Back to School

LEAH SEATOR catches up with Christil Trumpet’s year-long Papdale Primary School Residency as it passes its mid-way point

STEPPING INTO the Christil Trumpet portakabin, I wasn’t sure if I had entered another dimension or landed on another planet.

A sea of odd-looking faces, belonging to colourful creatures I had never seen before, stared at me from all around the room, as I took a seat in preparation to talk to Orkney’s Papdale Primary School’s artists in residence, Christil Trumpet.

It came as no surprise when the artists, Matilda Tumim and Chris Prendergast, then told me that several of the younger children in the school believe the Portakabin is Dr Who’s Tardis. They are further convinced that Chris is in fact the time traveller himself.

Collaborative artists Matilda and Chris were appointed under the guise of Christil Trumpet, as the school’s artists in residence in May this year. Faced with the task of working with the children and creating art for the school, they have already fulfilled both of these requirements.

Now halfway through their one-year residency, the duo have certainly made their mark.

They have lived in Orkney for 17 years, although Matilda is from London, and Chris from Malawi originally.

The children are made to feel like they’re working for themselves as well as us. Hopefully, for some children, it can be life changing

They met at art school in Cornwall, and joined forces while Matilda went on to London to do a masters degree. On its completion in 1989, they weren’t sure what was next on the agenda, but the road led them to Orkney.

Chris explained: “We didn’t know we were coming until we were halfway here. Matilda had finished her masters and we thought we needed some time out to consider what we would do next.

“The idea was to drive around Britain, but we met a guy from Australia who had just visited the Pier Arts Centre, in Stromness. He was at a gallery opening in Edinburgh.

“We were chatting and he suggested coming to Orkney, as it was more interesting for visual arts. We just came straight here. It was at the end of the summer. We were going to stay for a week, but we just stayed!”

Matilda added: “It was like coming home. We stayed in Herston for about a year and then moved to Stromness.”

Chris found work as a care worker, and Matilda continued to practise as an artist, whilst raising the couple’s three children.

Fast forward to a year ago, and Papdale Primary School were on the lookout for artists who might take on a residency in the school, funded by Orkney Islands Council, and the Scottish Arts Council’s pARTners Artist in Residency programme — the first time the opportunity has ever come up in Orkney.

When the couple saw the post advertised, they knew it was the job for them, and Chris took a year out from his job.

Chris said: “We had various projects on the back burner, but we didn’t have the general public to make them happen. The opportunity to work with children doesn’t come by very often. When we saw the post advertised we felt fortunate that the opportunity was coming.”

Brimming with ideas, the couple were keen to work with children, and Chris and Matilda were selected as the perfect candidates for the job.

Matilda added: “We felt that someone had made a job just for us! This is a year which we’re being paid to be artists. To work with this many children is a privilege. Children are very accessible to new ideas, and they give us lots of ideas.”

Their first project with the children, ‘Consequences’, is one they had been considering for a long time.

Chris explained: “We had this project in mind, and we had a go at it with our children, but it’s not the same as having a large group of children to work with.”
 
The giant pieces from ‘Consequences’ are finished, and became permanent features in the school in November.

Each P3 and P6 child, participating in the game ‘consequences,’ helped to create a character. The huge colourful creatures are now on display in the foyer of the school.

Chris said: “These paintings have come from drawings that have maybe taken 20 minutes. Each character is the work of five children. It is really showing them how they can work as a team, but also how something substantial can come from such a small idea.

“It shows them how artists move from A to B. We took them and gave them a bit more substance, painting the large pictures from their drawings.

“Our brief was to provide artworks for the school, but to include the children as much as possible. We’re meant to be developing our work for half the time we’re here.

“Although these paintings are being created for the school, they are what we wanted to do for ourselves. It’s lovely that they can have such a good home.”

Another project in the pipeline will involve the whole school, who will help to create a massive wall sculpture.

Matilda explained: “The other idea we have is to create a wall sculpture which will be a giant wave made from tags. Each child will have used the tag in whatever way.”

Chris added: “There are over 500 of them, and they are really a powerful force. If they see each one of them as a drop of water they are a force to be reckoned with!”

The residencey programme finishes in May 2007, but the couple have already found themselves in demand, with several opportunities lined up.

Matilda said: “We started in May, and we’ll finish in the middle of May next year. The St Magnus Festival are happy to include us in their programme for June, and we will be looking for art commissions. The Pier Arts Centre will show the A1 drawings. We’re really excited about seeing the Pier Arts Centre finished. It is fantastic to have a dedicated arts space.

“That is 2007. We’re also hoping to have a show at the Orkney Museum this time next year. In 2008, we’ll hopefully be starting to get a wider audience and take our work outwith Orkney. We’ll maybe have a touring exhibition.”

There is also the possibility that a new arts group will form in Orkney. Matilda was a guest speaker at HIVAG, HI-Arts’ gathering for visual artists in November, and came back with lots of ideas.

She explained: “It was in Ullapool, and it was really well attended. There were over 100 delegates from all over Scotland.

“It was organised by HI~Arts, and I was a guest speaker. I was invited to speak about Professional Practice which was one of the “Five Challenges” outlined in a report written by Georgina Coburn for HI~Arts. The Ullapool gathering was held as a way of responding to and getting feed-back following her report.

“My presentation, “Professional Practice and Crossover” can now be downlowded from the HI~ Arts online journal, Northings.

“Frances Pelly, Rik Hammond, and Clare Gee from here were also delegates and it was set up as a network opportunity.

“Shetland has an extremely good group called Veer North, which brings artists from all over the world to Shetland, and provides opportunities for the local artists there. Artists within the community can benefit from making contacts.

“We are discussing having a small group like that here in Orkney. It would be very effective in raising the profile of the arts here. We become much more powerful if we can form as a group.

“We are hoping it will bring younger artists back here too. If they feel like it’s a happening place they might want to come back and set up here.”

Christil Trumpet’s Chris and Matilda have worked wonders at Papdale Primary, and hope they will leave more than an artistic impression behind.

Matilda said: “It’s worked every bit as well as we could have hoped. These kind of jobs come up very rarely. The children are made to feel like they’re working for themselves as well as us. Hopefully, for some children, it can be life changing.”

© Leah Seator, 2006

Link

• Papdale Residency