Steve Baker: Fieldwork

Fieldwork is the exhibition catalogue that accompanied my small solo exhibition at the University of Sheffield in April 2019. Some months earlier I was invited by Dr Sarah Bezan and Prof. Robert McKay to serve as the Artist in Residence for an international conference they were planning, called Animal Remains: Biennial Conference of the Sheffield Animal Studies Research Centre. The research question to be explored through the residency and the exhibition was how best to present my work to conference delegates who were likely to be more familiar with my academic writings on animal studies than with my recent art practice. The US-based artist Maria Lux was chosen as the exhibition curator and the works selected came partly from existing series including Scapeland, and also from new work made in a Portuguese fish market during the residency. The full colour catalogue reproduced all works in the exhibition and included short essays by the curator and by the conference organisers.