Gillian Trotman  

Education: Surrey Institute of Art & Design - Fine Art Degree  2004

New work, May 2010 'Home Territory' £1,200

Mixed media, width 84cm x depth 34cm x height 58cm

This piece continues to explore the purpose and meaning of 'the map'. The juxtaposition of the house with the map draws on the importance we place not  only on the building, but on the location when we look for a sense of 'home'.

When asked 'where do you come from?' or 'where do you live?' we look to a place where we feel we belong, somewhere that we regard as 'ours'. We name a location, but that alone is nothing without buildings we regard as important in our lives, our experiences within them and the memories they evoke.

'Home Territory' was created from the fusion between what was once a child's dolls house and redundant maps. Long ago cherished toy now outgrown and no longer played with has evolved in to something else and been bought back to live through the use of maps which serve little purpose today as 'way finders', but which retain their aesthetic appeal.

Although aesthetically pleasing, the house has been left deliberately empty, demonstrating a sense of abandonment and provoking thought about the temporary nature of our time and association with one place. How strong is our claim to what we regard as our own 'Home Territory' and everything that ultimately means to us, whether it refers to our own current dwelling or the nostalgic nature of one from our past?

Gillian Trotman uses real maps and charts for all her works which are finished to a very high standard.  Each piece is individual and some are functional ( table, lamp and clock)

Restrictions Series:                     

This series of conceptual works evolved from the artist’s other ‘map – related’ pieces and continues to play on the juxtaposition between two and three dimensions as demonstrated by the map itself.

The inspiration for this series of works came from what was originally one small piece created for an exhibition in support of a Breast Cancer charity.

The work is intended to be seen as playful, pleasing to the eye, and fun. However, at the same time the viewer is invited to make their own interpretation of the idea of the map as a three dimensional object and the new meanings that can associated with it in this situation, with regards to it’s representations of locations, territorial and/ or social rights and freedoms, or indeed ‘restrictions.’

'Reflections'    (A WORK RELATED TO THE JOURNEY AND THE USEFULNESS OF MAPS FOR THIS PURPOSE).

'Flat Earth Conspiracy'     (A PLAYFUL WORK INSPIRED THE INTERACTION THE MAP PLACES BETWEEN THE                                                       FLAT  IMAGE AND THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL WORLD).

'Personal Place'   (A WORK WHICH REINFORCES THE IDEA OF THE PERSONAL SPACE AND TERRITORIAL                                       CLAIMS  WE MAKE IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES OF THE SPACES WE USE).