How much do we know about our neighbourhood, our homes, the area where we live? How can we imbue our surroundings with meaning? As a means of exploring this question Glean details the result of my searching out and recording the locations of publically accessible fruit trees within my immediate surroundings. I selected this particular feature as it could serve a function – the potential provision of food. While the vast majority of tree were planted on private property, being able to access their fruit without trespass raised issues of ownership, the control of natural growth and freedom of movement.
Although the map exists as a tangible artefact of the searching and recording, my actual experience - walking, exploring and actively looking at/for the particular features of interest - constitutes an unseen but critical aspect of the artwork; a meaningful interaction with a selected location constituting a performance. Glean also functions as a prompt, an invitation to viewers to undertake similar activities of empowerment.
