A Goethe-Institut-linked residency took Sketchy Shona to Anceu in rural Galicia, where murals, found doors and a portrait grew from local time and relationships.
Anceu was a place, not a backdrop
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 residency was funded through a Goethe-Institut-linked programme. That fact matters, but it is not the whole record. The work came from the time, materials and relationships the place made possible: a mural inside the village, an installation using found material, and a portrait of Rogelio, described in the source material as a respected member of Anceu village.
Letting the village alter the work
The work moved between an interior mural, found doors, Rogelio’s portrait and local references including the village dog Tambor. I did not want to bring a portable version of Berlin and install it unchanged. I wanted the place to alter what could be made, what could be shared and what might remain after I left.
The mural brings a village landscape, buildings, figures, animals and black and white drawings into one working room. The installation carries that attention into old doors and painted forms, keeping their material history visible instead of covering it with a neutral surface.
A residency held in the archive
Rural Hackers belongs beside my murals, installations and studio records because it shows the work under different conditions. The image remains recognisable, but the surrounding system changes. The wall becomes a meeting point between an artist, a village and the people deciding what culture can do locally.
I keep this 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.