About

spaces between places – life model/live art /  stitching to (re)connect – across borders and the Earth / ecology / cultural journalism – psychogeography – as an artist, writer and a kind of double migrant, ‘place’ and ‘places’ have multiple, deep and wide meanings for me: I work + dwell in words + spaces, shapes, forms + time.

2022 upcoming highlights:

May: Artist of the Month at ‘Buy the Kilo’ in Newccastle:  https://buy-the-kilo.com/gallery/

some pieces at ‘Reconnect at 4A Gallery in Penriith: https://edenvalleyartisticnetwork.co.uk/ursula-troche/

with ‘Deformations 2a’ and ‘Reservoir Egg’ at ‘Waterborne’ exhibition at Bloqs in London: https://www.facebook.com/buildingbloqs/posts/2221296018029525

April: ‘DeCompressed Time Frames’ (myself and Simon Bradley, as ArtCouple). at Basement Arts in Leeds: https://www.basementartsproject.com/and-the-interconnectedness-of-things

February/March: Fruitful at Florence Art Centre

January:  ‘This Land’ poem published in:  ‘Poetry and Civic Status for All’, published by Civic Leicester: https://www.platforma.org.uk/pf_events/poetry-and-settled-status-for-all/

2021

s: accepted onto the ‘Carbon – Borders – Voices Collective

r: upcoming: pieces at ‘Wintertide’ in Carlisle, and in Penrith

q: two pieces published in The Haar – the Roots Issue: ‘Root Power’ and ‘Up to the Roots’ https://purplehermit.com/2021/10/29/the-roots-issue/?fbclid=IwAR0xpnKUNztzRxIbjZ6Ut-PpNmiVTFK5tsJNf3rzkUcYOoNqcHm2PaCHBoA

p: ‘Compressed Time Frames’ project, with Simon Bradley, as ArtCouple, at Basement Arts Leeds: https://www.basementartsproject.com/compressed-time-frames

o: making of a ‘tree sculpture’ for Morton Park Centre Community Day / Chances Park, Carlisle

n: publication of ‘Walking as a Migrant. at: Walking Artists Network: https://www.walkingartistsnetwork.org/2021/06/30/crossing-walking-as-a-migrant/

m: exhibition of ‘Roots and Branches’ with Cumbria Creatives at the Rum Story Gallery, Whitehaven.

l: exhibitions: Viola Tricola, Carlisle, 18th – 28th June

k: poem “Intertidal Nation’ in Seaborne magazine: https://seabornemagazine.com/issues/

j: making of a ‘tree sculpture’ for Mental Health Awareness Week’, Vulcan Park Workington, Bitts Park, Carlisle

i: Europe and the Bull: Alexander Kapitanowski: Europa und der Stier, Bild – Text – Dialoge. edited by Michael Hellwig, Rumpelstiltskin Literaturporjekt, Enger. (ISBN 978-3-752-672596)

h: Ukraine: Thorsten Boeckmann: Ukraine – Ansichtssachen, Bid – Text – Dialoge. edited by Michael Hellwig, Rumpelstiltskin Literaturprojekt, Enger. (ISBN 978-3-7526-2526-4)

g: performance at ‘Becoming Tree’ festival, livestream from Broughton Woods

f: Kali-poem performance (in Esther Bunting’s play Girl in Suitcase) published in Ursula’s KALI & BLOOD – Esther Bunting

e: ‘This is not al…’, ‘Fold Lines’ and ‘Night without horizon’ published in The Haar issue of The Purple Hermit. Behind the Mask – The Purple Hermit

d: ‘Bridge and Bell’ poem in the Scotland Issue of Coin-Operated Press

c:  ‘Ei, von Anfang an’ (I-egg): forthcoming at Papierfresser Verlag: 1338 Wie aus dem Ei gepellt Band 7 – Taschenbuch (papierfresserchen.de)

b: ‘Life Drawing Life Writing

a: ‘Die Nacht hat keinen Horizont’, on Story.one: die nacht hat keinen horizont | story.one

performances in 2020 of my ‘Sea Too’ play:

premiere at ‘Spirited Bodies’ 10th anniversary event on zoom – next zoom-performance at ‘Midwinter Words and Plays, Esther and Myself.

publications (aiming to list them all here though some are missing…)

2020

q: 4 images and 3 poems in the Go Figure online exhibition 2020, run by David Miller in Keswick:  Ursula Troche. | David Miller – Keswick, Cumbria.

p: ‘Shells, Shaded, in Sublunary Review: Shells, Shaded — Sublunary Review

o: collaboration on ‘Pylon111’ with Simon Bradley – together as Artcouple, produced for Re Drift, Art Collective in West Cumbria: PYLON 111 – RE Drift and the film: PYLON111 on Vimeo

n: Early Morning Finding. in: Cabinet of Heed. https://cabinetofheed.com/2020/11/13/early-morning-finding-ursula-troche/

m: ‘Quo Vadis’ (poem) and ‘I see I(rish) Black Sea Atlantic’ (article) in: Fountainhead – Black International Cinema’, festival book 2020. Fountainhead® Tanz Théâtre/Black International Cinema Berlin/The Collegium – Forum & Television Program Berlin/”Footprints in the Sand?” ExhibitionBerlin/Cultural Zephyr e.V. (black-international-cinema.com)

l: ‘Shell in urban shelter’ assemblage, in Haus – a – Rest magazine of art/opinion/connections: https://haus-a-rest.squarespace.com/issue-6-exhibition-play

k: ‘Closer’ poem in Eclectica Magazine: http://www.eclectica.org/v24n4/poetry_special.html

j: ‘Bodylands’ in Haus – a – Rest magazine of art/opinions/connections: https://haus-a-rest.squarespace.com/blog/bodylands-by-ursula-troche

i – ‘Lockdown and Away’, article in the Philadelphia Association Newsletter https://786699fa-616a-4513-8a10-fbad35e21fec.filesusr.com/ugd/dab2b7_b236b175974443adb8548c4a328e14cc.pdf

h – ‘Sky Morning’. flash fiction in the Sublunary Review. https://www.sublunaryreview.com/home/sky-morning

g – featuring in It/’s Lit with PHDJ on Black Lives Matter: https://itslitwithphdj.wordpress.com/2020/07/09/ep-120-write-now-writing-for-radical-futures-in-support-of-black-lives-second-installment/

f -The Shock Exchange Cartoon (FTSE 19 – Covid 100), in Quarantzine 4, at Gaada.org

e -‘Soup’ contribution in Cabinet of Heed
d -‘Qs and As (Storm Story)’ in the Cabinet of Heed, https://cabinetofheed.com/2020/04/13/qs-and-as-storm-story-ursula-troche/, 

c – Seat to Sea – North to Irish in: Morimaru.https://www.morimaru.org/seatoseaursulatroche

b – Outside In/ner Circle – Solway to Shetland. Quarantzine 1
https://www.gaada.org/quarantzine

a – artwork in ‘Art in the Time of Isolation, compiled by Mary Knight

2019   – ‘Outgoiing Arising/The Night’ – in Lone Women in Flashes of Wilderness, https://www.lonewomeninflashesofwilderness.com/ursula-troche#!

– ‘Looking for Irish Street’: https://www.writing.ie/tell-your-own-story/looking-for-irish-street-by-ursula-troche/

– poem in ‘The Voices project: http://www.thevoicesproject.org/poetry-library/thoughts-in-a-landscape-by-ursula-troche

2018     – ‘a psychogeography of where I grew up’. In particulations. https://particulations.blogspot.com/2017/10/a-psychogeography-of-where-i-grew-up.html

– ‘100 mins 10’: poem, E-list magazine: https://issuu.com/e17_listings/docs/e_list_march_18

– ‘Tides in the body’ https://advantagesofage.com/exclusives/tides-body-menopausal-musings/

2017    – ’18 minutes’ – (Solway solstice poem), http://www.francisgilbert.co.uk/2017/07/summer-solstice-readings-for-national-writing-day-at-the-word-bookshop-new-cross/

– ‘Hey Hoo’ and the ‘OO Zone’ about the Hoo peninsula: wanderingwords.org.uk/author/ursulaa/

on-going
– yearly publications in ‘Fountainhead magazine:
http://www.black-international-cinema.com/BIC12/html/bic_12_fits_poetry_ursula_troche.htm

2005:  ‘Overstayed’ at ‘Transcultural Writing (British Council):
http://www.transculturalwriting.com/radiophonics/contents/about/beyondborders/interviews.html

2009: ‘Flow River’ in ‘Library of Obscure Wonders’ booklet on the River Brent

and other poems and small articles, such as in ‘People in Harmony’ and ‘The Write Spark’.

1999 – 2017: various contributions to Theatre for Mankind events, run by Dr. Criton Tomazos, in Crouch End, London

1999 – 2001: contributions to: Manifold Magazine of New Poetry, London

1998 – 2000: Contributions to: ‘Soul Immigrants’ magazine, London

papers/presentations given at conferences, eg.

Diaoguues on Otherness in Research and Practice; at the Stuart Hall Library Research Network, 2014    https://iniva.org/blog/2014/01/20/save-date-stuart-hall-library-researc/

at: Glocal Imagineries: Lancaster 2009; and ‘Further North’: Newcastle 2014
Micropsychogeography (with Simon Bradley), Plymouth 2019

performance poetry gigs, eg: at the Walthamstow Garden Party; South London Jazz Festival; for IWD, most recently in Maryport and Carlisle[ South London Human Rights Festival
organsied events for World Human Rights Day (10 Dec), Mothertongue language day (21st Feb) World Antiracism Day (21st March) in 2004/5
organised ‘From One Exile to Another’ for ‘Exiled Ink’ at the Poetry Cafe London.

exhibitons, pieces in group exhibitions, eg.:
Palimpsest (2016) – – – Traditions (2017) – – – Art and Ritual (2019) – – – Falling Walls (2019)
Housekeeping (2020)

5 since Solway: . Collages and Assemblages; . From the City to the Sea = . Words and Nets (Entanglements and Internets); . Easter, Eggs, Box, Beach; . Introducing Art-Couple

Most recent publications at: Cabinet of Heed, Morimaru and Gaada

Lone Women in Flashes of Wilderness https://www.lonewomeninflashesofwilderness.com/ursula-troche#!  and at Writing.ie https://www.writing.ie/tell-your-own-story/looking-for-irish-street-by-ursula-troche/

Drawing on lived space-experience from country to country, then city to sea, I look at the insides of the differences and entangulations of these worlds in psychogeographic and linguistic ways. My focus is a Sea-Triptych of the Irish, North- and Baltic Seas, looking at the (social) histories, borders and margins of these seas, with postcolonial and creative perspectives. Uncovering micro-details of forms, lines, language-images and islands, I embellish them in various media: writing, photography, performance, sketches, assemblages, video and interventions. Keen to bring art and its ideas into the public sphere, as an approach to “the personal is political”, I view art as a means of dialogue.

Space and the Sea – London to Cumbria – City to Coast – Centre to Margin unsettled

Sea-crossing: Germany to Britain: North-Sea traverse, with Waddensea beginning

Lands and Borders – lines under water – hidden boundaries – Berlin Wall Meridian

island-twinning – related names – languages merging on islands: rainbow emerges!

sea, and here a triptych has arisen: Irish Sea and Baltic Sea on the sides – North Sea in the middle. – and there is another side to the North Sea: the Waddensea. Going from sea to land, the countries around theses sea are even more numerous! Britain (where I live) and Germany (where I grew up) being two of them. As these are the languages I know, I bring some of the islands of these seas together in my little blogs: https://islandinsel.blogspot.com/ and  https://seelandsea.blogspot.com/

On more numerous space-and time topics or artistic dimensions I collaborate with sound-artist, oral historian et al Simon Bradley at artcouple.co.uk.

So this is me:

and the beginning of my unreal-to-real series: acrylic to wool: the idea here is to make collages that look like seaweed, or maps – representing intertidal life-forms.

I have an interest also in viewing things perhaps in an upside-down method, as an approach to expand and invent new subjectivities, find and consider passed-by objects, construct pathways from margin to centre (to paraphrase and expand on bell hooks’ idea in her book of the same title, 1984).

…here’s the middle-piece of a Nature Triptych: Sky-Sun, Middle and Roots):

I have been writing for years and performed in pubs and festivals and so on.

One of my early self-published booklets ‘Embraceable – Notes from Different Places called Home’ speaks of themes i still pursue: that of my migration and ‘my-grations’ within that. Embraceable – Notes from Different Places called Home’ – the lived experience of hybridity, being a foreigner but also being at home. ‘Origins and Other Issues’ refers to yet further, distant, and historical roots in Africa. So there are themes from which the idea of the ‘Colourcircle’ originated: I had this idea of a Colour Circle, to use against the colour line, and thereby create change, because we are exchanging the line with the circle, so we escape our separation and instead face each other, so we can have communication instead of silence.  So it’s about social spaces and their echoes, dynamics, imprints – and the things we can do with them, the things we can say, theorize, imagine and re-imagine. Where art can lead to bringing out hidden and overlooked  material and situations – and lines can be redrawn and change attempted.

In 2016, the year after this blog started, some of the places I performed at were these, …more content to follow:

Visible Women (Isleworth); WOW; and next week the Black Film Fest in Berlin

Years before:

The Colour of London Festival; Human Rights Festival South London

In different countries; Etc, tbc