WHAT?
The Ocracoke Art Adventure was a project that began when Jim Elms asked Stevexoh (aka Steve Chapman) if he needed somewhere to live in January and offered the use of his home on the remote Outer Banks island of Ocracoke for the month. Steve said "yes" and the project evolved from there to become a fully-blown, immersive artist residency.
You can read the BLOG of what actually happened here.
From the 8th-31st January Steve and fellow artist jdwoof (aka Jo Wood) lived on the island with no objective other than to explore, learn, get to know the place, the people, the animals and make art in response to their experience.
In advance of leaving Steve said "I'm curious how we can use art to get to know a place. I'm a natural introvert and quite shy so it feels rather daunting to live on a remote island where I will be a complete outsider. But that in itself feels like a rich source of inspiration and making art is hopefully a helpful way of getting to know the people and the place."
"I've no plan beyond arriving and leaving on specific dates, I have no idea what will happen and no idea what I will make. What I am hoping is that between Jo and I and the people and animals we meet on the island we are able to capture some of the stories, history and unique culture of the island and leave it even more magical than it already is"
If you’d like to find out what happened then have a read of the blog.
WHERE?
Ocracoke Island lies 20-25 miles off the coast of North Carolina and is one of the Outer Banks Islands.
No bridges connect the island to the mainland and the only way to access it is via boat.
The 2020 census recorded that 797 people live on the island year round.
You can find Ocracoke on a map here.
WHO?
Stevexoh (aka Steve Chapman)
Steve is a self-taught artist known for his distinctive black and white drawings, his colourful paintings, his 3D wooden cut-outs and his unusual conceptual art projects such as the globally viral “(Not a) Lost Cat” project and “Sound of Silence”, the world’s first silent podcast featuring special guests. He has held various solo exhibitions around the UK and was Artist in Residence at Glen Dye in Scotland in 2022.
Steve finds the World a fascinatingly bizarre place and creates art to give his hyperactive imagination an outlet. His work has been described as “art which captures so well how weird and imperfect the world is.”
Steve is at his best when he doesn’t quite know what he is doing and says “The Ocracoke Art Adventure very much hits that sweet spot and fills me with that familiar mix of excitement, adrenaline, anxiety and self-doubt!”
Instagram: @stevexoh.
Web: www.somethingsidid.com
Jdwoof (aka Jo Wood)
Jo is a painter , illustrator and currently artist in residence at Applecart Arts in East London. This year she has taken part in two other residencies, in Scotland and North Wales. With all of her work, whether on her own or with others, she likes to see what unfolds. She used to approach art with a particular outcome in mind and then would feel disappointment/failure when it didn’t come out like that. “I love the surprising things that can happen when we let go of some control.”
As she has got so much from developing her own forms of self-expression (through painting, drawing, making, movement, clowning and improvisational theatre) she loves to work with others to do the same, usually quite gently. This can help work with themes such as anxiety, confidence, getting in touch with what is important to us, and being a bit more playful. “I am trying to drop expectations that I am putting upon myself to do this experience “well” and just see what happens…”
Instagram: @jdwoof.
Web: www.misswoodforthetrees.com
Jim and Laura Elms
Jim was the originator of the Ocracoke idea and been a catalyst for what it has turned into. Laura has brought her imagination and knowledge of the island to the project and between them they have turned this into something very special
Jim and Laura have kindly loaned their Ocracoke house and sponsored the travel for this adventure.