Remembered Textures

About the Artist

Harriet Forster (b.2002) is a Glasgow-based artist who practices with the mediums of photography, drawing, and film. Her work investigates the boundaries of the human and non-human, questioning our relationship with land and water. She is interested in belonging with place across time and how this informs our moment of crisis.

Harriet received a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design from The Royal Drawing School (2021), Exchange at Emily Carr University (2022) and is currently pursuing BA (Hons) in Fine Art at the Glasgow School of Art. Harriet’s work has been exhibited both in the UK and Canada and she completed a residency with Descover Artists in Hydra, Greece (2022).

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Squamish I, II, and Kwa-hul-cha (Lynn Creek) I are images named after the places in which they were made. I collect them in an installation titled Remembered Textures. I view awareness of how we feel in our environments as an essential step in regaining care for ourselves, each other, and the planet.

By closely examining a specific geographic spot with the camera, I extend my body to the materiality of the surfaces in that location; experiencing and capturing a moment of connection that translates to multiple other places.

This work aligns with my desire to seek expressions of being with the land on a chemical and molecular level. Focusing on the physical qualities of water, I am searching for a belonging with the earth that regards physical and universal principles. By juxtaposing the imprint of the human body on the elemental surface of water I am exploring the physical state of my body and how it meshes with these surroundings, specifically at the time of the camera shutter opening and closing.

Dissolving the boundaries between surfaces mirrors the way I work with materials, particularly photography and drawing. As mark-making exists in the chemical reactions in film, I view analogue photography as drawing with light and the tactility of charcoal to represent an exploration of texture. Hence, with Remembered Textures, I am meditating on what it means to be in a place marked by heightened sensory attunement to the senses of surfaces.

With intent to question the distinction between the human body and the natural, I am considering how slowing down and caring for our environment counteracts the capitalist focus on production and consumption. By re-gaining access to our present moments and environments, we can more fully possess our own times and bodies.

With this work, I am struggling toward imagining a future built on a healthier understanding of our relationship with water and land, one rooted in reciprocity and respect.