Rachel Bunce reflects on her Hatching residency

After spending 10 days on a relaxed retreat-style Swedish residency, I almost had some ideas. I was given space to play with the tools that I normally use to earn money and create with others. It was brilliant, fun and terrifying (in equal measure) to have total creative freedom without a brief! Chatting with Janet and realising I wanted to take one of my almost-ideas further gave me the impetus to apply for a Nest Residency. I’m so glad I did, and not just for my creativity and idea-forming but for my sense of community, my physical and my mental health. 

I was exploring othered communities and othered people, based on my experience as a queer woman of faith. It wasn’t a super light 10 days. But it was super important. 

Brainstorming out my initial thoughts on what I wanted to create using my drone and its relationship to nature started to make me think I might want to go ‘off-piste’. I’ve been told that’s really normal for an artist. 

I had my stack of books, which I didn’t read, and a list of people, which I didn’t research. And I knew it would be helpful to reach out and chat to someone experienced and brilliant – someone like Manuel Vason.

We had a great 2 hours of chat, just look at our smiley faces:

It was really helpful to receive this mentorship, picking Manuel’s brains, showing him the bits I had captured in Sweden, and receiving a nugget of wisdom (amongst many) which informed a redirection in my residency which I didn’t see coming…

Poetry. 

Words. 

Weirdly, this really excited me! Weird for me only because I’ve never really been massively interested in poetry. Or rather, I’ve been quite ignorant about what poetry really is and what it can be. This is, despite writing multiple (ridiculous) songs throughout the course of my life, all of which involved some formation of words. So, poetry and films became a really interesting way of looking at the next steps for me. I found myself trying out a new form of creative freedom – writing whatever came into my head and then sometimes recording them and sending them to trusted loved ones. I sort of enjoyed speaking the words and feeling the catharsis. Here are some words about the bean bag in my room:

I have a lot to learn about poetry!

On one of the days my camera and I went into a wooded area I hadn’t been to before. I stumbled across an amazing sight – slugs having intercourse! I was surprised to be spending my time filming slug sex. 

It was then interesting to look at some of the words I’d written and try speaking them over some of the films I’d captured that day. I enjoyed filming some cloudscapes too and doing similarly, but doing it the other way around and writing words responding to the image. This has been a great experiment and something that I know I’ll take forward into what I make next.

Looking back, my 10 days at The Nest also really propelled me forward with my health. In October 2022 I experienced a sudden life-changing illness and was later diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease. So the last year has been extremely difficult, navigating the loss of my ‘normal’ across my whole life including work. I could write so much about this experience alone, but I just want to focus on the good that’s come out of it. And one of these things is the time with Talking Birds, and the amazing support surrounding me being able to access 10 days of residency – something that would not have been possible in many other contexts. Some of the amazing ways I was supported include:

– I was able to choose how to spread my 10 days out with lots of flexibility.

– I could plan my days without need for a specific outcome.

– I could rest as much as needed and bedding was provided so I could nap (which was needed each day).

– I was given expenses towards taxis if I needed it.

I’ve been steadily improving in my health and nearing remission and looking back I can see that the turnaround moment was this specific time at The Nest. Being supported to be out of my house, in a creative environment, with company when useful and in a routine was an absolute game changer for me. I’ll be forever grateful.