Artmaking in the outdoor environment: negotiating experiential and material complexities

As part of my doctoral enquiry at the University of Chester I developed a new way of outdoor artmaking in response to the environment of the British Peak District. I used paper, elements of wood, fabric and string to produce a mobile working kit (MWK) to make temporary installations outdoors and drawings. I exhibited the artefacts from outdoors as displays in indoor exhibitions, complemented by photographs and videos from the outdoor scenarios. 
The practicalities of such artmaking have allowed me to reveal and critically engage with the relationship between the self and outdoor environments. Using the MWK outdoors and in indoor exhibitions visualises the deep connectivity between the human condition and the outdoor world and articulates the interdependence between artist intentions, choices of artmaking materials and environmental specificities. The MWK has developed in response to the weather, particularly wind and rain, and the topography of Bakestonedale Moor. The MWK is ‘artful equipment’ that articulates tacit knowledge, a practical and cognitive response to dealing with the challenges of being outdoors.