Ghost Desk Joan Alexander: 15-18 September

As part of her Artist in Residence at Yarn, Joan Alexander invites you to take part in the Ghost Desk, a one-to-one correspondence that begins with a conversation and continues beyond the residency.

Joan is collecting ghost stories. These are not limited to traditional ghost sightings or unexplained encounters, but include experiences that resonate with absence, grief, loss or mystery: synchronicities, signs, a felt presence, or a sense of correspondence with someone or something absent.

During your appointment, you'll be invited to share a ghost story with Joan. In response, she will write you a letter by hand and post it to you, along with materials to continue the correspondence. You're then invited to reply, reshape or add to the story before returning it by post, allowing the exchange to unfold over time.

The stories become part of Joan's ongoing artistic research, moving through processes including shadow casting and photosensitive plant pigments as they evolve throughout the residency.

Booking

• Ghost Desk appointments are free and last up to one hour.

• Suggested appointment times are available Tuesday to Friday, 11 am–1 pm, with two sittings each day.

• If these times don't suit, additional appointments may be possible. Please email the Yarn team, and we'll do our best to arrange a time: alena@yarnballycastle.com

• Free event. Booking essential.

To find out more about Joan's residency and the other events taking place throughout the week, visit our Artist in Residence page.

This residency is supported by Flowerfield Arts Centre.

About Joan Alexander

Joan Alexander is an artist from Omagh, now living in Ballycastle with her family. Her work is rooted in shadow catching through experimental and staged photographic works. She has worked and exhibited across the UK, Ireland and beyond, including with Photoworks, Lumen Collective, CCA Derry, Belfast Exposed, Digital Art Studios and PS².

Joan is currently a practice-based PhD researcher in photography at Belfast School of Art. Her research explores shadow, photosensitive plant pigments and ghost stories, investigating photography as a form of writing with light and the traces that connect us to absence.