Gary Dawes

You have had a diverse career in filmmaking and photography, and later transitioned to land art projects. How do these different experiences influence your current work?

I think the aesthetics side of things plays a part, but overall there is no real influence upon the land art itself, I find It’s a different animal, there’s more of an organic and physical process involved, more of a raw hands-on approach. I see land art as just another form of creativity that’s all. It takes me out of my comfort zone. Away from the film and photography projects where I’m heavily reliant on my vision, light, cameras and lenses.

Your “Body of Light” exhibition was your first outdoor installation. Can you tell us more about the process of creating art in outdoor spaces and how it differs from indoor exhibitions?

I would say “Body of Light was more of a learning curve, and I kept the concept pretty simple. There are various things to bear in mind.One being what materials to use.The weather, the fluctuations in temperature and varying atmospheric conditions can be brutal at times, so weatherizing the artwork is paramount, A site visit once a month for a maintenance check to make sure things were still secure, safe and sound. Then there’s budget, materials, transport and logistics, health and safety, public liability insurance.There’s a lot more work involved. Another issue raised was about the artwork being stolen or vandalized. The way I feel about it is, that I invest a lot of my time, effort and care in what I do, but I’m certainly not precious about the work, I don’t think you can stop it. Sure you can try to negate it sometimes, but if you worry about putting your work outside and it getting stolen or vandalized you will never get anything done. So Fuck the vandals and thieves.

Gary Dawes | Outsider

“Looker” was displayed in Sherwood Forest, the first outdoor exhibition of its kind. What inspired you to bring your work to such a historical and iconic location?

Sherwood Forest had been on the radar for a while, plus the fact that nobody had ever done it before, I found it a stunning and atmospheric location, far away from the restrictions of concrete white walls and ceilings. With “Looker” I wanted  to create some sought of connection between art and nature, a kind of coexistence amongst the elements and the environment, the “Looker” series just simply felt right for that location it’s just a gut instinct or feeling about something that I use a hell of a lot. Both in art and in life. Another reason is I wanted to break away from a virtual world and the internet. Everything now is being driven digitally, with online exhibitions, virtual galleries, AI, Algorithms, Apps etc,etc, having my work just languishing on the internet with everything being harvested by AI without any permissions or regard. I see people everywhere constantly viewing things and communicating via mobile phones or computer screens. Like I’m doing right now. It’s not for me. I feel very strongly that having a connection with nature and the outside world in both a physical and sensory sense is even more important today. I feel that the connection is slowly being lost.We are nature and nature is us. It was one of the main reasons I started Outsider.

Gary Dawes | Outsider

In your Outsider projects, you explore art forms outside of photography. What mediums are you most excited about and experiment with in the future?

I’m not too sure, I have no agendas. Art and creativity in whatever form has always played a big part in my life and there will always be something I will want to explore and experiment with, to put my ideas to the test, to see if they come together or they fall apart. I never looked at my time spent in either film or photography as a career, I always saw it as a way of life, as I do to this day.

Your work explores alternative spaces for art. How do you approach selecting the locations for your installations, and how do these spaces enhance your artwork?

I think it’s more about intuition, a feel for something. Like I mentioned previously, I find it can be frustrating trying to put it all down into words. For me, It either works or it doesn’t. I am always looking at everything and scavenging for ideas. If something gives me a tug I just follow it, I have always liked the idea of having my work set in a natural living backdrop amongst the changing seasons that come and go, the lighting and colors, the sounds, the smells, everything is in a constant state of flux which I find interesting both on a visual and sensory level. One instance comes to mind regarding your word “enhance”. I had installed “Wolf Moon” in a local nature reserve it was made from wood and natural organic ingredients of white/black wild rice, mung beans, nerger, lentils, and star anise. Over a period of 7 yrs the weather had taken it’s toll and it began to slowly decay which had diminished the artworks vibrancy. It took on a more natural mature and rustic look, the mung beans also went missing, I think the rats or mice had eaten them, I liked the fact that nature and the elements had intervened which had a physical impact on the artwork which I thought enhanced it and helped it blend more into the surroundings. I also like the impermanence and the volatility that comes with land art. I would say on an aesthetic level that over time I thought nature and the elements had done a better job than I had.

Gary Dawes | Outsider

What role does the natural environment play in your creative process, especially when working on land art projects?

From an early age, I have always been in awe of wildlife and nature. It runs deep, and I find that using nature and the enviroment as a medium or a canvas so to speak starts to open everything up. It gives me a sense of freedom which allows me to explore and engage in a more organic and sensory way. I like to use the natural raw materials that are at hand, I find it gives the artwork a more natural look more of a coming together between art and the natural world. The picture frames I made for ” Looker” were made up from the natural materials I had scavenged on my walks in the forest, the same with “Fishious”. I don’t think I would have ever achieved the same effect had I sourced the wood from a timber yard or the picture frames from a shop. I feel it’s important for me to try and create art that is more than just a decoration or commodity.

Gary Dawes | Outsider

As a self-taught artist, how has your non-traditional training influenced the development of your artistic voice and style?

The word’s voice and style sound like something that’s brought up at art school or university, which I know nothing about. I have a healthy dislike when people start verbalizing things with Jargon/artspeak. I have no real interest in style, I would hate to be pigeonholed for creating or be labeled with a certain style. All I know is that for me creating art in whatever form is a need. It is something I have always done, I don’t analyze it, and I have no interest in voices or self-expression. If people ask why did you do this or that or whatever. There is NO why. I see my art as a work in progress and always will be.What I do know is that life without art would be a pretty empty and soulless existence.