Imi Maufe

Artists Work
‘During her year at Highgreen Imi Maufe fully embraced the life of the Tarset community as well as the Tarset landscape.Each piece of work completed captures and reflects an element of the artist’s year in Tarset not in a representational way, but from the inside. Over the year Imi made many arts interventions and contributions to the social calendar.These contributions and responses helped shape her final a body of work along with the artist’s attempts to grasp and interpret the geography of the place. Her artwork takes a wide variety of forms; drawings, maps, photographs, prints and objects.Each serieshighlights in an affectionate, inspiring or amusing way an aspect of Tarset life or landscape that might otherwise go unnoticed.

After Imi’s end of residency exhibition ‘Raffle Tickets and Midges’ was shown at Highgreen Imi toured the exhibition by bicycle (housed in a specially made cabinet) to Bellingham, Hexham and Newcastle. Imi also had a case specially made to house her collection of artist’s books and this was on loan for a year to Northumberland County Council’s Library Service where it has been on tour with the mobile library that travels the route from Troughend to Redesmouth.

Work in the Community
Imi contributed to many social events including the Great Pie Challenge, Falstone Show and the Parish Picnic.She also held open studio days and gave talks about her work at these and at Newcastle University, to members of Byrness Art and Craft Group and to Masterclass students at Northern Print in Newcastle. At Greenhaugh First School Imi led a printmaking workshop where children drew illustrations to Norse folk tales (told by Imi’s Norwegian partner Frode Roynesdal) which Imi made into a book.And at Bellingham Middle School the artist led a book-making workshop. Norway Day was developed by Imi and Frode with members of Tarset 2050.Held at Tarset Village Hall it included exhibitions of Norwegian knitting and curiosities, Norwegian waffle café and story telling, singing and willow pipes workshops and in the evening a Norwegian meal for local residents and live music from Norwegian band Torvkbygd and fiddle players Sophy Ball and Hinny Pawsey.Funding came from Tarset 2050, VARC, Queens Hall, Northumberland National Park’s Sustainable Development Fund and the Royal Norwegian Embassy. From drawings made by young children attending North Tynies’ day care centre in Bellingham Imi designed and made a series of 20 colourful Perspex panels with routed outlines of images.These were framed and now brighten the Centre’s outdoor play area.

The artist also led a print and book-making workshop for adults and over 12s at Tarset Village Hall.This was very much enjoyed; ‘delightful, happy, creative day’… ‘thoroughly enjoyable and great to learn new skills from someone expert.’ A group of twelve Fine Art students from Newcastle University came for a two-day visit.After a ‘silent walk’ devised by Imi and a demonstration of simple folded book-making techniques, the students led workshops based in the landscape with fellow students as participants.

Click to view Imi's exhibition catalogue 'A Year in Tarset'

©Imi Maufe. Please seek permission before using any images.