Stephanie finds strength outside restraining walls
Mar 4 2008 by Barbara Hodgson, The Journal
Barbara Hodgson speaks to a young artist who is building a bridge between strangers.
Stephanie, who has just completed a Master of Fine Art degree at Newcastle University, chose the bridge at the station in North Tyneside to exhibit a variety of house-like structures which she made from several thicknesses of copper wire, arranging them to resemble villages.
She explains: “It’s a kind of abstract representation of individuals and the interaction of individuals in society.
“The houses are a representation of people and the wire forms little houses without their walls.”
While the installation, which is called Inside, did not form part of her degree course, it stems from ideas developed during her time at university.
“There was something about social interaction which intrigued me,” she says.
Her aim was to find ways to express this interest and, with daily life offering little opportunity to see a stranger’s inner beauty and potential, Stephanie’s houses became a metaphor for the fragility of our inner selves when stripped of self-erected walls.
The beauty of the copper, lit by the sun during the day and by the station’s lights at night, enhance the idea of fragility but, at the same time, there’s an inner strength.
And the basic structure of the houses can be seen as having a strength and purpose.
Stephanie says of her unusual choice of exhibition space: “The station chose me!” She adds: “I’m interested in the idea of what happens in a public place, like the bridge: people have walls and don’t really see others.”
But there’s beauty there, she says, and it’s unseen.
“I thought, ‘what if people’s walls are down’?”
She adds: “And I love to work in interesting spaces. There’s a reaction to whatever space I’m working in.
“In places like Tynemouth Station, where there’s public transport, people are passing each other all the time but they don’t see people.”
Stephanie, an American from South Carolina, obtained an earlier Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Ohio State University. Before she came to England to study, she was a painter and abstract artist. But, inspired by the architecture of older buildings, her work took on a new direction.
“I did enjoy my time at Newcastle. My courses were very different – students over here are given a lot more freedom.”
But she is now moving to London.
“That’s not a snub!” she insists. “I think I’ll live and work there for a while but that’s not a reflection on Newcastle. Newcastle has been very good to me.
“I really like big cities and being able to get lost in a crowd – I love England and I’m not ready to leave yet.”
She is considering ways of developing and transferring the ideas captured in Inside, which is her first major solo exhibition and one likely to be viewed by thousands of people passing through the station.
“I really like these little houses,” she says. But she has not made any decisions on what direction her work will take.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next. I’m open to whatever comes along,” she adds.
Inside can be seen at Tynemouth Metro Station until March 31. Admission is free.
BRIDGE WORK Stephanie Imbeau puts the finishing touches to her installation Inside that can be seen at Tynemouth Metro Station until March 31.
