A lifelong Peanuts fan, Proctor sees a parallel between her training on ice and Charles M. Schulz’s ritual of producing and delivering the comic strip. Beginning with a blank page, or in this case ‘a perfect sheet of ice’, British artist Ruth Proctor’s daily early morning training sessions on the ice are documented through photography and film, building an archive over time. Proctor, who trained as an ice skater, uses her daily skating routine as a metaphor for the creative process and observes that things are never the same, no matter how much you try to repeat or train for it; just as when drawing by hand there's inherent elements of chance and possibility.
Visit the Seamen’s Hall, South Wing to view the evolving archive, and look out for the artist herself on the ice and around site.
Artist Guided Skate with Ruth Proctor
10.00-11.00 daily, 07-11 January 2019
An extra special morning session in the final week of SKATE, focused on celebrating a fresh start to the year ahead. Trained figure skater and artist Ruth Proctor will explain how her work Space for Something to Happen has evolved on ice over the Winter, and how she’s come to reflect on creative process and repetition as the project comes to close. This is a unique opportunity to speak and skate with the artist herself as she shares her own work and experience, whilst encouraging you to consider individual habits and routines for the year ahead.
Meet at the Seamen’s Hall Reception at 09.40 for an introduction before getting your skates on and warmed up for your time on ice.