Despatch was the exhibition outcome of mail art created by sixty-two Work Show Grow artists from across the world in 2022. For this inaugural art residency, twenty-one artists stayed in New Forest in the UK, visiting the Heritage Centre, Museum, archives, and surrounding natural landscape. Artists in New Forest considered vital information they wished to share with collaborative artists who participated virtually. Artwork was collaboratively created and despatched in A5 envelopes. The work took trips across the world from Switzerland to Australia, from Portugal to the USA and then back to the New Forest Heritage Centre for exhibition. Final artistic outcomes included photography, textile, sound, drawing and ceramics.––
The visual project created by collaborating artists, Lizzie Ransom (UK, work via New Forest), Jessie DiBlasi (Melbourne, Australia) and Noemi (Paris, France) explored our collective response to the ideas of abundance and scarcity of nature. The work was presented in New Forest in the form of a fold-out booklet that revealed a fragile (unfixed) lumen print stitched in place with red cotton thread.
A look through the collaborative artist book created as part of the Despatch virtual residency.
