April - June 2019

The Trelex Esp'Asse residency launched in April. The artists shared many memories together based on conversations about their work and interests. However the discovery of the benefits of Swiss cheese might stay first on their list. June came quickly, we did not realise that it was time for many artists to leave, it's part of the residency, people leaving, new people arriving.

The space was required for an exhibition middle of June. It gave us the chance to tidy up the whole room. It turned out to be an occasion to rearrange the studio. Space reinvents itself every day as the needs of the artists change.

Artists in residency across April - June: 

Phoebe, Cool, Kiran, Michelle, Sarah, Crystal, Jill, Lauren, Constanza and Hella 
(Most photos here were taken by Cool Diabang)

 

From Phoebe Eccles

6 - 26 May 2019

My legs wobbled as I disembarked my London-Geneva flight. I had foolishly chosen a Henry James novel for the journey. I didn’t have a clue what was going on. I questioned whether I was worthy of being an artist in residence. What was an artist in residence, anyway? I had never been one before. Was I supposed to have a plan? Had I packed the correct shoe and sock combinations? Was I supposed to know more French than “je suis désolé?” Was I going to be ok?

I was going to be more than ok! I fell in love with glorious Lac Léman. I fell in love with my fellow residents. I was already in love with Gertrude Stein but I appreciated her with a fresh intensity as I read Tender Buttons on a sunny fishing dock. My three weeks in Nyon were wonderful and I would recommend the experience to any artist.

The Nyon residency is situated in a large window studded studio. Inside this studio is four bed-pods. I cannot remember being in the womb, but I reckon that sleeping in the bed pod is not dissimilar to that 9 month pre life snooze. Upon waking from vivid dreams (useful for poems) I would go for a run by the lake. Then I would spend a few hours writing and editing at a sunny desk or on the balcony. Around 4pm I would return to the lake for an ice cream and a swim. Dinner was usually shared with Kiran or Cool or Michele. We would chat about our lives and our art and then I would return to my pod to read and rest. 

The line between residency and retreat was at times blurred, with a lovely afternoon spent at a Geneva sauna and almost as many ice creams being consumed as poems written. I shared fondues and wines with Kiran and Veer. Towards the end of my stay the Trelex residents came for supper at the Nyon studio and what a lovely night it was! We broke bread and swapped puns. I decided I would get a large tattoo of the lake on my belly when I got home. 

Thank you Nina for the residency. I will treasure May 2019 as a time of inspiration and rejuvenation. It was brilliant learning about the creative practices of so many wonderful artists while simultaneously furthering my own writing endeavours. I am going to get the tattoo as soon as I have finished digesting all that fondu, and I hope to return to bucolic Switzerland in the near future.