Thursday 4 July 2013

Contextual research

In order to get a wider understanding of my chosen area of study, the  Dungeness headland I  have been gathering material on:
 Residents 
Artists 
Ecology

My first investigation was to look again at the remarkable life of one of the residents recorded on the video I linked to in a previous post.



The comment that struck me so forcibly was ".......that's keeping things the way they should be, not as people want them."

Up to  point I applaud this sentiment and long may the area remain the same, wild and untouched, if you ignore the power station of course.



However, as a fairly regular visitor, I've always been enthralled by the variety of dwellings here.

And none more so than the Amoebic house that has a preserved railway carriage inside this very modern structure. It was designed by Simon Condor and despite it's modern exterior, I suppose, that as the original dwelling was housed inside that was how it passed the planning regulations. 

The artist Derek Jarman moved to Dungeness, living in Prospect Cottage until his death in  1994. He developed a beautiful exciting eco friendly garden, collecting driftwood and other beach detritus, rearranging it into wonderful sculptural forms.



The cottage and garden still attract many visitors today.

There is a beautiful account of the making of the garden here, Howard Sooley has given a perfect description of this incredibly special place, starting with his first encounter.

I have been very inspired by the local artists who live on the headland, many working from their magical  converted railway carriages.

One of my favourite studios is that of Paddy Hamilton


I took this photo 3 years ago on my first visit to Dungeness and was blown away by the artwork that I saw in the white painted studio.


And how about this for a fantastic way to recycle your brushes.

Next time I will look a the fragile ecological balance of Dungeness and hopefully I will be able to start pulling some of these strands together. There is a lot of meat on the bones of this project, but I'm in no hurry to complete it, I'm enjoying the feast too much.

As a foot note to the above, here's another phone memo thought.....

".... how fragile is the landscape? will it manage on its own..... to survive? despite human  interference? "

2 comments:

  1. Well, I'm intrigued, now, as to what you're going to do with all this information and inspiration! It now looks like this is going to be something far greater than your 3D needlelace project...? Although when I read about the carriage inside the modern structure, I wondered if you will be creating something that is mostly hidden inside something else. I will be patient, though - you don't need to give anything away!

    ReplyDelete
  2. you are investigating so thoroughly. The final piece will be so well informed. Good for you, I admire your dedication.
    http://karenannruane.typepad.com/karen_ruane/

    ReplyDelete