Alban Low's 'silvery princess' is making a run for it down Skinner Street, and today we have a poem and a short story inspired by his sculpture. After
Now it is all over the land reclaims itself. Pavements crack with willow herb, buddleia buckles roads. Trees walk unmolested roots bruised by twisted steel; their fingers brush bare windows in abandoned malls. Machines lie dead in ruined towers scattered beyond resurrection. Wait. A twitch, a flicker... muscles of twisted metal flex to find a leg, a foot; a pincered crest, high on slender neck, locates its silver body. Wingless, it hatches from the wreck. Becomes. Lynda Turbet Sweet Meet The dragon did not mean to frighten the child. Ashamed, now of the slapping sound of her large feet, she had done her best to place each footstep carefully so that the noise would not add to the boy's alarm. She knew she had overstepped a boundary by being on the table in the first place; she had, after all been warned. "But look" she had protested. "Every part of me shines with a lustrous glint. My feet are charming and witty, my jaws are strong and useful and did you ever SEE such beautiful carving as is on my tail? Elegant...regal. Why, I am a silvery princess and I shall do as I please!" Those wiser and more knowledgeable shook their heads and muttered amongst themselves 'She is a hybrid thing. Has she never heard the story of Frankenstein's creature?' But the proud little dragon chose not to hear them. Which is why she set off from her comfortable home in the Man-Drawer and ventured onto the table in the big world. The boy had only entered the room to find an apple. He wasn't surprised to see the Man-drawer open since his mother was a sloven and his father an air-head, but he WAS surprised to see the shiny little dragon hop from the edge of the drawer onto the pile of wooden place-mats amongst the chaotic mess of the big round table. He watched as she took a few tentative, foot-slappy steps. The boy's eyes widened. He drew his head back and took a great in-breath. The word "Muuuuuuummmyy" hovered in his throat with loud potential. But he never let it out. For, sensing the scream, the dragon stretched her long neck into the chipped enamel mug that served as a sugar bowl and grasped a chunk of the brown, raw, sweet crystal into her mouth. She tipped her head sideways in what she hoped was a charming manner and curving her long neck upwards, offered the boy the rock-sugar treat. The boy snapped his mouth shut and, looking round to ensure he wasn't about to be reprimanded, he gently took the sugar crystal from the dragon's jaws and popped it into his mouth with a smile. He gently tapped a conspiratorial finger on the dragon's head and carefully returned her to the Man-drawer. Before he eased the drawer shut, the dragon and the boy exchanged a wink. They would meet again. Lynn Whitehead Alban Low is involved in many creative projects. These include album artwork, publishing chapbooks, making films, maps, conceptual exhibitions, live performance and good old drawing. He is artist-in-residence at the School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education at Kingston University and St George's University of London. Low spends his evenings in the jazz clubs of London where he captures the exhilaration of live performances in his sketchbook. On Wednesday evenings he sketches the performers on the radio show A World in London at Resonance FM. This year he is working on a walking project about London Musicians from the 1920s-1940s. In 2018 he spent a week at grove with Kevin Acott where they published two chapbooks. http://albanlow.com Twitter & Instagram @albanart Lynda Turbet observes the world from North Norfolk and tries make sense of it all through writing. Lynn Whitehead started life as an actor/musician and worked all over the country for years. Later she side stepped into theatre-education working with the National Theatre, New Wolsey and Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds running youth theatre groups and working with community groups. She fell in love with storytelling and likes to collect and tell traditional stories from all round the world. She has an MA in playwriting. Twitter @LynnyWhitehead Instagram @lynnwhitehead96
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Today Henry Driver's fluorescent sculpture has been placed at the Corn Exchange, a building whose purpose has shifted over the years, in parallel with changes in the agricultural industries. The response has been written by Ed Arantus. You watched me under the microscope; I know you did With a snake eye glance like I've never seen, you took me in Like a petri, parcel, package, like a dream You didn’t notice my beauty, no connection, and I Wasn't looking for you to rescue me I wondered just which part of me you wanted I hope you realize I’m not all sweet, all things nice, with spice You see me under glass, all made up, your fantasy And it's the lazy way, I’m more than a money tree Because even white snow fades Like dirty socks, don’t throw me away I’m not just a pretty cross section All torn out, worn and left behind So I won't be sad if you change your mind Ed Arantus Henry Driver works at the intersection of art and technology. A commission for a permanent work for Cressing Temple Barns by Essex County Council in 2019 demonstrated his interest in organic forms and changing agricultural practices. He has exhibited widely internationally and in galleries in the UK included Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, the Barbican and The Whitechapel Gallery. Most recently he was selected by leading curators as one of the top fifteen young artists working in the UK, for the Kleinwort Hambros Emerging Artists Prize 2019. www.henrydriverartist.com; Twitter @henrydriver_; Instagram @henrydriver_
Ed Arantus is a conceptual artist and writer. He published his first work in the Censored Zine in 2010 and has exhibited his work ever since at venues like the Contemporary Arts Research Unit in Oxford and the Museum of Futures in Surbiton. https://edarantus.blogspot.com; Instagram @edarantus From today 15 specially commissioned artworks on the theme Silver Spoon will be placed on the streets and in the parks of Bury St Edmunds. One will be placed each day within the area of this map, and the location will be posted here, on Instagram @barbara_at_grove, Facebook barbaraatgrove and Twitter @barbara_atgrove. Works can be found and enjoyed, or taken home to be treasured.
From 14 August this year another inclusive art project, groving, will appear on the streets of Bury St Edmunds, following the success of the first in 2019. This year the theme will be Silver Spoon.
Artworks will be placed daily on the streets and in public places in the town. Artworks will be accompanied by a new written work by a poet or author in this blog. The public can view the works or pick them up for free and take them home. Silver Spoon Bury St Edmunds is dominated visually by the sugar beet factory, which contrasts boldly with the medieval grid and interesting mix of historic buildings that make up the core of the market town. The ‘beet’ also makes its presence felt through the distinctive smell and plumes of vapor during processing. The factory at Bury St Edmunds started operations in the 1920s, and has been processing sugar beet grown in Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire ever since, linking the town inextricably with it’s rural hinterland. During 1973, the Bury sugar beet factory became the largest in Europe when two new silos were built. The refinery processes beet from 1,300 growers – 2 million tonnes – into 320,000 tonnes of sugar per annum. It’s common to see beets, like lumpen severed heads, rolling on the road when 660 lorry-loads of beet are being delivered on average each day. In 1972, ‘Silver Spoon’ was launched as the retail brand name of British Sugar, selling granulated, caster, cubed and icing sugar. British Sugar now has 4 factories, down from 18, but can still produce as much sugar. It has recently faced challenges including major market Tesco switching to a sugar producer in China, and the campaign to reduce sugar consumption in the face of rising obesity and diabetes. And the phrase ‘silver spoon’ can have completely different connotations. Before the place setting became popular around 1700, people brought their own spoons to the table, carrying them in the same way that people today carry wallet and keys. In pre-modern times, ownership of a silver spoon was an indication of social class, denoting membership in the land-owning classes. |
Barbara DouganI am an artist and the curator for grove and groving. This blog is groving online, and records the artworks placed on the streets of Bury St Edmunds along with responses to the work by commissioned writers. Archives
September 2023
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