Following their own practice, the 23 artists present new work drawing from the contents and commenting on the role and specific location of the Museum of Garden History.
In the museum itself the artists will, whenever possible, integrate their work within the displays. This exhibition was coordinated by Danielle Arnaud contemporary art and is part of the Vauxhall Festival and is supported by Lambeth Riverside Partnership.
Artists taking part in diversion include Suky Best Ellen Bigge Clare Bryan Annie Cattrell Lisa Cheung David Cotterrell Edith Dekyndt Peter Dukes Judith Frost Dan Howard-Birt Theo Kaccoufa Sophie Lascelles Laura Malacart Charlie Murphy S/bastien Reuz/ Alex Sandover Kate Scrivener Finlay Taylor Adam Thompson Shane Waltener Jakob Wegener Laura White Emma Woffenden
David Cotterrell will install his new video Shangrila in a vitrine. The work celebrates the suburban 1930’s housing highlighting the creativity, flamboyance and quiet struggle of the owners to assert their identity within the rigidly defined parameters of the mass-produced terraced houses and gardens. The video is accompanied by a new composition by the musician and composer Jim Copperthwaite. The whole installation will serve as an extension to the history of the archetypal English garden.
Lisa Cheung has chosen a selection of epitaphs, found on the surrounding tombs, to inscribe on the inside of the museum tea cups.
For the last few months, Finlay Taylor has been working on an artist’s book together with the common garden snails. Through his patient guidance, the snails have been drawing and writing, their latent presence implied by pulped edges and silvery deposits.
Several artists work with glass: Emma Woffenden will hang her glass ringing bells above the large font; echoing the museum display, Annie Cattrell will present a selection of anodyne objects; Charlie Murphy will recreate the Linnaeus frieze of the sexual life of plants.
In the garden, One Minute to Love is an ambitious installation by Theo Kaccoufa. Using nature with humour and poetry, Theo will startle visitors by making one of the garden trees rotate unexpectedly. Dan Howard-Birt is an artist who has revived floral carpet bedding. His installation, Sundays and Public Holidays, is inspired by the discovery that John Tradescant the elder, botanist and plant hunter, possessed no sense of smell.
Adam Thompson has designed a series of flags depicting extinct flowers. One of them will be hoisted on the church tower at half-mast.
On Saturday 20 July at 3 pm, David Cotterrell, Peter Dukes and James Putman from the British Museum will discuss the issues raised when introducing contemporary art in the specific context of the museum.
Danielle Arnaud contemporary art
123 Kennington Road
London SE11 6SF
Tel/Fax: 00 44 (0)20 7735 8292
danielle@daniellearnaud.com
IMAGE:
Peter Dukes
Propagator / The Knot
2002 digital video
Related Links:
