Will Foster // Profile

Will Foster was selected for the pARTner Residency takeing place at SSW and Alford Academy in 2005 / 2006.

New Moon

The porta-projector can screen video or project slides onto any surface, at any site within a city that is accessible by foot. The projector is powered from a caravan battery through an inverter and is designed to be light and compact enough to move easily from place to place.

For the Partners residency Will Foster brought the Porta-projector to Alford Academy in rural Aberdeenshire to explore the possibilities of film making and site specific outdoor projections. The idea was to research, develop, propose and then make a selection of short films, slide shows and animations that would be projected on to the school premises as part of a one-off night time event. For the pupils, the process of looking at the environment which surrounded them most of their day, led to a spectrum of ideas, images and stories. On the night of the 27th of May, fifteen different projections, made the pupils were screened using the Porta-Projector.

Biography

Will Foster has a background in environmental and socially engaged arts practice. Since graduating from a BA in Environmental Art at The Glasgow School of Art in 2004, he has been an artist in residence throughout Scotland; Scottish Sculpture Workshop Aberdeenshire, Cove Park Argile and Bute, and Functionsuite Edinburgh. Will is the initiator and co-curator of Cabin Exchange from 2002 until 2006, a project where multiple 10ft by 8ft x 8ft shipping containers were used to create a platform for an annual weeklong public art project. This project involved local and international artists and took place throughout Glasgow, Edinburgh (Scotland) and Melbourne (Australia). In 2007 Will undertook a renewable energy research trip traveling by bicycle through Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark and Norway to arrive in Fykse on the west coast of Norway. This month-long trip culminated in a year-long inaugural residency at Barselgrad Centre in Fykse village. Will has recently completed a Masters of Arts in 'Arts and Ecology' at Dartington Collage of Arts, which was funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council.
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Recent works from 2009:

Transplant- A future garden

Globe Cottage, Totnes, Devon | September 2009

Next to derelict buildings, beside railway lines, overgrown and overlooked.

‘The site comprises an irregular parcel of land located on the western side of Castle Street in the northern part of Totnes town centre, National Grid Reference 27990, 060720. The site is bounded to the north, south and south-west by residential and commercial properties and to the north-west by an area of vegetation and railway line.’ DTS, Raeburn, Geo-Environmental Desk study report, 2005, p. 9

As a token means of safeguarding what currently exists as an abundant and unique environment, bio diverse in rural and native species, this project implements an act of ad hoc conservation. Wild vegetation from the surrounding wastelands - an inaccessible environment earmarked for transformation – will be selected and transplanted in the overgrown garden of Globe cottage, a more accessible plot of land with the potential for a more sustained existence. The transplanting took place over a period of eight days using a spade, a pair of gloves and bespoke recycled construction haulage bags to transport the soil and wild vegetation. The eight soiled haulage bags used for the transportation represent a map of the area of derelict and wasteland around Globe Cottage. The map consists of sections divided by property ownership boundaries and indicates the built and unbuilt space. This transplanted, growing wasteland can be viewed in actuality at the back of Globe Cottage. The newly transplanted sections currently stand out from their surroundings as they are demarcated, controlled and aestheisized. Over time the boundaries will become less defined, the plants may colonize or be succeeded by other species or gradually die back over the coming seasons. For future function this transplanted wasteland acts as a map to highlight and unify the elements of a diverse landscape, now free to exist at its own pace. Biological forms have been given agency in this environment while the surrounding areas may succumb to a prescribed future.

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Duplex

Overlooked land, Yorkhill, Glasgow | April 2009

Next to a car park, beside railway lines, overgrown and overlooked.

An area of urban wasteland lying adjacent to the recently re-located Glasgow Sculpture Studios and a stone’s throw from the Clyde side redevelopment project. The area is owned by Glasgow City Council, it is unclear how long it has been left vacant.

This project introduced an arts community to the urban wasteland adjacent to Glasgow Sculpture Studios and increased public access by providing visitors with a chance to explore the land’s particularities, ecology, users, and future potential. The process, part colonization, part investigation, part landscape design, cleared pathways through the Japanese Knotweed and created meeting places, temporary signage, structures and interpretation tools. Traffic bollards, ‘For Sale’ signs, road barriers, pallets and packing crates found fly tipped on the wasteland and leftover from Glasgow Sculpture Studios became the materials of choice. Two shipping containers, the Duplex, were sited and stacked, back to back, at the periphery of the site. Pallet steps were constructed to allow the top container to be used as a base and viewing platform from which to ‘overlook’ the wasteland. The Lower container facing the car park was occupied by the Low Salt art collective. On the evening of the Duplex opening event the overlooked land was celebrated and was open for all to inhabit and experience. As part of the opening event there was a ‘Give Away’ where artists Jen Sykes and Ane Østrem where selected to occupy the Duplex for a week long residency. Running parallel to this one-week residency various foraging experiments with Japanese Knotweed took place, a film screening and social gatherings also happened in the wasteland. This project was the initial step to encourage people to further activate the space as an outdoor urban site for debate and investigation.

DUPLEX was hosted and organised by Lowsalt, supported by Glasgow Sculpture Studios and funded by the Scottish Arts Council.

Artist's CV