Psychological type profile of Lead Elders within the Newfrontiers network of churches in the United Kingdom

This study set out to examine the psychological type profile of Lead Elders within the Newfrontiers network of churches in the United Kingdom and to compare this profile with the established profile of clergymen in the Church of England. A sample of 134 Lead Elders completed the Francis Psychological Type Scales. The study shows that Newfrontiers Lead Elders display slight preferences for extraversion over introversion, for sensing over intuition, and for thinking over feeling, and a strong preference for judging over perceiving. These findings contrast with the profile of Church of England clergymen who prefer introversion over extraversion, intuition over sensing, and feeling over thinking, but who also display a less pronounced preference for judging over perceiving. Within the Newfrontiers leadership the most frequently reported types were ISTJ (16%) and ESTJ (13%), while among Church of England clergymen the most frequently reported types were INTJ (11%) and ISTJ (10%). The implications of these findings are discussed for the distinctive strengths, challenges and opportunities facing the leadership within the Newfrontiers network of churches

Even in Exile

Site-specific graphic work. Commissioned by James Dean Bradfield and Orchard Records. This was an invitation from the musician James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers) to develop artwork that could be used for the cover of a solo album he had written inspired by Victor Jara; a Chilean musician and political activist who was murdered in the first days following the Pinochet coup d’état. Beyond that, the invitation was extended to include the design and layout for all elements of each format of the release – vinyl LP, CD and tape; the covers, the lyric sheets, and booklets, the case inserts, the CD/tape/vinyl stickers etc. This allowed me to approach these spaces as a site through which I could consider the entire visual experience of the audience

God So Loves Decay

Abstract for an Alternative Presentation My proposal is to restage my performance work, ‘God So Loves Decay’, commissioned by Sunridge Avenue Projects, first performed in Luton, UK, on May 7th, 2016. This took the collected lyrics of seminal UK punk band, UK Decay, and, working with musician Russ Crimewave, saw them ‘performed’ in Luton town centre in a form akin to a religious street preacher. A limited edition publication of the lyrics was produced and given to passing members of the public. This happened with the full knowledge and support of UK Decay. Authenticity of experience was key – there was no public indication this was an artwork, thereby allowing the words of UK Decay to be interpreted by this unassuming audience in a contemporary social, economic and political context. The act of re-presenting these words in this shifted way is an acknowledgement of their ongoing relevance, pulling them back out of the cultural archive and reinvigorating them in a time starkly reminiscent of that of their inception, but in a context that encourages an expanded dialogue. The logistics of presenting this at the conference would simply be mine and Russ’s presence there. I would be happy to decide on the exact parameters in negotiation with the organisers – it could happen in a traditional presentation slot, it could happen at a given time and space outside of this arena, or as a combination of the performance and a more traditional paper, to contextualize the content and intentions of the work

An evaluation of Landsat MSS data for ecological land classification and mapping in the Northern Cape

This paper examines the issues that arise in the use of visual interpretation of Landsat data during the analysis, classification and mapping of the natural vegetation of the semi-arid Northern Cape. Initial research involved the classifying and mapping of the vegetation using conventional methods. A vegetation map, accompanying legend and descriptive key were produced. The problems encountered during this process, and the constraints of manpower, time and funds, stimulated the investigation of Landsat imagery as a means of improving the speed and accuracy of vegetation classification and mapping. A study area comprising one Landsat scene and which met certain requirements was selected: a) The area had already been surveyed and mapped at a scale of 1:250 000. b) As many vegetation units as possible were included. c) There was maximum diversity, complexity and variability in terms of soil, geology and terrain morphology. Initially a suitable mapping scale was selected, viz. 1:250 000, as it met the requirements of nature conservation authorities and agricultural planners. The scales of survey and remote sensing were based on this. The basic unit of survey was the 1:50 000 topographical map and satellite imagery at a scale of 1:250 000 was found to meet the requirements of reconnaissance level mapping. The usefulness of Landsat imagery was markedly affected by the quality of image production and enhancement. Optimum image production was vitally important and to this end, interaction between the user and the operations engineer at the Satellite Applications Centre, Hartebeeshoek was essential. All images used, were edge-enhanced and systematically corrected. While these procedures were costly, they proved to be fundamental to the success of the investigation. Precision geometric correction was not required for reconnaissance level investigation. The manual superimposition of the UTM grid, using ground control points from 1:250 000 topographical maps, proved to be accurate and convenient. Pattern recognition on single-band, panchromatic imagery was difficult. The scene lacked crispness and contrast, and it was evident that black and white imagery did not satisfy the objectives of the study. Three-band false colour composite imagery was superior to single-band imagery in terms of clarity and number of cover classes. The addition of colour undoubtedly facilitated visual interpretation. False colour composite imagery was investigated further to establish which year, season and possibly time of season would best suit the objectives of the investigation. It was found that the environmental parameters affecting reflectance are relatively stable over time and it was not necessary to acquire imagery of the same year as field surveys. However, the year of imagery should be chosen so that similar climatic conditions prevail. While, in certain instances, imagery captured during winter had advantages in separating complex mosaics, summer imagery was superior in most respects. Furthermore, given "normal" climatic conditions, the ideal period during which there was maximum contrast between and within ground classes, and thus spectral classes, was narrowed to mid-January to mid-April. Units which were acceptably heterogeneous (relatively homogeneous) in terms of reflectance levels were delineated manually on the image. This delineation was done at three levels of complexity and the units were compared with the vegetation map. A series of field trips aided the interpretation of the images, especially where discrepancies occurred between the map and the image. In general, there was a close degree of correspondence between the prepared vegetation map and the delineated image. Field investigation revealed the image units to be more accurate than those on the vegetation map, and the image served to highlight the inadequacies inherent in classifying and mapping vegetation of extensive areas with limited resources

Public Works (Portfolio)

This multi-component output consists of a selection of approaches to the creation and dissemination of art in the public realm. These works were realised across a six-year period (December 2014 to August 2020) and incorporate multiple forms – permanent public works (‘Alight’, Cardiff, and ‘Wassail’, London), public performance (‘God So Loves Decay’, Luton and L.A.), and site-specific graphic works (‘Even in Exile’, album cover, ‘The Murenger and Other Stories’, book cover). This diverse approach to ideas of site and the public realm reflects my research interests in an artwork’s capacity to exist autonomously and coherently outside of any additional framework for its designation as an artwork. From a practice-based research perspective, a key thing these projects were all examining was: How the artwork draws on and manipulates the physical surroundings in which it is sited in order to intensify the viewer experience and extend its dialogues beyond that of simply being considered an artwork. The key methodology was in the creation and the dissemination of the works and artistic objects themselves – through this physical process a space was created in which the efficacy of these things could be observed, both individually and as part of the wider project and the wider research interests identified. In submitting these works as a multi-component output, it provides a true reflection of my interest and research in to working in this way. At one end of the scale I am interested in permanent public works – how they function, their relation to architecture and people’s use of the space, their ability to engage in a wider narrative – but I am equally interested in the transient use of space or the co-option of recognisable sites and the shorthand of understanding this can create when introducing a work in to that space

Bread and Circuses

This paper was written as an academic provocation for the 'Reflections on The Ring' symposium, and in response to 'The Ring' project - "a new arts programme celebrating a 21-mile circle of natural and historic waterways. Linking the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, the Droitwich Canals and the River Severn, the route flows through the urban and rural landscapes of Worcester and Droitwich. Navigable by boat or on foot, the Mid-Worcestershire Ring is a unique tourist destination. Our programme will uncover unusual and memorable stories of people, places and the natural environment. Local artists will produce ambitious and dynamic artworks and live events for all to enjoy.a series of temporary public artworks commissioned around the canals." It considers the nature of art in the public realm, in particular relation to the audience, and making reference to Alfred Gell's 1998 "Art and Agency: An Anthropological Theory"

Wassail

A series of eight permanent public sculptures. Commissioned by Berkeley Homes to be sited around their ‘Vista’ development on the Nine Elms, Battersea, the specific focus of the commission was to create way markers for the site. The logic to my approach was that anything can act as a way marker – a tree-stump, a bent lamppost – essentially anything that’s specific and unique to a site. Seven works were developed for the site, to be set in to the hardscaping at specific points, each of which was thematically developed from research in to the history of the borough. An eighth work was also commissioned to be sited on a railway arch at the rear of the site. This was developed, thematically, from the same research that was undertaken in to the history of the borough. The specific things being referenced through the works are: • Battersea formerly being a lavender-farming area, pre-industrial revolution. • Pink Floyd’s classic ‘Animals’ album cover, featuring a pig flying between the chimneys of Battersea Power Station (which is directly to the rear of the site). • The work of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. • The formation of the Workers Educational Association in a terraced house in the borough in 1903. • The aviation history of the Short Brothers, formerly based on the gasworks the rear of the Vista site. • The filming of The Clash’s ‘London Calling’ video on a pier of Battersea Park. • The presence of the ‘Pleasure Gardens’ in Battersea Park during the 1951 ‘Festival of Britain’. • The discovery of the Seax of Beagnoth in the River Thames at Battersea – a 9th Century Anglo-Saxon knife containing the only known complete inscription of the twenty-eight letter Anglo-Saxon runic alphabet

If You Build it, They Will Come

A paper discussing my own experiences of living, and developing a career as an artist, regionally. The paper takes the misquotation "If you build it, they will come", from the Kevin Costner film 'Field of Dreams' as it's starting point - proposing the idea that by staying where you are you can, potentially, do more good than moving to where the action is

Hiraeth - A Collaborative Project

A paper proposing a collaborative project given at the Punk Scholars Network Conference in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne December 17 2019 with artist S. Mark Gubb