The Glass Box Project

the blackShed gallery presents

The Glass Box Project

by Connie Ashford and Tilly-May O’Shea in collaboration with Robertsbridge Community College students

Two graduate art students, Connie Ashford and Tilly-May O’Shea, designed and delivered a series of workshops to the students at Robertsbridge Community College with guidance from Head of Arts, Kirsten Laundon, and artist Liz Wilson. This exhibition unveils exceptional work by the students, exploring the theme of ‘Is it Art?’ – a response to the Turner Prize 2023 exhibition at Towner Eastbourne.

Over the first two sessions, students crafted instruments from materials found in their school's allotments. Rather than fixating on appearance, the students concentrated on the sound their instruments produced and the classroom quickly became a lively orchestra. In the third session, students engaged in an absorbing exercise, using their instruments to replicate sounds from provided video clips taken at Rye Harbour.

Each sound was recorded and later woven into one sound composition, allowing students to identify and appreciate specific elements within it. The final workshop saw students responding to the crafted sound piece through drawing, transforming their mark-making into a unique form of performance. The outcome is a collection of large-scale drawings, showcasing a vibrant tapestry of sound compositions that nowcasts its shadow over the very instruments that initiated their artistic journey.

About the blackShed gallery

The award-winning blackShed gallery in the heart of rural East Sussex with a reputation of being a distinctive, diverse, and contemporary art space with a focus on artist led projects and exhibitions. The gallery has a strong and established relationship with several highly regarded partners, such as Hastings Contemporary, De La Warr Pavilion, Towner Eastbourne, Project Artworks as well as Talent Accelerator, which helps drive our work towards supporting community projects and young people as they look for experience within the cultural sector. 

At its core, blackShed aims to develop and support the regional artist community, bringing high quality works through direct inclusion to a rural audience where socio-economic inequalities preclude participation in the visual arts. The environment surrounding the gallery is set in a beautiful location, giving artists the opportunity to explore their practice within the immediate environment, taking art beyond the gallery, often creating informal opportunities with the public and local visitors.  
 
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