Artists in Residence Week 3 - Neil Massey and Rachel Johnston.

In the third week of this summer season The Old Lookout welcomed 2 CCCU graduates with their exhibition exploring the different uses of light design, titled Illuminated. This show brought together several different aspects of the two artists' work, featuring infrared landscape photographs, long exposure seascapes, images of beaches made using gold leaf, photographic slides and a light installation piece representing the moon and the sea. With everything linked both tonally and in subject matter, the varying techniques used to create the exhibition were brought together to create an interesting and multi-layered space.

Neil and Rachel noted that they had generally received a very good reaction from people visiting the exhibition, including one lady who donated £20! From reading people's reactions on feedback forms, it seems that the public liked to see young and up-and-coming artists exhibiting confidently. And, as always, having the artists there to talk people through their work and answer questions is commonly identified as being a positive thing. I personally relished the connection between the work and the location of the gallery; being able to look at pictures of the sea and hear it just outside never fails to fascinate me! However, Rachel did note that they found the lighting in the gallery didn't particularly suit the exhibition they had - the glare on the framed images from the windows opposite in particular. She suggested that it might be a good idea to have spotlights that can clip onto the top of the wall, as when the strip lights were on she felt the lighting was very yellow-tinted.

Their busiest day was Saturday, and Neil noted that most of their visitors came in just because they were passing - both artists really appreciated the location. They did note that although they feel the banner and A-board do draw people in, more of the same kind of advertising could encourage even more people up the steps. In terms of the location, Rachel also said that being next to the sea all day provided her with great opportunities to draw and paint whilst she was at the Lookout, meaning that she could enhance her own practice throughout the residency.
Both artists sought to do some of their own marketing, with Rachel having regular contact with The Broadie magazine, which she thought might be a good option for marketing events in Broadstairs.
The pair also sold pieces of work - some postcard-style images and also a few larger framed images. 

For me, I really appreciated the variety of work that Neil and Rachel had produced and that we were able to accommodate in the gallery. I feel that the diversity of the art sustained interest and provided something that everyone could appreciate and relate to.