Folkestone Triennial

Folkestone Triennial

Last weekend we ventured out to Folkestone to visit the Triennial to see the other half of Krijn de Konings work, Dwelling.

 

A very different experience, in a very different setting.

As expected the deliberate choice of setting made for an altogether different experience when walking in it. 

 

The installation was in the artificial rock-face.

Last week and in the last blog post I had explained that its twin installation outside at the Turner Contemporary, Margate, reminded me of a lido, with its colourful panels.

 

Margates' colourful, bright, open space.

But here on the cliff face in an artificial cave. It looked so different. It felt strange to enter the space with overhanging rocks overhead creating an eerie, claustrophobic environment.

 

From inside looking out, accidentally blurred, but how it made me feel!

The panels were cut to meet the uneven rock faces and the colours were obviously duller inside the cave.

We didn’t linger. 

 

Rocks, as seen through the frame.

Left

One very pleasant aspect of the Triennial is the work that has been left in Folkestone from the two previous events, in 2008 and 2011. It has created a lasting legacy for the town. Two of these pieces in particular caught my eye.

The bell, hung above the old trace of the Rotunda building

The first was a bell hung on a wire 20m up in the air on the site of the old Rotunda funfair building. This work was created for the 2011 Triennial by AK Dolven. I have many memories of this place that no longer exists. My Grandma used to have a holiday caravan in nearby Capel-le-Ferne when I was young, so we used to visit Folkestone area a lot and on special occasions we used to visit the funfair that stood at the bottom of the cliffs. It was an incredibly exciting place to be as a child. Now it has all been demolished and it looks bare. There are traces of its past on the ground and in surrounding grand buildings. But for me the bell, ‘Out of Tune’, stood as a poignant and sad reminder of all that was gone.

Fun Funicular

The Victorian Funicular was a grand invention. Along with the engineering required to produce seaside piers it allowed people to explore exciting elevations and travel in new ways.

At the top...

Folkestone still has its own in working order. The technology is simple. Two cars, one above and one below are attached to a rope and have each a large tank under them. One tank at the top of the lift is filled with water and therefore becomes heavier than the lower one, the brake is released and the car descends on the track and as they are connected, this enables the lower car to rise up the steep incline.

 

Water filling up the top tank.

When the heavier car reaches the bottom, the water is released into the lower reservoir and so it goes on. It opened in 1885 and after Victoria pier opened in 1888, a second lift was built as it was so popular. Today it is a grand way to access the lower cliff and the now desolate beach.

Whithervanes

These were another of this years art pieces that are worth a mention. I have always loved looking up at clouds, birds, trees, architecture etc. and in doing so I have been intrigued by weathervanes as long as I remember.

An intriguing Whithervane.

The artists ‘rootoftwo’ have created a series of Whithervanes across Folkestone which ‘Track the orchestration of fear in real time by monitoring internet newsfeeds for alarmist keywords, revolving away from the geographic origin of each story’. I like this idea.

Destination

Back home, walking in nature, the true depth of the art surprised me. It could be seen as flippant, superficial and a waste of money by some people. But, the whole point of art is to make people think isn’t it? The Triennial made me and many others visit Folkestone, it was our chosen destination for that day and the event is on until November the 2^nd. So many more people will be encouraged to go and explore the art and its surroundings; it will bring people to the place and create new memories and connections to it. That is good for the economy and the general feel of an area.

Pablo Bronstein, 'Beach hut in the style of Nicholas Hawksmoor'.

Next week sees the start of Canterbury’s Wise Word festival, again, this encourages interaction with people and place, creating shared experiences and enjoyable times. By then I should have had some clear time to plan my next move forward with People-to-Place. Fingers crossed.

 (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.)