In September 2015 I was invited to Mel and Scribblah’s occupation of the redundant R&Z Fashions store in Swansea’s High Street prior to redevelopment.  Mel stated that her objective in occupying the premises and creating and displaying art was ‘We inhabit this space to bridge the gap between gallery and studio; between artist and public…’ and ‘We are artists challenging ourselves to engage with the world through discovery and innovation’.

The space that Mel and Rosie Scribblah created was amazing, stunning. There was something to see on every square inch of the wall space, in the old changing rooms and in the shop window. No space was left unadorned. Even the floor was embellished with a maze created by Scribblah.

I can totally appreciate Mel’s objective; people seem afraid of art; of entering anything that resembles an art gallery. Mel wanted to create ‘enquiry’; “What’s going on?” To entice people off the streets and to experience the world of art, of creativity. As a photographer I observed the natural curiosity of passers-by, and I attempted to encourage people to venture into the scary space beyond the seemingly forbidding doorway and David Pitt (Dai Gong) creating soothing notes with his ‘gong’.

Melanie is such an inspirational an interesting person and artist, she never fails to surprise and amaze me with her creativity, and Scribblah is such an energetic and multi-talented artist who makes time to support others.

I’ve tried to capture a flavour of Mel and Scribblah’s energy and yearning to communicate through art with my photography.