Before his residency, LEO lived between Berlin and London for nearly ten years, moving fluidly between the two cities. His practice was installation-based and employed a diverse range of media, including video, photography, text, sculpture, textiles, light, and projection. As LEO explained, it was “often the ideas, situations, and locations I was working with that suggested the materials and approaches I took, rather than working with a particular medium or style.” For his VARC residency, he set himself the brief of exploring public and environmental art, developing works that responded directly to the landscape and community of Tarset.

During his time at Highgreen, LEO immersed himself in local craftsmanship, spending time with dry stone wallers and experimenting with designs through small-scale models. This research culminated in a major artwork — a dry stone wall incorporating the phrase BE CURIOUS. The inspiration for the text came from a speech by Stephen Hawking, written for his 70th birthday and published in The Guardian in January 2012. The piece stood as both a sculptural intervention in the landscape and a call to mindfulness, encouraging visitors to look more closely at their surroundings.

LEO’s other major work during the residency was Rumplestiltskin, an audio-visual installation displayed in one of the outbuildings at Highgreen. This work continued his ongoing exploration of narrative, fairytale, and media representation. Using four mobile light projections, the piece examined the four characters found in early translations of the Grimm brothers’ tale, with narration recorded by local residents. The interplay of light, text, and voice created an immersive and layered experience, bridging folklore and contemporary storytelling.

LEO’s residency culminated in an exhibition held during July and August, presenting both Rumplestiltskin and documentation of Be Curious. The wall itself remained accessible as a permanent outdoor artwork for visitors to explore all year round.
Community engagement was a central aspect of LEO’s residency. He welcomed over forty visitors to his first Open Studio event, introducing local residents and visitors to his ideas and methods. In January, VARC hosted a lively public discussion in Tarset Village Hall titled Contemporary Art: Why?… Why Not?, featuring LEO and Ilaria Longhi from BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.

LEO also led workshops in night photography and environmental art, which culminated in a public exhibition day in May. He worked with pupils at West Woodburn First School to create Olympic-themed board games, delivered a talk at the CRISIS Skylight Centre in Newcastle, and later welcomed members of the group to Highgreen to see his Be Curious wall and spend a day drawing. In collaboration with artists Karen Rann and Julia Barton, LEO also ran creative activity days for students with autism spectrum disorders from Thomas Bewick School in Newcastle and Thornhill Park School in Sunderland.

Through these projects, LEO connected contemporary art practice with the local environment and community, leaving a lasting legacy of curiosity, collaboration, and engagement.