Rachel Hughes

Found objects, collaboration, animation

I live on the river Thames, which has been the inspiration for this project. I spent time on the riverbed photographing the wildlife and collecting objects and scrap.

Then I explored the things I found using several processes, including encaustic, animation, drawing, painting, casting (in plaster and chocolate), printing/stamping (in paint, encaustic, fondant icing, marzipan), papier mache, photography, paper sculpture, wire sculpture, and model making.

Some of the ideas behind the project are: time, tides, nature, waste, pollution; cabinets of curiosity, generating conversation, play. Artistic influences include Mark Dion, Terry Setch, Christine Rebet, Andrea Kittel, Ruth Asawa, Jeremy Deller, Ray Johnson, Marcel Duchamp, Dadaism, Fluxus, surrealism and mail art.

I wanted to turn my exploration of the riverbed into something that was interactive, collaborative and playful – and a reflection of our complex relationship with our environment. Then lockdown happened

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To get people involved, I decided to post out selections of things, including found objects, small encaustic works, and casts in chocolate. I asked people to respond in some way and post or email me back. In an increasingly online world with reduced touch, sending actual objects felt important. People’s responses were fantastically creative and diverse, taking the form of words, photos, sounds, poems, books and drawings. To synthesise these responses with my own finds and ideas, I have made an animated cabinet of curiosities.

See Rachel's film piece called Tide Play here.