“I made films everyday for Rooks, from sunset to dusk running with the swarming birds. The two hour ritual allowed a fluid space where I could just play. A looped film was projected onto the window of one of the isolation cells, viewed only from the viewing hatch used to observe the status of (women) patients. This connected to the adjacent piece, Security Belt in the next cell.
For the residency exhibition and catalogue Labern wrote: “One of the most significant outcomes for me during this residency was the opportunity to follow my own processes in the development of ideas and make work in relation to a potent site, whilst also having access to a studio within the site. I explored in depth how the artists Hatoum and Alys develop ideas as an accumulation and intuitive recalling of the longevity of an enquiry. I also re-exposed myself to the work of Beuys and Yvonne Rainer, allowing myself to act as a conduit through the making of works of intense feelings without the need for research on a ‘voyeuristic’ level “