Over the summer I benefited from a brilliant opportunity to experience the reality of working as an artist and running a studio by working with Bernard Garo. During our time he opened a show called ‘Beyond the Visible’.  Participating in all parts of the process: the making of the pieces; their transport; the hanging and set up of two exhibition locations and the admin involved in an exhibition was both exciting and inspiring.

2 years ago Garo gave a workshop at the International School of Geneva. I messaged him out of chance, to see whether he needed an assistant this summer.  He responded quickly and we spoke over the phone to make sure we were on the same page. For most of the summer, he was in China working on some exhibitions and making connections. However, for about 6 weeks he needed assistance in the setup and making of ‘Beyond the Visible’. It was an extremely busy month as he kept up contacts in China as well as needed to complete many pieces for his upcoming exhibition. After learning the techniques and mediums he uses I could help with the making of pieces, and experimenting with some of my own. I really enjoyed engaging in another artist’s process.

Working in another language (French) was really challenging, but a great experience and beneficial to him as I was able to do quite a bit of translation into English for his communications in China.

Every Monday, while he was teaching, I could use his studio to do my own work and experiment with his materials. While this was incredibly beneficial to me, it gave me the chance to understand his process so I could comment and truly help with his own pieces.

In conclusion, this experience was really enlightening and I’m sure I will stay in contact with Garo to help him make connections in London and continue to assist him when I return to Switzerland