This work was commissioned by Oriel Davis gallery for their Litmus space commission. Basic hand tools were adapted to help me dig like and animal and make marks in to the ground. A pick axe was split and made in to a headdress to allow me to peck at the ground like a bird, a drill bit made in to a blind worm mask , and a pair of spades were transformed in to mole paws ( from left to right in the image).

The work documents a humorous attempt to connect with or become animal and questions how we relate to other species. Whilst training as a blacksmith I often found my self in countryside situations I was unfamiliar with and so this piece was about creating a meeting point between these two environments , and how a city girl tries to fit in. It questions how we perceive the animal through imagined non- human realities. It creates a unique interpretation of the natural world and its evolving relationship with human society.

The marks I made in to  the ground were cast in wax. Using the lost wax technique I worked with a foundry to cast them in bronze , lead and iron. I used the different metals worths to denote my first, second and third favourite hole.

I also documented my self using each tool using a movement sensor on a camera, much like photographing animals in the wild. These photos were also displayed in the gallery.