I first got to know their surroundings by driving around, looking, gazing, exploring and embodying. It\u2019s the first time I have the privilege to have a vehicle at hand while at a residency. This has proven to be quite the \u201cmust\u201d to be able to capture images in somewhat isolated areas. Also, as roads are very narrow in Ireland, it would had been very difficult to travel by foot. All and all, hiring a car (as suggested by the Shankill Castle residency) was the best decision I made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Above:<\/strong> Coastal liminal responses<\/em>, Burren College of Art, [#1 – ensemble], six 18 x 13 cm silver gelatin prints with soluble graphite pencils and watercolor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As for the images themselves, I had planned to do both silver gelatin medium format and digital, but as I knew I could use a darkroom at Burren College of Art<\/strong>, I barely took any digital. As the first time I have a darkroom at hand at a residency, this was just great as I prefer, above all, silver gelatin, therefore, I didn\u2019t find the need to even use the digital format. I was very happy to pursue my project with my preferred work method. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Above:<\/strong> Inland liminal responses<\/em>, Shankill Castle residency, [#1 – ensemble], six 18 x 13 cm silver gelatin prints with soluble graphite pencils and watercolor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I foraged the views on silver gelatine medium format around Shankill Castle<\/strong> and did the same when I got to Burren College of Art residency program<\/strong>. The second week I was in The Burren, I developed my negatives (from both residencies) and in the third week, I printed the final images (about sixty 18 x 13 cm gelatine silver prints). The plan was to \u201cwork\u201d on the surface of the gelatin prints, a method that I had done before with oil paint, but this time, I wanted to try different material that would adhere to the mat surface of the prints. Therefore, in the last two days of the residency and time in Ireland, I tested different soluble mediums on the prints itself to see how it would react and what type of visual would result from these physical applications on the photographic paper. I did many tests: some I found interesting, but others, I have to rethink. As I was researching these new visuals and looking at the prints that had not been reworked, I had to stop since I was not satisfied with the results. Such is the artistic process! I knew that more research of the places themselves had to be conducted before continuing these manipulations on the prints\u2019 surfaces. Since I was in the last days of the residency, I left the work as is knowing that the not yet finished works are a new path for me but need to further the visual and theoretical research of \u201cwhy\u201d these markings on the photographic paper are important to the work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/artsnb.ca\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/02-FORGUES_Burren_ensemble01.jpg\")
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