Twilight shift

Plowman was invited by the gallery to develop and present a new installation. This work was a continuation of his research into the possibility of the site of exhibition also being the site of production, focusing on the question of who bears witness to this activity of production artist, audience or both. The installation worked with the notion of opposites i.e. night / day, work / rest, finished / unfinished. The installation comprised a production area in one half of the gallery made up of two pieces of ‘factory type’ furniture constructed of plywood, a worksurface unit and a material storage unit, both on wheels. The other half of the space contained a plywood transportation unit also on wheels. The finished Sketching Kits were placed on this unit as each was finished. Plowman worked a regular twilight shift 6pm – 12 am in the gallery, on alternate nights during the first three weeks of the exhibition. During each shift he engaged in repetitive production activity using off the shelf stationery pencils, sharpeners, erasers, bulldog clips, sheets of paper and card. Plowman used these materials to make the ‘Sketching Kit’, a cardboard box and lid containing a stack of paper, bulldog clip, pencil, eraser and sharpener. Plowman could be viewed from the street through the windows of the gallery during his twilight shift. At the end of each shift Plowman made drawing of his work area and were pinned to the wall. During the day the gallery was open to the public where the the Sketching Kits produced the previous night work could be seen. An illustrated catalogue, published by Urban Eye Ltd., ISBN 1-901560-70-8 with a critical essay by David Lillington accompanied the exhibition. This publication, a stand alone work, was reviewed in Art Monthly, 295, April 2006 by Stephen Bury.