Moving Through

Moving Through

The summer holidays are nearly over now, just one more week and it is back to routine again. A couple of days ago I revisited the Turner Contemporary Gallery in Margate to see an exterior art installation that I had only seen once before at dusk.

Art installation, 'Dwelling', Margate, at dusk.

It is called ‘Dwelling’ and is one half of a piece of artwork by Krijn de Koning. The other half is on exhibition at the Folkstone Triennial, which opens tomorrow and runs until the 2^nd of November.

On a previous visit to the Turner one Friday evening a few weeks ago, we came across this installation.

 

As seen in context with the Victorian seafront.

It is situated on the terrace and nestles between the rear bulk of the building and the concrete access ramp and steps.

Concrete ramp up.

It is a series of spaces that are human scale and allow access in and views through the artwork.

Human scale art installation.

That in itself was interesting, but to see it on a sunny day in its Technicolor glory was even better.

 

Lido-esque colour and forms.

It reminded me of a lido, colourful, fresh and fun. 

 

walk through space.

Tomorrow we will venture to Folkstone to visit the Triennal to see the other half of his work. The location there couldn’t be more different. The work is situated in Cliffside Victorian Pleasure grounds. ‘Dwelling’, Folkstone is on the zig-zag path within a Victorian cave-like grotto on the seafront. For me and my interest in how we encounter situated objects in the environment and especially in the landscape as we move through it, this is a great project to visit.

The sky yesterday evening, beautiful layers of clouds.

Skying

There are lots of things I like to watch, clouds are one of them. It seems I am certainly not alone in this preoccupation. Apart from the superb Mondrian exhibition currently at the Turner, there is two other artists work on display.

 

'Atmosphere', by Edmund de Waal.

Downstairs in the wonderful double height space is an exhibition by Edmund de Waal named ‘Atmosphere’.  He has created a space which encourages the viewer to lie on the floor and experience his work from underneath. There are many large linear clear boxes hanging from the ceiling which are filled with his porcelain vessels.

 

Looking out to sea from the gallery.

These boxes seem to float and create a feeling of clouds and changeable atmosphere depending on the light and weather conditions outside. He has named the boxes or vitrines as he prefers to call them, after cloud formations and requests that you

 ‘Lie on the ground as you do your own skying’.

 

Skying.

The 19^th century painter John Constable, refers to the act of ‘skying’ in a letter sent to John Fisher in 1821.  

‘I have done a good deal of skying’, is one of the many quotes, that De Waal has also used to create a large wall piece.

Lovely description of atmosphere from Ruskin.

I think this is a quietly impressive piece of work and would like it in my home!

Then if there were no clouds on a dull grey day to watch I could look at the wall and find inspiration, moving my gaze from one quote to another and following the horizon line the De Waal text makes.

Text horizon.

No Touching!

Upstairs in the Spencer Finch exhibition the luminous cloud is not for touching. 

 

Spencer Finch's untouchable cloud.

This seems pretty unfair as it is easily within my and my children’s grasp and teases with its construction.

Cloud detail.

Wooden pegs hold it together and if they aren’t tempting to touch, then I don’t know what are. The curator quickly encourages us to feel a sample of the sheet material that is crunched up and held together by the pegs. We have done this many times before, but still ask her what it is and feel it again. It does allow the tactile experience of such a teasing object, but I wonder if on the last day whether they could just turn their backs for a few minutes…

 

Evening clouds over the Isle of Sheppey.

 (I completed my MA last September and recorded the last two months of it in another blog called www.thesaltwayfarer.blogspot.co.uk

Please feel free to look at that anytime, as it is from that, that I am where I am now.)