Anceu asked me to pay attention to what was already there, then let the village alter what could be made, shared and left behind.
There was nowhere to hide behind density
Rural Hackers took me out of Berlin and into Anceu, a small village in Galicia. The change was immediate. There was no city density or visual noise to hide behind. I had to pay attention to what was already there and to the people who would live with whatever I made.
The place made time visible. An idea had to develop in relation to a village, not only in relation to my own studio habits.
Letting the village alter the work
The work moved between an interior mural, village forms, found doors, Rogelio's portrait and local references including Tambor, the village dog. I did not want to bring a portable version of Berlin and install it unchanged.
The mural, installation and drawings became a conversation between my visual language and the materials already carrying the village's history. The work could remain mine without pretending the place was neutral.
People are part of the record
A place-based project is not only about the image that remains on the wall. It is also about the people who make the work possible, the person who recognises a local reference and the community that has to live with the result after the artist leaves.
That is why the archive holds process, portraits, found material and finished surfaces together. The relationships are not background information. They are part of what happened.
What remains after leaving
I keep Anceu as a residency and place-based project, not as a travel anecdote. It records what happens when Sketchy Shona has to answer to somewhere specific.
The work remains in the archive as a reminder that a village can be a studio without becoming a stage set. The location did not simply host the work. It changed the conditions of making it.
Credits
- Original Sketchy Shona field note based on confirmed Rural Hackers / Anceu residency documentation.