Thames Gateway Project: seeking new art forms for the representation of the experience of contemporary landscape
Lead Research Organisation:
University of the Arts London
Department Name: Wimbledon College of Art
Abstract
My research proposal takes the form of a practice based art project. The research is focussed on a number of issues I am left with after a long period spent working in collaboration with the Institute of Archaeology. University of Oxford. My questions concern our understanding of landscape and to what degree contemporary art can contribute to this understanding.
Landscape based art has historically played an important role in our culture. At its best it has the capacity to express aspects of our relationship with the landscape in a way other disciplines cannot. The questions I propose are: to what extent is contemporary art able to represent an experience of landscape that can now be perceived as multi-dimensional, temporal and pregnant with evidence of material culture past and present? How can art embrace the advances that other disciplines have made to our understanding of landscape and how can art rise to the challenges posed by the forces that are at work defining land use today?
In project to pursue my research I intend to work again with archaeologists within an entirely different context. My partner is Oxford Archaeology. OA, the largest archaeology company in the UK, has been contracted to carry out the necessary archaeological work for the Thames Gateway regeneration, London Gateway port development and the proposed new runway at Stansted airport.
Thames Gateway is the largest regeneration scheme in Western Europe. This scheme will bring about vast changes to the landscapes of the Thames corridor stretching from Tower Hamlets in London to Southend and Sheerness on the coast. Oxford Archaeology can offer me access to all the sites during the archaeological works presenting me with a unique perspective on landscape both on the surface and under excavation. I see this as an extraordinary window of opportunity to research how contemporary art can respond to a landscape during a period of change.
My practical research work aims to develop art forms that can tackle the question of how to re-present the experience of landscape within the context of le Thames Gateway regeneration. I intend to work with physical material from the archaeological sites and (o make works that range from one off on site public events to large-scale sculptural undertakings. Some artwork will be ephemeral and transitory in nature whilst studio based sculpture, painting and drawing will constitute a response in more permanent form.
Oxford Archaeology has an established audience that attends events organized by its outreach programme. We intend to add to this a local audience for the Thames Gateway Project and offer them an encounter with their changing landscape. Feedback and dialogue will allow voices from outside art and archaeology to be absorbed into the research process. Our aspirations for national and international attention shall grow from the activities rooted on a local level.
There is enormous potential for the research project to resonate to an audience well beyond the established perimeters of the disciplines involved given the high visibility of the Thames Gateway regeneration scheme. There is potential to engage with an audience in a meaningful way in terms of the landscape they inhabit with access to material that illuminates (he characteristics of archaeological sites through the medium of contemporary art. This is to the advantage of OA who are actively seeking new ways to engage a wider audience. I see potential for an increased profile as a researcher in visual art and a clarification of my creative territory as an artist. I recognize that working directly in the landscape, as a practical research environment, will provide a rich stimulus for me to expand my range of materials and art forms. Significantly, the research intends to open the field for contemporary art to actively address current preoccupations and issues.
Landscape based art has historically played an important role in our culture. At its best it has the capacity to express aspects of our relationship with the landscape in a way other disciplines cannot. The questions I propose are: to what extent is contemporary art able to represent an experience of landscape that can now be perceived as multi-dimensional, temporal and pregnant with evidence of material culture past and present? How can art embrace the advances that other disciplines have made to our understanding of landscape and how can art rise to the challenges posed by the forces that are at work defining land use today?
In project to pursue my research I intend to work again with archaeologists within an entirely different context. My partner is Oxford Archaeology. OA, the largest archaeology company in the UK, has been contracted to carry out the necessary archaeological work for the Thames Gateway regeneration, London Gateway port development and the proposed new runway at Stansted airport.
Thames Gateway is the largest regeneration scheme in Western Europe. This scheme will bring about vast changes to the landscapes of the Thames corridor stretching from Tower Hamlets in London to Southend and Sheerness on the coast. Oxford Archaeology can offer me access to all the sites during the archaeological works presenting me with a unique perspective on landscape both on the surface and under excavation. I see this as an extraordinary window of opportunity to research how contemporary art can respond to a landscape during a period of change.
My practical research work aims to develop art forms that can tackle the question of how to re-present the experience of landscape within the context of le Thames Gateway regeneration. I intend to work with physical material from the archaeological sites and (o make works that range from one off on site public events to large-scale sculptural undertakings. Some artwork will be ephemeral and transitory in nature whilst studio based sculpture, painting and drawing will constitute a response in more permanent form.
Oxford Archaeology has an established audience that attends events organized by its outreach programme. We intend to add to this a local audience for the Thames Gateway Project and offer them an encounter with their changing landscape. Feedback and dialogue will allow voices from outside art and archaeology to be absorbed into the research process. Our aspirations for national and international attention shall grow from the activities rooted on a local level.
There is enormous potential for the research project to resonate to an audience well beyond the established perimeters of the disciplines involved given the high visibility of the Thames Gateway regeneration scheme. There is potential to engage with an audience in a meaningful way in terms of the landscape they inhabit with access to material that illuminates (he characteristics of archaeological sites through the medium of contemporary art. This is to the advantage of OA who are actively seeking new ways to engage a wider audience. I see potential for an increased profile as a researcher in visual art and a clarification of my creative territory as an artist. I recognize that working directly in the landscape, as a practical research environment, will provide a rich stimulus for me to expand my range of materials and art forms. Significantly, the research intends to open the field for contemporary art to actively address current preoccupations and issues.
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ORCID iD |
| Simon Callery (Principal Investigator) |