A site-specific collaboration between artists from the UK and India: Dolon Kundu (Kolkata, IN), Rachael Champion (Thanet, UK/US), Amy & Oliver Thomas-Irvine (Cornwall, UK) and Jim Woodall (London, UK).
As the production and origins of goods become increasingly complex and remote, this artwork addresses a wish to return to our roots and participate in the making of things. Hand Earth Gesture Return is made from earth, straw and water – natural, locally grown, sourced and sustainable materials. It celebrates the universality of nature and the raw and organic energy generated during the processes of making.
The central craft used takes inspiration from the Kumartuli artisans of Kolkata, India, famous for creating clay and straw idols. Baked in the sun but never fired, the clay can be borrowed from the earth before
being recycled or returned in a poet cycle of growth, transformation and rebirth. Connections are made
with traditional clay and straw techniques from around the world, from British cob and thatching, via Egyptian mudbrick, Latin American quincha to African rammed earth. The artwork reveals the shared heritage of our diverse society by exploring cross-cultural connections to these materials; their uses, rituals, harvest, extraction, lifecycle and transformation.
This installation consists of a series of sculptural forms, raw materials and paraphernalia that are designed to be interacted with by members of the public. Anchoring the installation will be a sculpture resembling a degrading and fragmented monumental gateway, constructed from timber, clay and thatching straw. 1000s of clay flower adornments will be both applied and piled up at the entrance of the gateway. Built in public by our lead artists, community volunteers and visitors, the installation will grow and evolve over the course of the week.
The public are invited to participate in the shared experience of learning, growing, building and letting go of this new installation, becoming part of the team, joining making-workshops and getting their hands dirty with clay and straw. This installation foregrounds the act of making, with the hands, as a way to make deeper connections between people, place and matter. Hands are a universal and personal symbol, which convey meaning. Connecting through their use, and working together, to realise a public artwork in the heart of the community, penetrates barriers including gender, age and race.
“How can temporary public art be created more sustainably, minimising waste and responding to the climate crisis? How can this generate original creative outcomes which enrich our experience of visual art, connect us to our shared heritage and resonate with our culturally-diverse society?” - Lucy Tomlins, Director, Pangaea Sculptors’ Centre
