The Soft Landscape (2014-15)
Aid & Abet were selected to be one of the artists in residence at the North West Cambridge Development in 2014, alongside Bedwyr Williams and Fernando Garcia-Dory.
Each year three Artists in Residence are appointed as part of the Art Programme managed by the Contemporary Art Society and InSite Arts.
The arts programme encourages collaboration between artists and departments within the University. Aid & Abet were partenered with the Department of Land Economy; Fernando García-Dory with the Centre for Sustainable Development in the Department of Engineering, and Bedwyr Williams with the University of Cambridge Museums.
Drawing inspiration from the local environment and growing community at North West Cambridge, Aid & Abet are undertook a process-led and practice driven project that aimed to authentically document through film, photo, poetry, sculpture and drawing the transformation of a former agricultural landscape into the creation of a brand new mixed use development.
The Gravel Hill farm studios became an experimental and enlivened space throughout the year with guest contributors including academics, students and local people. We initiated collaborations through regular walks, workshop activity and meetings, paying attention to the local landscape through imaginative musings and questioning the role of artists and cultural value of the creative process. The residency was about an investment in the slowing down of time and the focusing of creative energy towards a new place of living.
