When were you happiest?, Gallery 9

For many years the Saturday Guardian’s Life and Style Q&A has asked celebrities “when were you happiest?” and until a year or so ago I had puzzled over one recurring response. This would become the starting point for my present work.

Extending the question to “when and where were you happiest?”, I made the decision to respond to the theme of place by attempting to locate myself in the here and now. Using text as a starting point in much of my practice, my work searches for meaning in both language, and in this most recent piece, the mindful practice of living in the present moment.

The work consists of a neon sign which will be shown in the window of Gallery 9, possibly in the first instance implying the here and now of the exhibition itself but further inviting visitors to consider their own response to the question; when and where were you happiest?

Both before and during the exhibition, I will be inviting visitors to the gallery to respond to the question by writing their own response on a postcard which itself will become part of the exhibition and hopefully lead to thought and conversation about our experiences of time, happiness and living in the present moment.