Manor Lane Project.
 

This project was focused on the village of Gotherington in Gloucestershire, which is experiencing dramatic change. The work is a fragile archive consisting of ephemeral elements, all symbolic and reflexive of the current environmental changes being explored in this project. Her intention was to enable an engaging dialogue between the three modes of capture, ceramic glazes, film, and soundscapes.  Nicola assembled an archive of soundscapes from and around the farm, as well as creating an archive of glazes containing material elements of the plants from around this site which is potentially under threat. Planning permission has been granted to construct a housing estate after seven years of dispute. 

Nicola took a time-lapse film of the area, to which there is no public access. This was over a three-month period and she added a sound recording of the cow’s being brought down from the hill for the winter, for the very last time. This is the last working farm (first recorded in 1665), left in the village. There were six farms originally, and this one will cease to function due to the land slowly being sold for development.  

Further exploration during this project led her to experiment with incorporating the plant glazes within clay bodies using a technique of slip-casting, building its potential for future expansion.  Consequently, she has made a series of ceramic landscapes inspired by the terrain on and around the farm. 

The use of digital technologies in parallel with the glaze developments has enabled some significant advances in her practice, building on the potential for future developments. Nicola intends to continue developing the sound archives over the next twelve months and record personal memories and knowledge of the countryside from residents relating to themes around intangible cultural heritage.