New Geographies

MOTHER… is an artwork by artists Heather and Ivan Morison of Studio Morison that engages with the connections between the natural world and our mental health. The work is inspired by writer Richard Mabey’s book ‘Nature Cure’, in which he recovers from severe depression through walking, watching and writing about the Eastern region’s beautiful and unexplored landscapes. MOTHER… references local building traditions, materials and architectural vernacular to root the structure in the landscape it is a part of. The form is an interpretation of the remarkable hayricks once found dotting this countryside. The timber used in the framing was felled from the artists own forest and milled by the artists at their workshops. The walls and roof are made from local straw, the thatching of which has been done in the traditional style by a master thatcher whose first job as an apprentice was to thatch a hayrick on this very site. The work, with its deep entranceways, ceiling oculus and high double layered conical ceiling, is an architectural space to enter; re-framing visitors’ experience of the landscape of Wicken Fen, the sky, the light and the materials that surround them. The vessel like form of the sculpture, alongside its title, connoting universal ideas of protection, nurturing, and birth. “The ellipsis after MOTHER… also suggest the omission of a second word to be added by the viewer: MOTHER EARTH connects to ideas of the natural world, it’s supporting qualities, but also our own responsibilities and personal connections to it; MOTHER LAND connects us to the place we belong, within this landscape, within a community, within a country. These are important and powerful ideas by which we define our identities; MOTHER SHIP makes us think of the sculpture as a vessel that might take us places – this could be on an imaginary journey around the solar system; or it could be a journey connecting the past with an imagined future – making the work a time machine of sorts, or it could be a journey within our own minds – a rehabilitative journey from upset to calm. Finally, a key reference for the artists is the song Mother, from IDLES debut 2017 album Brutalism – a song that expresses an anger and frustration at the modern world, and its impact on our individual and family lives. The sculpture offers a space to reflect on these troubling thoughts as well as an opportunity to perhaps still the mind for a while by focusing on the simple material qualities of the work, and the changing nature of the landscape that surrounds it.” Ivan Morison, artist MOTHER... has been commissioned by Cambridgeshire based Wysing Arts Centre as part of the region-wide arts commissioning programme, New Geographies, which aims to bring contemporary art to unexpected places in the East of England. All locations for art works were nominated by members of the public – in this case Wicken Fen suggested for its “sublime peaty landscape”. MOTHER… is a sculptural structure that has been created specifically for this important area of wild fenland.

The Must Farm pile-dwelling site is an exceptionally well-preserved settlement dating to the end of the Bronze Age (c. 850BC) located on the edge of a working quarry. The site, often referred to as the UK’s Pompeii, has been excavated by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, revealing many important discoveries about how people lived and worked. Working closely with Cambridge Archaeological Unit, Wilson explores this and other discoveries, opening up questions around labour, trade and everyday life. The exhibition includes twelve Bronze Age vessels that have been excavated from the Must Farm site on loan from the Cambridge Archaeological Unit. It also includes objects and seating from Laura Wilson’s performance Deep, Deepen, Deepening which took place at Must Farm Quarry on Saturday 19 October 2019. Artist, Laura Wilson, says: “It has been such a privilege to have worked so closely with Mark Knight and his team at the Cambridge Archaeological Unit and Forterra to realise this project. Must Farm has revealed such fascinating insights into how people lived and worked during the Bronze Age period, within a broader landscape that even today, is continually changing and adapting.”

Getting Away from Distant Things: Poet Alison Graham, graduate of the Creative Writing Poetry MA at the University of East Anglia, reading a selection of commissioned poems inspired by Ian Giles' Open Ramble East walks in Norwich, Colchester, Cambridge and Great Yarmouth during the event at Outpost, Norwich. https://newgeographies.uk/artist/ian-giles/

Working in partnership with UH Arts, at the University of Hertfordshire, artist Krijn de Koning is creating a site-specific installation at The Gibberd Garden in Harlow. De Koning’s practice takes different structures and environments – such as Compton Verney, Edinburgh College of Art and Folkstone Triennial – to create interventions in a space, which both highlight and intervene with our experience, perception and assumptions of these places. Based in Amsterdam, de Koning has been able to explore sites in Hertfordshire and Essex with fresh perspectives as a visitor, before selecting The Gibberd Garden as the location for his installation. The artist’s interest in architecture is well placed at The Gibberd Garden; the house and garden of architect Sir Fredrick Gibberd. Born in 1908 and knighted in 1967, Gibberd designed Harlow and other iconic places such as Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and London Central Mosque. The Garden has been arranged into rooms by Gibberd and peppered by his eccentric collection of artworks and paraphernalia left over from his own builds. Characterising the garden as ‘rooms’ inspired de Koning to design a structure which is divided by walls – acting to partition the space. He has created compartments which feature ‘openings’ that allow people to look and step through as they navigate the space.

Moveable Estates is a project by Cooking Sections commissioned by New Geographies in 2020, developed as one of 10 site-specific commissions across teh East of England. The project was developed in partnership with East GalleryNUA.