Studio Kompost


creative collaborations with community and nature



PLAY



Studio Komposters John Quirk and Helen Woolston took part in an artist residency at MERZ Gallery (Sanquhar, Scotland) in early 2022.


During our stay we played in our own individual ways with how we creatively responded to our surroundings in Sanquhar. We held weekly workshops with the local board game club at A' the Airts Community Centre, making puppets from recycled materials and offering tuition in cut-out animation.


The work culminated in an exhibition-come-play-space that allowed visitors to experience the eclectic outcomes as well as an invitation to let loose their own playful creativity.



We wanted to be playful with ideas and encourage the approach of letting creativity run loose, to be open to silly ideas and silly outcomes. That way, ideas won’t be constricted by the fear of whether they are “good” or not, allowing the creative process to relax enough to let in ideas which might otherwise be shown the door as soon as they enter our logical minds



Everything is welcome.


Refining is for later.


Now is for playing!



John made a role play pixel-art game, Guapo in Sanquharland, in which a hand puppet experiences the townspeople and culture of Sanquhar.


Helen made poems and drawings focusing on different elements of the natural surroundings as a basis for a future puppet theatre performance with more than humans as the intended audience.


The board game group made a host of impressive characters, offered creative consultation on John's role-play game, and devised a table-top game for themselves.



kompostcollective@gmail.com