RA WALDEN (UK, 1987)
Residency period: August – November 2022
Whilst at La Becque I was working on multiple projects.
The first, to continue to expand on a language that I first developed in 2021, xay ithra, a constructed language created in response to the inherent ableism of the english language. Whilst on residency I added to the lexicon whilst also developing a text (WIP) that is written in xay ithran as a first language.
Additionally, I worked on a series of scaffold sculptures, thinking about the precarity of living outside of normative structures of state care and support. These pieces are constructed from wood and I also experimented with fabricating using copper wire and solder.
The third element of my residency was to begin work on a project titled Crip Survivalism, thinking about the ways that disabled communities are excluded from planning around climate crisis and systemic collapse. I am writing a book that will be accompanied by a series of instructional videos and sculptures that look to de-mystify/make accessible a lot of the machismo ableism of survivalist/prepper culture. — RA Walden
RA Walden is a transdisciplinary artist whose work centers a queer, disabled perspective on the fragility of the body. Their practice questions contemporary western society’s relationship with care, tenderness and vulnerability in relation to our bodies, our communities and our ecosystem. RA is interested in our ability (and failure) to navigate physicality, interdependency and fallibility both communally and individually. Their practice spans sculpture, installation, video and printed matter, all of which are approached with a socially engaged and research-led working methodology.
© RA Walden, La Becque Open Studios Fall 2022, photo Aurélien Haslebacher