Knutton Road Residency   view February 6th

Entry #2 Ania Bas Parson Cross Residency

It started. I made my first journey up to Parson Cross. I took a bus. I arrived with a map, proper walking shoes, a smile the size of a genetically modified banana and a vague idea - to walk through the area and simply find places that make me stop and meet people who live there. Knutton Road Studios would serve as my temporary base, shelter and reference point. Off I went and within minutes I was standing on Fulmere Crescent. Piece of green, curved. Perfect! It was a quiet piece of land though so after a few minutes of loitering I was aware I must have looked well dodgy. I really was ready for a chat but people were either out or busy indoors. So I started knocking on people's doors. Many thanks to Arnie & Constance, Brian, Carol, Matthew, Peter and Stephen who all found time to open them and to talk.

I am interested in green spaces, little pockets of land in between houses because they have a potential to act as a gathering point, shared territory, place to meet and do stuff or talk about stuff, a piece of green to stand on to have a better view. I am fond of little green spaces dotted around becuase they often are my outdoor studio spaces, my thinking plots, making areas. In my head Knutton Road Studios and Fulmere Crescent are closely linked - both locations have capacity to act as a focal point. 

Whilst chatting to people at Fulmere Crescent I asked them to donate a word that describes the green and learnt that it is occasionally used as a football pitch during warmer months.

Contributed words/phrases: 

{quiet}

{it's just there}

{peaceful}

{always the same}

{green}

{pleasant} 

I used them all to write a short story. (Think flash fiction and DIY approach to display) The very next day I went to the crescent armed with a blue chair to act as my ladder and I attached the story to a utility pole. All hand-written on a card. I hoped for these words to stay on the pole for one afternoon. They lasted only a few hours until the first rain. I am sure Cath and Roy managed to read it all as they did it whilst I was still trying to detach the tape from my fingers and they questioned me about my intentions and my accent. However (surprise, surprise) a few people spotted me strolling through the estate with a blue chair in my arms. This might be my signature action and silent announcement of my presence. I might skip story-writing all together and just carry on promenading with furniture.

Now I am brewing. Anything and everything is possible.