Threads of Connection
The visual work of ‘Threads of Connections’ forms connective strands to audio work, a cumulative piece that encourages the audience to view the work as a whole.
The concepts of world dreaming and world building come into clear focus when Fontaine verbally ruminates on what speculative futures within the local area could encompass, she highlights that this will resemble multiple third spaces where inclusivity, greenery, and support for the local community are invested in. Within Fontaine’s body of work being hopeful is an active muscle that needs to be exercised, nourished and breathed life into
About Marilyn Fontaine
Marilyn Fontaine is a multi-disciplinary artist and was our guest artist in residence for Black History Month 2024, She is an East London-based mixed-media artist who creates work with subversive and mystical overtones, often resulting in outcomes that incorporate witty narratives.
The central themes of her work document her intimate journey with femininity and nature which is reinforced by the use of rituals and indigenous practices as tools for connection and collective healing.
The Speculative ReMemory project was led by artist, writer and programme facilitator, Sandra Falase, as part of a year-long engagement programme in 2024 at Alice Billing House, supported by the Creative Land Trust and Heritage Lottery Fund.
Marilyn Fountain responded to an open call to become artist-in-residence at Alice Billing House as part of Black History Month 2024. The residency had a focus on socially engaged practice and provided an opportunity to use the project space as an experimental incubator to create new work and research to contribute to the Speculative ReMemory project.
Marilyn proposed ‘Threads of Connection’ which looks into how the mark-making of intimate cartographies can be used to map out personal connections and histories as they relate to the local area.
Marilyn facilitated a workshop participants were taken on a brief walk in the surrounding area before returning to the workshop space to mark-make on a local map using coloured pens, red thread, and words to weave visual representations of their lived experience growing up or living in Newham, this resulted in a series of visual work that incorporates artistic overlays and the collaging imagery integral to her history in relation to Newham.
These visual offerings as a result of the residency explore how technology is used as a tool for connection and how our memories can be embodied in visual and audio forms.
