‘Ten’ Ryde Arts residency and bursary located at the ‘Department’, Ryde 2022

The window with a bus stop running alongside, in the heart of Ryde town, is by its nature public facing and the residency was designed to expose the process of creative development in a public setting. Throwing, smearing and smoothing globules of black paint, Laura’s residency time was used as a performance and installation space.

After painting several shapes, Laura settled on a circular cell like form. Painting repeatedly throughout each day, ten wet paintings could fill the floor space at a time and so, the painting performance would last as long as it took to create the ten paintings. Passers by would stop and observe throughout the painting session whilst Laura, using physical actions of throwing and smearing paint with her hands, transformed the paper surfaces.

The installation ‘Ten’ subsequently evolved and developed from hanging each paper form as it was painted, on all available surfaces. Culminating in a full floor to ceiling window of paint splattered black circular forms. The reflections and shadows of buildings, vehicles and passers by continually flowed and interacted through the glass and added another layer to the works.

Photo credit Maria Bell @mariabellphoto

No Ball Games, Co-op Square, Ryde 2022

Commissioned by Ryde Business Association, Ryde Arts and the Heritage Action Zone; funded by ACE Jubilee Fund and the Isle of Wight and Hampshire Trust.

‘No Ball Games' was inspired by a public response to the incredible local architectural heritage of Ryde. With help from members of the community during the Ryde Jubilee celebrations, Laura encouraged passers by to look closely and to explore the town, especially the heritage zone and to take rubbings from textures they found along Ryde high street. From drain covers to brick work, tiles, signage and stone carvings they highlighted the heritage and importance of the high street and the incredible details that can be found if we look closely around us.

Laura translated these collected and gathered marks and textures made by the community into stencils and freehand mark making to create a large scale painting in the heart of Ryde.

Laura hopes that simple mark making creates an impactful, joyful piece that not only is recognisable by the community that created the marks it was inspired by, but also regenerates a community space in Ryde, creating a happier welcoming area for people to sit, meet, enjoy and take pride in.

‘600’ an installation commissioned by ARCH Window Gallery 2021

I Grow was an installation created specifically for the ARCH Window Gallery. Made up of more than 600 ink paintings, each piece captures my fingerprint dragged through water and ink onto paper. The process of making was meditative as I created a simple repeat shape over and over onto each piece of paper. The 600 paintings were then transported to the shop frontage in the centre of a busy Ryde high-street.

I Grow then evolved further once installed, pieces adorning the walls and floor, paper and ink interacting with the surrounding high-street. The environment became equal to the paintings themselves. Buildings reflected into the space, shadows of people passing by penetrated the surfaces of the paper and the ever-changing light of day and night shifted shapes and movement throughout. Reflections multiplied the paintings further, creating a somewhat endless repeat pattern.

Photo credit Julian Winslow @julian_winslow

‘Moon ate the dark’ an installation commissioned by Jo Hummel-Newell and Ryde Arts 2017

Joanne Hummel-Newell invited three artists Laura Hathaway, Hermione Allsop and Adam Gillam to exhibit new works alongside her own exploring issues such as social integration and circular economy at the artist run space, Depozitory.

Using painted marks on glass panels Moon ate the dark formed and evolved in response to the architecture, the light in the building and how the marks interacted with each other in the space. The painted shapes mimicked the curves and lines within the windows throughout the piece. The reflection of the elongated windows mirrored the semi-circle smears and was emulated further by my large rectangular dense smudges of black ink. The building and Moon ate the dark became fused as one piece. Shadows, paint and reflections influencing and merging with one another.

Photo credit Julian Winslow @julian_winslow

‘Disorder II’ an installation commissioned by Jo Hummel-Newell and Ryde Arts 2017

In response to ‘IM IN THE GARDEN’ an exhibition and curatorial project by Jo Hummel-Newell supported by Arts Council England. ‘Disorder II’ allowed Laura to work within a 360 degree space, flowing around the form, consciously sensing which marks interacted and balanced the next, painterly marks, flecks and splodges covering the interior and exterior of the glass. The piece was displayed and transported through Ryde illuminated carnival; public and carnival participants passing by created another layer to the piece, light, shadows, space enhancing the colourful chaos, with much bewildered response.

Photo credit Julian Winslow @julian_winslow