continue to explore, and present my work as installations, sculpture, print, maps, habitat creation, video or sound.

Could you say a bit about how you develop new work and your starting point?

If the work is about a certain place my starting point is going to visit and explore the site. If the project allows then multiple visits can reveal differences through varying weather, or over the seasons. I’ll make notes and observations of any plants, birds, insects, and how people use the site or value it. I’ll take lots of photos, I might take plant specimens for pressing, maybe do some drawing and often make field recordings. I also read about the place and its surroundings, finding out what others have already documented (its geology, history, usage) or view maps over time to see how it might have changed or developed. 

Are there any artists who have been a particular influence?

Numerous artists, writers, musicians, designers etc have had an influence for lots of different reasons and the list is constantly growing, but here a few who spring to mind: Ingrid Pollard, Richard Mabey, Otobong Nkanga, Björk, Rebecca Solnit, Agnes Denes, Derek Jarman.

We’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on collaborating with specialists from other disciplines and how you approach this. 

Researching and finding a relevant specialist can take time, and they might not respond to an approach. Some project organisers have already got connections to specialists or are better placed to make initial contact and this can really help with introductions.

Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?

Connected to ideas I’ve been working on for a while I’d like to collaborate with scientists looking at sea level rise and its impact on landscape and global communities; or the retreat of glaciers in the Alps; I think it would be exciting to collaborate with experimental musicians, singers or vocal artists.

What are the key challenges in developing collaborations?

Convincing non-art specialists of the benefits of collaborating with an artist can be very challenging: some confuse working with or alongside each other as a collaboration; some think the artist role is to illustrate their work for their evaluation; some expect you’ll work for free and the experience should be benefit enough; some art organisations are better than others at making connections between an artist and a specialist; time frames for projects can be too short (or budgets too small) for meaningful and rich collaborations of quality. However, when you do find a specialist who is genuinely interested in collaborating then the rewards / ideas / resulting works can be amazing - when all parties come in as equals to learn from each other, with no hierarchy of subjects or predetermined outcomes.

What do you see as the role/value of artists in addressing climate and biodiversity issues? 

Communicating issues around climate change, or biodiversity loss in a visual way can have a great impact on audiences - one image can condense reams of data, can reflect collective emotions of despair, loss, anger or hope, it can encourage further questions and it can inspire action.   

How has this affected your approach or processes?

I like to make a range of works - some based in reality, some not, some negative and depressing, some positive and hopeful, but I make the work I want to make at the time. I don’t dumb down any ideas or ways I present works as I think audiences respond better.

Are there any other new approaches, ways of thinking or ways of working that have affected your practice?

I’ve realised I don’t need to work with an academic or science specialists in order to validate my work

A special thanks to Rebecca for sharing with us.

Find Rebecca

Website: rebeccachesney.com

Instagram: rebeccachesneyartist