New work made in response to time spent at Fort Brockhurst in Hampshire will be on show at the Keep, inside the Fort, as part of the English Heritage Open Day on
Saturday September 13th / Times are 11 - 3 Free entry.
detail of work in progress - concertina book
Using processes of drawing, photography and printing I have been interested in exploring the transitional nature of this astonishing place.
Fort Brockhurst was built in the 1850’s to defend Portsmouth and the surrounding areas against a feared French invasion that never happened. It was later used to decommission soldiers coming back from the war, and then later on as storage. for war supplies.
Last spring I was invited to visit and begin a site based project.
I was astounded at the vastness of the spaces, the battlements covered in grass, and shrubbery., making its location in the landscape discreet and modest.
Originally surrounded by fields and sea, today it sits awkwardly next to modern retail units - The Range amongst them ( useful for the cuppa after the site reccy.)
On my very first visit I was captivated by the more derelict and crumbling surfaces - the signs of age and past occupation. Fascinated by the scale and architecture and the small overgrown moat that wraps around the Keep.
As with all my work, I was interested to observe the incidental tiny areas easily missed as you wander around.
Imagery such as rooms engulfed by brambles, where leaves and thorns press against glass, evoking a sense of the uncanny and that question the viewer's position:
Are we inside or outside? Witness or inhabitant?
Ultimately my work explores the tension between natural reclamation and architectural decay. Using handmade books, fabric prints and drawings I am interested in conveying the subtle shifts and erasures within this abandoned and overlooked space.
This project and subsequent exhibition has been supported by the Sustainable Conservation Trust and English Heritage.
Other artists showing work on this open day are; Kathy Williams, Zoo Poo, Pippa Charlesworth and Clarke Reynolds.
I will also be displaying this work at our upcoming Open Studios event in October.
dates for Open Studios - 24th / 25th /26th times are 10.30 - 4.30
part of POSE - Portsmouth Open Studios Event
Echoes of Place Press