Vicky Evans

With a genuine curiosity about Tibby Place, Islington, London. 

An urban green space, or in-between space, hidden and neglected behind a busy junction; with a small playground and an intriguing metal structure at the heart of it. Why is it fenced? Why is it frequented by pigeons and not people? Why is there a structure and what is it for? Why are people afraid of being there? Why are they disheartened with it? This site helped frame my urban green spaces research, to enquire, engage and prove it. Following medical evidence green spaces are beneficial for our well-being, to connect with ourselves and others, I propose this to work as a flexible blueprint for other green spaces.

The research involved people, their testimonies and you can see the results of the intervention or offering of the space in the missing bench.

Everything is about perspective. By enquiring with the Council, conversing with local people and experiencing the site, day by day, listening to a child in the playground and his grandad, the bin-man, non-users and passers-by, looking through different perspectives can change perceptions. 

People now recognise me as a fixture with no distinct role.

Furthermore, in opening up the history — visiting the Islington Historical Archive, stories and communication, local residents are given a chance to re-approach the site. It can become a place of historic significance and a place for them to play in a way they couldn’t imagine before. This is what bridges the past and present, linking history. How something mundane can be something valuable in their life. Perhaps, they never had the same urge about the space before. 

Recorded ambient sounds, interviews and the Victorian structure mix together in a soundscape. The conversations, aided by photography, journal sketching, scanning, archive consultations and gestures like cyanotypes became flavours in a newspaper – Leroy, the local sweeper, the first person I spoke to had one. The bench with a view to admire the greenery and structure develops a conversation with its past laundry and baths. 

Mr. Turner’s missing park bench sparked a conversation with local residents, highlighting the importance of green spaces in our search for wellbeing.

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can alter memory sequence, cognition; and the perception of time can stop at a traumatic event. Nature can quietly act as a welcome proof and a reminder that time does pass. It can bring us back to the present moment and be a stepping stone into the future. I have recorded the passing of time through observation and foraging a collection of local flora: sharing a certain vulnerability and state of mind through the use of light, movement, the coexistence of nature photography and inanimate objects. Working with simplicity, pace and a sense of mystery can be a powerful thing whilst it helps us tell a story and be a voice that might help others. It all hangs in fine balance and emerges from darkness.

This project is based on a personal story; finding solace in Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Sower. 

I looked at a plant in complete stillness one day; and then again, the next. 

We kept each other company in silence. I observed beauty in its decay. 

And then I clocked the passing of time. 

I was leaving home to go to campus and noticed a seed sitting outside my front door.

I picked it up.

And then another. I dropped them in my bag. 

I let them find their place, randomly, on my desk. Tongyu, my desk neighbour, helped me gather different ones at campus. 

Something else happened. 

Georgie, from the workshop, helped me cut a piece of piece of wood to reuse it. Claire, helped me carry it. Ali, from maintenance, brought his ladder to help me stick an orange colour photographic gel film to the ceiling light fitting. Sam, from reception, received film delivery. Sotiris, a photography technician, gave me photography advice and moral support. Alba, from the printLab, advised me on Riso printing and paper trimming. Jim, from IT, brought and replenished recycled paper upstairs at the printLab. Sharon, a print technician, helped me bind the book. Andrea, gave me dried flowers from her garden. Xanthe gave me a dry leaf. Pam, lent me a wooden stool from her office. 

This project is about recovery, growth and the gift of finding help in others.

They are all present in my work.

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Health conditions can make reading a daunting task. But annotating a text can work as a coping mechanism for reading on the journey of recovery. They are presented here as a methodology to help understand, digest, interpret, intervene and transfer text, at a time when reading can be a challenge. This project is based on the personal story by Octavia Butler, The Parable of the Sower. 

[A small format prototype book with annotations and seed references sits in an intimate space of the show. The enclosed and angled surroundings provide an uncomfortable experience of isolation; but also one of hope and blossoming thoughts just as seeds have the potential grow.]

Co-designed the identity and co-curated RCA Work-In-Progress Show 2023 for MA Visual Communication Programme. This Open Studio event was open to the public on 3 February - 4 February 2023.

A member of the identity team with Jiarui Wang, Joo Yeoun Yoo and Hairun Li; it included way-finding from ideation to implementation.

A way-finding system was vital to navigate the show; together with a cohort collective sentiment and word exercise, it was brought to life in four expansive dialogues: Auto-Fragility, World-Detour, Immortal-Materiality and Breather-Text. 

Each theme was colour coded and was expressed in a utilitarian way through a building intervention. All under the umbrella name of ‘Cosmic-lonel(y)ness’ — defying and questioning artificial intelligence generated text.

Co-designing the Show identity and co-curating RCA2023 Show, MA Visual Communication Programme; live on this website and physically at the Final Show. The Graduate Show event will take place at the Truman Brewery from 13 July to 16 July 2023.

A member of the Show identity team for MA Visual Communication with Jiarui Wang, Joo Yeoun Yoo and Hairun Li.