Artist from Chester reaches out to women in rural areas with latest project

Nov 17 2011 by Carmella de Lucia, Flintshire Chronicle

Patricia MacKinnon-Day has had a rather interesting life. She’s doing the career she always dreamed of, gets to meet and work with fascinating people regularly and travels across the world to exotic locations such as China, Singapore, Belgium and Luxembourg exhibiting her projects.

It’s a far cry from her childhood days, growing up in a one-bedroomed flat in the tough Glasgow suburb of Govan when Patricia would attend Saturday classes at the Glasgow School of Art and daydream about one day being able to make art the focus of her future.

Her passion for the subject she loved was always at the heart of everything Patricia has done, and was what spurred her on to gain a scholarship and two degrees in art, teaching the subject to high school students and, eventually, develop her own career as a professional artist.

Now living in Chester and a critically acclaimed artist in her own right, Patricia’s work has been recognised both nationally and internationally, and she has seen her creations installed permanently in public spaces across the world.

“Art was the main thing I always excelled in,” said the mother-of-two.

“I was brought up with my grandmother, mother and brother in a one-bedroomed flat in Glasgow, where my mother had huge aspirations for me and taught me how important it was for women to stand on their own two feet without depending on financial support from a man.

“I never shied away from challenges and often engage with a situation without really knowing what the outcome or artwork will be.

“I get a real buzz from taking on large, complicated projects and entering unknown territories.”

In Patricia’s latest venture, the Rural Voices project, she has been working with women who spend their lives in rural settings and communities.

Through a series of film portraits and sound projections, it focuses on the women’s histories and relationship to their environment and, by showing the work in non-art venues, such as village halls, Patricia hopes to attract more general audiences to the art and to give a voice to the women who are often the invisible members of farming communities.

“It’s been the first engagement with contemporary art for the rural women who have worked closely with a contemporary artist,” said Patricia.

“It deals with issues like isolation, self-esteem, lifestyle, education, social grouping and forming relationships and aims to embrace equality and diversity.

“It’s important my work makes connection to people and places to ensure it can be experienced at different levels.

“I ultimately want Rural Voices to make connection with women working in rural contexts in different parts of the world, perhaps examining global issues.”

To learn more about Patricia and other projects she has been involved in, visit www. mackinnon-day.com.