Bronwen Buckeridge is an artist working in the medium of connection and cross-species communication. Through her presentation of her work, the audience was struck with the repeated themes of cross species interaction and language.
Her talk began with an in-depth exploration of her work with pigeon racing, "Widowhood", made in 2018. She showed us the depth of connection formed between the pigeon racers and their birds, as well as each other. Through this male dominated activity, the participants build a tender space that sees a connection between nurturing their birds and foster care. The work shines a light on a hidden pocket of society that forms a unique interaction with the world, including through the use of language, developing a complex code to describe the behaviour and traits of the birds.
Buckeridge tentatively enters the domestic space with her work, careful not to become a voyeur, but becoming a brief passenger in someone else's world. This form of work is built from the kind of observation that can only happen from an intimate vantage point, reliant on a continuously trustful relationship. With this insight, Buckeridge delves into the routines, rituals, processes and thoughts that make up peoples lives.
This kind of familiarity is imprinted on every work that Buckeridge showed, drawing communities into her process and honouring each individuals beliefs and skillset.
This is particularly notable in her 2014 work "This is not a dog show", in which she worked with a large group of dogs and people, as well as Rebekah Freeman-Evu, an animal communicator who relies on clairsentience to relay the experience of the dogs, in a piece reflecting on "channels of communication beyond the linguistic, and forms of knowledge outside of the human".
The esoteric is a recurring presence in Buckeridge's work, also seen in her work with Blackrock Artists Residency in 2015, which featured a Wiccan and a Hedgewitch in a site specific sound piece which invites the viewer into the private world of the wild boar. When asked if she believes in such practices as Clairsentience and Hedgewitchery, Buckeridge replied that she "Believes in other peoples belief", illustrating her empathy for the varied and idiosyncratic experience of being alive.
Buckeridge's practice is one which is a struggle to define in terms of normative art making styles and mediums. She is an artist who seems to possess a unique insight into private, tender moments which usually go unnoticed. With an inclusive and explorative working process, Buckeridge makes work that embraces chance, and can be transformed by the many variables which influence the outcome of artworks which often take place in a socially unpredictable setting.
The interaction with animals which takes place across much of her work is Buckeridge's way of "journeying with the other", operating as a translator who often finds herself a guest in other peoples worlds, allowing herself to be carried by the currents of the unusual lives she visits. Through this lens, a compassionate and experiential portfolio of work has been built.
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