‘Arcadia...’ looked at inherent
issues of value, power and land management embedded within
our ‘natural’ and built environments. As an in-depth
exploration of place, the project engaged with micro-landscapes
and related them to macro-communities: identity, belonging
and diversity were alluded to via detailed botanical studies
of two brownfield sites. Working with an ecologist, Jenni
Roche, scientifically rigorous biodiversity surveys of the
vegetation were conducted at the sites in Manorhamilton, County Leitrim. These interstitial
sites such as gaps between buildings, untended gardens and
post-industrial zones have escaped management strategies plaguing
increasingly gentrified areas. Generically derided as ‘wasteland’,
these spaces are often rich in biodiversity - kind of mini-Edens
thriving behind chainlink fences. The project uncovered rich
analogies between the area’s natural and cultural histories,
revealing volatile connections between the broader homogenisation
of our cultural and natural landscapes. A fieldguide was produced
and distributed for free to the people of the town, inviting
them to engage with the sites on their own terms.
Arcadia Amongst the Ruins was commissioned by Leitrim Sculpture Centre
for 'New Sites – New Fields', Ireland, and continues to generate critical interest. The project has been included in exhibitions at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead and The Architecture Centre, Bristol in 2009 and in the online project Arcade in 2010
(arcade-project.com/sacrifice).
Further information about the project is available at publicart.ie |