As a young boy in England, artist Eric Snell spent beach-side summers trying to dig his way to Australia. Why? He wanted to see through to the other side of the world, of course. Now, at the conclusion of a three-month Arts Council of England-funded residency at Brisbane’s Institute of Modern Art (IMA), Snell has experienced, first-hand, the land of his childhood dreams. But, more than that, he is in the process of completing the ‘big dig’: sneak peaks of Australia and England will soon be available to viewers in each country who are willing to peer into Snell’s hole – the View to the Other Side of the World.
‘I always try and link my work to locations,’ comments Snell in regard to the genesis of the new multimedia piece. ‘And when I was trying to think of the connection I particularly had with Australia, I came up with very little. But, as a kid growing up in England, I remember digging a hole whenever I would be on the beach and think of it [as going through] to Australia… so I had this idea.’
The ‘idea’ involves Snell digging a two-metre hole at the entrance of the IMA’s home, the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, and placing a flat screen monitor and a web-cam inside. A similar hole will be built in the UK, so that viewers are indeed able to ‘see’ the other side of the world.
‘It’s a simple idea,’ says Snell. ‘But it carries the idea of location and linking through. I felt it was a way of capturing the essence of the fact that the Arts Council of England has linked up with the IMA and [so brought] Australia and England together.’
An artist of international profile, Snell would seem a fitting choice as the first artist selected by the Arts Council of England and the IMA to take part in the residency program. The intent is for the artist to engage with the cross-disciplinary environment of the Judith Wright Centre, housing seven contemporary companies across the artform spectrum, including Kooemba Jdarra Indigenous Performing Arts, ELISION Contemporary Music Ensemble, Expressions Dance Company, and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.
Thus, in addition to View to the Other Side of the World, the artist has also worked on the development of several other projects, including dance piece Aleatorius, an exhibition of magnetic drawings at Bellas Gallery and a Burnt Wood Wall Drawing at Queensland College of Art.
‘I just see it as a visual language,’ comments Snell, when asked about the difficulty of working across a range of media. ‘If you have an idea that involves multimedia, you find someone who can help you. Other ideas may express themselves as drawings on the wall and others as working with dancers. When you have a problem, you find the best visual way to solve that problem.’
It’s a view, Snell points out, that can be easily incorporated into the inter-disciplinary philosophy of the Judith Wright Centre. ‘Because the centre, of which the IMA is part, seemed to be a building that was embracing all different types of art,’ notes Snell, ‘it seemed appropriate to bring something like the dance piece together with others as pieces within the residency program.’
Snell’s views on artistic expression are grounded in an education at what he describes as ‘somewhat of a radical college of arts’ in London in the 1970s. ‘We weren’t just trained under the umbrella of “painting”… We were introduced to a “visual language”.’
Rather than merely training students in a particular discipline, then, Snell sees it as important for art schools to encourage students to explore their ideas through a variety of media.
‘It’s a case of being able to inspire and engage creativity,’ he comments. ‘If a person is a painter, painter, painter, and that is all they want to do, then they should have the opportunity to do so. But what I also want to say is that if they haven’t tried making sculpture out of steel, then they should try that – this is what a college should be. A college should be a place to fall over, hit brick walls, find out what is and isn’t for you, and, at the end of that time, to realise which way of working for you is right.’
Snell also believes, however, that it is the role of art institutions and colleges to provide students with the tools with which creative ideas can be explored.
‘I make a parallel between art and language,’ he remarks. ‘You have to know the “grammar”. In the art world, you can know how to stretch a canvas, but unless you’ve got something to say, it doesn’t make you a painter… The thing I feel is important is to create a base to be able both to express and develop ideas, while being able to learn some of the ground rules and techniques.’
In addition to the interaction between an artist and different media, Snell sees another essential element of the creative learning process as being the interaction between emerging artists and more seasoned professionals. The dancers in Aleatorius, therefore, come from local Brisbane dance institutions.
‘I think that sort of interaction is essential… They extend their ideas of what dance can be, and I learn a little more about them… It brings us together.’
Certainly, it would seem as though this theme of ‘bringing together’ is one that has permeated Snell’s time in Australia. Future IMA visitors, able to gaze through a hole in the sand to the other side of the world, will no doubt agree. For Snell, the residency has been successful because it has allowed him to continue to explore and experiment.
‘It’s been about interaction with my peers and developing,’ he reflects. ‘Being open to ideas and talking to other people allows you to extend and develop. Any artist who can do that will benefit.’
