Two years ago Sasha and myself contacted The Stone Space in Leytonstone with a proposal called 'The Winter Garden' after several changes to the date for various reasons we opened this installation in December 2014. With a slightly different title of 'Take you time'
The initial ideas came from a project we were working on called 'Lucid Space' back in 2012 for the Chelsea Fringe Festival but due to difficulties getting the design approved in time, It came to a halt and changed along the way.
With the idea on hold we managed to find a suitable space with the encouragement and backing from the team at The Stone Space. https://thestonespace.wordpress.com
What we wanted to achieve was a quiet reflective space for passers by to stop, think or simply escape for a few moments and create an environment that would ignite the human senses.
Using fabric as the main body for the installation gave a soft fluid feel to the entire space and there was movement upon interaction. We hand dyed all the fabric with nettles collected from Epping forest as Leytonstone is very close to the edge of the forest. Sounds of bird song were recorded in the forest which was being played throughout the duration of the exhibition.
With the addition of freshly collected leaves scattered on to the floor combined with Sage and Lavender the scent began to fill the room. We had a bluebell spray made from the essence of English Bluebells misting the room to add to the sense of a woodland or garden.
Sketch book ideas and test samples
Nettles collected and used for natural dying collected from Epping Forest.
Work in progress
Work in progress
First day of installation beginning with a webbing system in order to hang the cones from the ceiling.
The exhibition was on for six weeks and closed throughout Christmas but remained a spectacle from the roadside. Even though, I would strongly encouraged any visitor to step inside and fully experience the space, from a purely visual point of view it also worked from simply walking by.
I'm also including a blog post wonderfully written by Silvia Krupinska during the exhibition and a big thank you everyone who left comments. Once you step away from a piece of work and leave it alone for a while it's always interesting to find out how it has been received so all the comments were greatly appreciated.
https://silviakrupinska.wordpress.com/tag/the-stone-space/
Opening night