Why I'm in Fogo!

Having come from Ireland where I lived and worked on the coast, I saw the importance of the fishing tradition to a way of life which had existed for millennia. The decline of the industry has been well documented and it has also been accompanied by efforts to reinvigorate certain niches such as tourism activities and festivals.

The original idea is based on a comparison of the Irish curragh and the Fogo Island punt. While working on this, I became aware of a quite powerful instinctual feeling about the similarity between the structure of the punt and the anatomy of a seal. I was drawn to the idea that these two quite different objects could be related at the level of form, and that some kind of synthesis of their forms might be achieved.

Coming from a design tradition that's studio-based, the working process tends to be linear and goal-oriented. This is an opportunity for me to explore the more non-linear processes of a designer-artist. I still don't have a clear conception of what the result of the project will be, so following this instinct is a daunting and emotionally-challenging experience.