JOSIE IRELAND

CREDITS            

    
The Early Hours
Milton Court Studio Theatre
January 2024








Inspired by the poem, ‘Two-Headed Calf’ by Laura Gilpin, this experiential installation offered a pocket of calm for its audience. Using 150 upcycled, hand-painted wooden discs, The Early Hours is a celebration of individual creativity and the magic a community can create by cumulative action. 

I designed and created this piece as part of my final year graduation project, showing first in January 2024 and again in June at Guildhall’s Graduate Exhibition. 46 contributors painted the circles, including 16 primary school students and 1 cat. Through academic reading and conducting interviews with current practitioners, research went into Universal Design for art, and the accessibility of creating & experiencing immersive, interactive, sensory, and experiential works.

The design was in response to materials I could gather for free or second-hand.  After its final showing, all materials were repurposed for other projects or recycled.

Particular thanks go to Jon Armstrong, Ben Kosminsky-Wallace, Vanessa Cass, Inspire EBP, and the staff & students of Princess May Primary School.

Photography: Josie Ireland, Princess May teachers, and anonymous audience members
Film Photography: Toby Riding