Spirit of Place - Essex County Council

spirit of place
ge•ni•us lo•ci |'jēnēes lōsī; -kī
|noun [in sing.]
the prevailing character or atmosphere of a place.
• the presiding god or spirit of a place.
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: Latin, literally ‘spirit of the place.’
Foreword
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Artists
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The People Speak, Craylands
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Ray Smith, Ramsden Hall School
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Andrew McKeown, Epping Primary School
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Jacqueline Poncelet, Flitch Green Primary School
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Michael Johnson, Brentwood High Street
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Michael Pinsky, Park & Ride
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Roman Vasseur, Harlow
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Bruce Williams, Turner Village/Queen Boudicca Primary School
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Nayan Kulkarni, Sadlers Farm
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Open Space Programme
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Alex Murdin & David Cotterrell, Jaywick Martello Tower
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Projects in Development
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Project Location Map
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The Future
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Partners
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Contact Information
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JEREMY LUCAS, THE CABINET MEMBER
HERITAGE, CULTURE & THE ARTS
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Essex was the first County Council to develop and
adopt the principle of a public art policy (in the late
1980’s) and the first to receive an Art & Architecture
Award from the Royal Society of the Arts. As part of
our development, a major public art programme of
work in 2003 was created, entitled Coast. This was
launched as a three year visual arts project and aimed
to raise the cultural and aesthetic profile of Essex’s
coastal area while encouraging better access and
appreciation of its landscape, people, history and
ecology. With these strong foundations and evidence
of successful delivery, approval for further public art
funding was granted by the Essex County Council
Cabinet to switch to a central budgeting process that
now allocates up to 1% of the capital programme
and creates a ‘Public Art Common Fund.’
working within education, transport, regeneration and
community-led public art projects across the County.
The response of the artist to the project location
and its unique spirit of place is central to our aim
of enhancing the visual richness of buildings, roads,
landscaping and, ultimately, the image of Essex.
The Public Art Common Fund has now developed
into a public art programme entitled Genius Loci
(‘Spirit of Place’) with a potential capital spend budget
of up to £2.14 million to spring 2010; this is linked to
Essex County Council’s major capital development
schemes and plays an integral part in the Essex
Design Initiative. A key priority of Genius Loci is to
commission artists early in the design process. We
currently have a supporting network of over 20 artists
This is a long running programme, supported and
led through a vision for future public art in Essex
and providing creative development for the artists
involved. I hope and believe that the beneficiaries
are the residents of and visitors to our County.
Throughout our commissioning process the Public
Art Strategy Group has involved my Cabinet Member
colleagues and all relevant internal and external
partners, together with the local community for each
proposal. This collaboration gives strength to every
project in its development and delivery. We have
therefore been able to commission an exciting variety
of lead artists who offer a wide range of experience
and current artistic practice, which will eventually fulfil
our aims and inform our next programme of work.
Jeremy Lucas
Cabinet Member for Heritage, Culture and The Arts,
Essex County Council
BARRY SHAW MBE
HEAD OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT
The built environment of Essex has been shaped by
countless generations of human activity, both planned
and unplanned. It is imperative that in dealing with
the pressures of change at the beginning of the 21st
century this generation adds to our heritage with
sensitivity and excellence.
The county wide Genius Loci project is underpinned
by cooperation. Planning, urban design and public
art professionals at Essex County Council are
working closely with the district councils in whose
areas activity is taking place. Artists are working with
developers and town planners, with engineers and
architects, with children and their teachers and with
town councillors, business and traders. Delivering
good design requires shared ambitions and this
programme builds on its inclusive approach with
the aim of enhancing the visual richness and image
of Essex.
The commissioning of artists for the programme
has allowed us to build on their role as a cultural
avant-garde. They can go out in front with a
heightened sensitivity to context, able to create
a focus on local identity and sense of place. It will
form part of the County’s preparation for the London
Olympics and accompanying Cultural Festival that will
focus attention not only on the capital but also on the
surrounding areas providing logistical support with
tourism and training.
Genius Loci is a national pathfinder. By working
through partnership it is able to make an impact at
a regional scale, to help enhance the perception of
this County. Our lives are shaped in many ways by
the environment and how we live in it. Our belief is
that the pioneers and innovators we work with can
improve our surroundings by developing the true
spirit of Essex and showing that the County is
a vibrant place in which to live, work and visit.
Barry Shaw MBE
Head of Built Environment,
Essex County Council
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Stuart Bowditch | Matt Cook | David Cotterrell | Gordon Flemons | Michael Johnson | Nayan Kulkarni | Andrew McKeown
Alex Murdin | Michael Pinsky | Jacqueline Poncelet | Damien Robinson | Miranda Sharp | Ray Smith | The People Speak
Roman Vasseur | Bruce Williams
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THE PEOPLE SPEAK
CRAYLANDS, BASILDON
‘The People Speak’ are an art collective that
develops fun and engaging ways to get people
talking, imagining and creating public art and
public space together.
The artists’ ongoing projects include: Talkaoke
- a mobile public talk-show; Who Wants to Be - a
spontaneous democratic game-show; and One
Night Grandstand - a have-a-go sports commentary
road-show. Using these projects as starting points,
they continue to develop new projects with the
communities they meet.
Mikey Weinkove (pictured) and Saul Albert are
co-founders of The People Speak with Ricardo
Sleiman, Wojciech Kosma, Hektor Kowalski, Zsolti
Balogh and Asia Bas.
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Mikey is an artist and chat show host. He is the
inventor of Talkaoke and has toured the world hosting
it in a huge variety of contexts, from high-profile
cultural institutions such as the Tate Modern, London
and the Edinburgh Festival to regular residencies in
cafes and bars. He has been touring with Talkaoke
since 1997 and is an expert chairperson for any
debate. He knows how to get a conversation going
in a compelling but non-confrontational manner.
Saul Albert is an artist and technologist from London
whose work developed from the intersection of net
art, DIY culture and the Free Software Movement
in the 90s and he continues to develop forms of
participatory culture, technology and governance.
www.theps.co.uk
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Talkaoke
“We’ve just been given the use
of an old laundry room by Swan
Housing which we’re converting
into a studio. Our plan is to be
there on a weekly basis - turning
ideas we’ve heard from people
into visualisations and videos of
the potential future of Craylands.”
Saul Albert, The People Speak
BACKGROUND
The Fryerns and Craylands Estate areas in Basildon are historically separated by physical and emotional boundaries. The
scheme’s aim is to develop a Multi-Neighbourhood Centre within the central area between the estates that contains shops,
new houses, an adult education building, a heath centre, play spaces, green links and new roads. It is hoped that this Centre
will allow the community to enliven the cross over points and improve their well being and environment.
The People Speak have been commissioned to inform proposals and to create a cohesive, enjoyable and visually stimulating
environment, providing creative opportunities for people to become involved in shaping their environments. This will begin
to inform the Basildon Regeneration Programme.
CREATIVE PROCESSES
So far, The People Speak have been participating in events in Fryerns and Craylands run by various organisations and groups,
such as Family Fun Days and an International Day. They are pleased to be able to get to know people and develop ideas
together. By doing this they have had many conversations with the people from the estates, they have spent time meeting
people and getting to know the community.
The People Speak are always inspired by the people they meet. When they came for their interview on the estate they were
shown around by the Friends of Craylands community group and said that they were really welcoming and inspiring to meet.
At this point they knew that they could contribute something to Fryerns and Craylands Estates.
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International Day, Craylands
RAY SMITH
RAMSDEN HALL SCHOOL, BILLERICAY
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Ray was selected as the lead artist to work with the
students and staff of Ramsden Hall School together
with the project design team. His brief was to develop
proposals for the integration of permanent artworks
into the architecture and grounds of the new school
extensions. Ray has remarked that the pupils who
worked with him at Ramsden Hall School had a major
input in the development of the project.
the Barbican, London. He has won a number of prizes
and awards, including a Royal Society of Arts Art for
Architecture Award.
Ray has taught at Chelsea School of Art, undertaken
a Linbury Trust Artist Award and had a fellowship
as Artist-in-Residence at the University of
Southampton. He has had numerous solo exhibitions
including shows at the Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol and.
Ray’s work is extremely varied and he likes to
respond to new situations with fresh ideas.
He has work in many museums and other public
collections and has made numerous publicly sited
artworks in this country and abroad. Ray has also
been the artist consultant on a number of new-build
hospital and school projects.
www.raysmithartist.com
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At Full Stretch
Welcome to Three Ways School
Medley
“The great designs produced by
the pupils with Ray will be
a major enhancement to
the building.”
Paul Critchley, Project Manager,
Essex County Council
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
THE ARTWORKS
Ray has acknowledged that Ramsden Hall School has its
own particular atmosphere. A narrow curving drive takes the
visitor through a mass of shrubs and large mature pine trees
on each side. The long driveway effectively absorbs the visitor
into the new and separate world of the school in its woodland
setting. It seems miles away from the nearby suburbs of
Billericay. Ray has found the self-contained aspect of the
school particularly inspiring.
Off the Wall
Phantom Python design proposal
Head teacher Stewart Grant suggested that Ray carry
out his workshops with the pupils in a soon to be derelict
portakabin. There, they could “throw paint around” if
they wished. Ray saw this remark as an opportunity to
do just that and unrolled several metres of card so that the
boys could explore the art of throwing paint. It soon became
clear that there was a definite skill in flicking paint to achieve
the most satisfying curves and symmetrical splashes. The
pupils had a number of techniques to learn and soon became
experts. This was the start of an investigation which led to the
more elegant splashes and shadows of the work Off the Wall
which features a frieze of screen-printed laminate panels that
sweep around the curve of the corridor.
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Ray also wanted to include an artwork in the grounds
of the School. Ray’s idea was to incorporate an element
of mystery and surprise into the already charged atmosphere
of the winding woodland driveway to the School. In Roman
mythology the genius loci was the spirit or atmosphere of a
particular space. This was depicted as a snake. So it seemed
entirely appropriate for Ray to create a serpent high in the
branches of a pine tree to add to the unique atmosphere of
the school grounds.
The major work in this project features a frieze of
screen-printed laminate panels that sweep around the curve
of the corridor. The work is active and immediate but with
a relaxed fluency. A controlled flick of the paintbrush
determines the initial outcomes and variations on this
technique give a number of alternative possibilities. The
marks simply express the manner of their making, but their
shadows add a third dimension and open up a new range
of interpretations.
Phantom Python
It may not be noticed on a first visit, but curled high around
the trunk of a mature pine tree along the driveway, there
appears to be a large and realistic reticulated python. The
snake has been carved in polystyrene, cast in fire-rated
fibreglass and painted before installation. In order to make the
snake fit well around the tree a mould was taken of a section
of the trunk. This was cast in a studio, where it became the
template for the size and shape of the snake.
NEXT STEPS
The next steps are to have further discussions with the
architects relating to the colours of walls, doors and floors
and to carry on making and supervising the fabrication of the
work prior to installation towards the end of 2008, or at the
beginning of 2009.
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Off the wall proposal
ANDREW MCKEOWN
EPPING PRIMARY SCHOOL
Andrew is the lead artist at Epping Primary School.
The project involves the amalgamation of the current
Epping Infant and Epping Junior Schools and will
provide 420 places for children.
Andrew has completed many sculpture commissions
throughout the UK for local councils, housing
developers and environmental agencies such as
Groundwork UK, Yuill, Miller and Haslam Homes. He
is also a director of Platform Arts an artist-led studio
group which has provided studio provision for artists
on Teesside for the last eight years.
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Andrew’s work is inspired by themes of growth,
change and renewal and his sculptures are often
cast in durable materials such as iron, steel, bronze
and stone. Recently he has completed a prestigious
commission, The Jewels of The Sea, at the East
Shore Village housing development in Seaham,
County Durham. It features over thirty large cast
iron sculptures which can be randomly encountered
throughout the cliff top park.
www.andrewmckeown.com
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Seed
Stephanopyxis, Strata, Helisira
BUILD CONTEXT
THE CREATIVE PROCESSES
The new school will be built on the current Epping
Infant School site. The existing buildings have now
been demolished and the infants transferred into
accommodation next to the junior school for the
length of the build.
Andrew’s conceptual ideas for the project have
been inspired by the surrounding Epping Forest.
The simple organic growth and development
within Epping Forest will symbolise the joining of
the new school and the closer relationship that the
infant children will have with the junior school.
The role of the lead artist is to assist in the joining
together of the two schools. The school see this
process as a journey from old to new. They view
working collaboratively with the artist as beneficial
to all concerned.
The design team’s aim is to provide an efficient,
effective and inspiring learning environment which
fits well into the designated green belt site and
surrounding community.
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Andrew has used elements of the forest’s
environment to inform his proposals, focusing
on trees and their importance in the eco system,
the relationship between fungi and algae and the
migration of spores resulting in the development
of new colonies.
Andrew has led workshops with the children,
which have rendered many ideas that concentrate
on natural forms, particularly microscopic forms
and growth around the school and within
Epping Forest.
Andrew’s proposed concept designs for the
new building include coloured designs for the
glass balustrade within the central corridor area.
These explore the microscopic imagery of algae,
fungus and plant. Free standing sculptures in the
playground are inspired by fruiting bodies of fungi
and lichens. In addition he has proposed naming
each classroom after a tree in the forest.
He feels that the theme of natural life within
Epping Forest provides the school with great
scope for future artwork which could relate to
the flora, fauna and rich diversity of life within
the forest.
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Glass balustrade proposal
JACQUELINE PONCELET
FLITCH GREEN PRIMARY SCHOOL
Jacqueline is the lead artist at Flitch Green Primary
School in Little Dunmow. The aim of the project is
to provide an efficient, effective and inspiring learning
environment which fits well into the newly developing
site and surrounding community.
In recent years collaboration has become an
important part of her work, whether exhibiting as
an artist, curating, or working with architects. Her
background in ceramics has left her with a strong
interest in function, and her approach to public
projects satisfies this side of her creativity.
Jacqueline established herself as a major figure on
the international ceramics scene in the 1970s and 80s. Jacqueline has had numerous solo and public
In the 90s she diversified her practice to include
exhibitions both in the UK and abroad and has
painting, sculpture and public art commissions,
won a number of awards. She has lectured in the
ending the decade as one of the three curators
UK, Netherlands and Canada and one of her recent
of the British Art Show.
collaborations includes design work for the Child
Development Unit at Guys and St Thomas’
Her personal passion is for pattern and colour.
Hospital, London.
She believes that complexity can enrich our lives
and should not overwhelm us. Each element within a
composition should add to the overall experience.
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www.poncelet.me.uk
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2007, Leigh Park Craft Initiative Gate
2007, Sunshine House. Child Development Centre Camberwell
BACKGROUND
Flitch Green Primary School is a new school that will provide 210 places, with the scope to expand to 330 places at
a later phase. The school site is situated within an entirely new development of housing located on the former site of
a sugar beet factory and its associated settlement ponds.
The housing scheme has been developing over several years and has now triggered the need to implement local amenities
for the area, as designated by planning conditions. One of the key areas of this is the school and associated community
facilities.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
Jacqueline wanted to bring beauty into the centre of the school and to make it a place where every child could have
a chance to display their creativity for the whole school to appreciate.
With input from the architectural team, she has designed a colour scheme for the courtyard windows and magnetic enamel
panels that will line the circulation space that the children will use on a daily basis. This will embed artwork into the school
design. The soft colours of the glass around the central courtyard will create a beautiful inner space that changes and is
affected by constantly shifting external and internal light conditions. The enamel panels are like giant notice boards. By
using magnets, the children will be able to display their work, large or small. The panels are a mix of pattern and colour
with an oak leaf design. The theme of trees is continued in the entrance space with a cut out hanging sculpture made from
silhouettes of leaves.
“The architect has designed a beautiful building and it’s been my intention from the start to work with him to augment it.”
Jacquieline Poncelet
“The impact Jacqui has made has been a very positive experience for all and her very early involvement has ensured true influence
and integration on the design.”
Sue Frost, Project Manager, Capital Programme and Building Development, Essex County Council
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Courtyard window proposal
MICHAEL JOHNSON
BRENTWOOD HIGH STREET
Michael is the lead artist for Brentwood High Street,
part of the Town Centre Enhancement Scheme.
Michael has been working in the public art arena
since 1986. The commissioning organisations he
has worked with range from rural community groups,
county councils and property developers to national
institutions such as Norwich Union and English
Nature.
He has taught in a number of educational settings
including schools, universities and galleries. His work
in a number of residential communities has resulted
in several sited artworks. He has exhibited regularly
in this country and abroad, both in larger national
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venues and in smaller non-gallery venues. His aim
is to make work that becomes part of the fabric of
a place and contributes to our on-going heritage,
encouraging people to think about the place in which
they live or visit.
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The Queens War Detail
BACKGROUND
CREATIVE PROCESSES
The Brentwood High Street commission is within an extensive £5.4 million
streetscape upgrade programme. It presents the opportunity for Michael to
integrate artistic solutions into its refurbishment.
Michael has been working in collaboration with a number of different partners
in the scheme including engineers, designers, local authorities and the
Brentwood Town Centre Partnership. During this time he has focused on
the following key points:
The ethos of the project is that Brentwood High Street will become a shared
space scheme, a first in Essex. It will remove current infrastructure and
provide opportunities for creative practical solutions to street furniture
and lighting, specifying particular materials. It will also address issues such
as how to improve the living, working space of the High Street and still
incorporate traditional activities like ‘Brentwood in Bloom’.
The High Street will remain a two-way road with a newly designed shared
surface, breaking traditional boundaries between carriageway and footway,
along the central section of road. This will encourage people to drive with
more care and at slower speeds, allowing more pedestrians to move freely.
Essex County Council believes streets to be the principal component of urban
spatial systems and that they should be vibrant places that encourage people
to feel comfortable and safe.
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• Uniqueness and sense of place: how an identity is created.
• Interpretation: looking at the history and context of Brentwood.
• Orientation: how art and design function in a pedestrian
and vehicle environment.
The design process has been in two stages. The first has been to identify
an outline design approach through discussions with the partners. The
second stage will involve leading workshops with community groups in
Brentwood including retailers, schools and history societies. The purpose
of the workshops will be to expand on the outline designs and keep people
informed on the progress of the scheme. They will also include practical art
making sessions such as printing, drawing and sculpture work. This stage will
begin in February 2009 to coincide with the High Street upgrade.
“My first thoughts when seeing St Thomas Chapel, Brentwood’s jewel
in its heritage crown, was the relevance that the town’s origins could
have to its present day.”
Michael Johnson
“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Michael and Gavin on
Genius Loci in Brentwood Town Centre over the last year. Our ‘place’
project is really taking shape now and the activities we have planned
together, over the next few months, will provide local residents,
schools groups and community groups with excellent opportunities
to express and share their ideas about Brentwood.”
Jane Keane, Town Centre Manager, Brentwood Borough Council and
on behalf of the Brentwood Town Centre Partnership
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MICHAEL PINSKY
PARK & RIDE
Michael is the lead artist for a series of Park & Ride
schemes proposed on the periphery of Chelmsford
and Colchester towns as a means of reducing town
centre congestion and improving accessibility
and sustainability.
Michael graduated from the Royal College of Art
and is a Senior Lecturer at East London University. He
received an Art for Architecture award from the Royal
Society of Arts and his exhibition Pontis was short
listed for the prestigious Gulbenkian Museums Award.
Michael takes on the combined roles of urban
planner, activist, researcher, resident and artist.
Using mediums of video, performance, mapping and
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programming, Michael responds site-specifically to
physical and sociological space.
One of his recent projects includes Transparent
Room, an Arts Council England funded installation
which toured venues including Leeds City Art Gallery,
Watershed and the Contemporary Art Forum, Canada.
www.michaelpinsky.com
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Breaking the Surface
BACKGROUND
CREATIVE PROCESSES
Michael was commissioned to integrate artwork
that provided consistency and clarity within the
new proposed Park & Ride schemes which are
to be viewed as a network of facilities. The Park
& Ride scheme proposes secure car parking for
600 vehicles, cycle parking facilities and a bus
terminus building.
The Park & Ride scheme is in its early
development stage and the challenge for this
project is to consider ideas that would be able
to be implemented far into the future.
The design team has been asked to pay particular
attention to sustainability issues, therefore,
Michael’s work ethos and approach needed
to compliment the green credentials of the
development.
After visiting all of the potential sites with the
project team, it seemed appropriate to Michael
to develop a conceptual framework that could be
applied to each site as it became available. The
idea caught the imagination of the project engineer
who inputted ideas and potential implementation
methodologies. Michael has presented a series
of visuals and texts to demonstrate his ideas.
The scale of the project in terms of landmass
and timeframe has huge potential for the artist.
It originally inspired Michael to conceive of ideas
on a scale akin to American land artists of the
1960s and 70s such as Robert Smithson and
Walter de Maria. Michael was interested in applying
a similar scale and aesthetic to a context that
could be seen as having its roots in consumerism.
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In the 60s and 70s audiences might have had to
hire a plane to see Smithson’s Spiral Jetty. Now,
with software such as Google Earth, a larger
number of present-day spectators can virtually ‘fly’
across the land to view the work. This is now often
people’s first view of the land. It opens up a new
public realm in which artwork that still exists in the
environment can only be truly perceived through
the mediation of a computer.
Due to a number of changes in the project’s
direction, Michael has had to reassess his original
design goals of using a wide selection of sites and
their linkages. He is now beginning to focus on
sites specifically. This of course doesn’t alter the
aims for the Park & Ride scheme but allows the
design team to re-focus and develop a new way
forward that builds upon structures and strengths
that have already been developed.
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Park & Ride design proposal
ROMAN VASSEUR
HARLOW
Roman’s role is to work with the partners regenerating
the market quarter of Harlow and to formulate a
strategy for the integration of art into the regeneration
process and the future life of the town. As part of
this project he will also programme a number of
temporary projects that will inform and begin this
work.
Roman graduated from the Royal College of Art
in 1991. He Lives and works in London. He has
exhibited at Jeffrey Charles Gallery, London, The ICA,
East International ’06, Little Private Governments
at Essex University Gallery, Pilot:3 at the Venice
Biennale and most recently at KX Gallery Hamburg as
part of the group exhibition One Way Street with
Amanda Beech, Pierre Bismuth and Jaspar Joseph
Lester. The paper produced for the Tate conference:
‘John Stuart Mill Exterminates His Father’ was
published in January 2008 in the first edition of
Material, a Los Angeles and London based journal
of writings by artists.
He is currently Senior Lecturer in the School of
Fine Arts, UWE, Bristol. He has lectured at various
institutions including Wimbledon College of Art, Otis
College of Art & Design, Los Angeles, Tate Britain,
University Iuav, Venice and the Royal College of Art.
His work seeks to act out epic, often filmic, and
political narratives via specific socio-economic
realities.
www.vargas.org.uk/artists/roman_vasseur
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The Franchise, April 2008
Duration: 3 mins. Media: Video
BACKGROUND
The Government has proposed substantial growth
of housing and employment in Harlow through
the East of England Plan. Harlow is defined as
a key centre for development and change in the
draft Plan, with the construction of approximately
16,000 new dwellings proposed by 2021. The
proposed growth provides an excellent opportunity
to bring together partners from the public and
private sectors to invest in Harlow, ensuring
it takes its rightful place as a town of regional
importance.
Harlow is a town designed and built after the
Second World War, entirely master-planned by the
late Sir Frederick Gibberd and in possession of the
largest municipal collection of post-war sculpture
in Britain.
CREATIVE INTERVENTION FOR HARLOW
Roman’s programme begins with a number of
contemporary art commissions in Harlow titled
‘Art and the new town’ Let us pray for those Now
Residing in the Designated Area. The title comes
from the beginning of the dedication prayer used
when Harlow was created. The projects will be
located at Market Square, St Paul’s Church and
Barnabas Hall and include a temporary gallery
space featuring six exhibitions and a programme
of public talks and performances to accompany
the work.
Roman states that he is “keen to reassess and
represent the work of Gibberd as a project driven
by romantic imperatives conditioned by the social
and economic parameters of its time. The town is
now an historical ‘new town’ and provides a rare
opportunity to consider a modernist vision as both
a living entity and romantic folly. The temporary
projects will ask how might it be possible to
re-engage with the complexity of this period in
order to make new meanings from an archaeology
of what was once our future. The projects will
also consider how Gibberd’s ideal citizen relates
to the citizen of Harlow’s present and what role
he/she has in marrying their own utopias with the
masterplanner’s grand utopia and within the walls
and gardens of his vision.”
Designs by Roman and Diann Bauer are now
complete for the temporary installation of a gallery
space in Market Square with the anticipation that
the adapted gallery will arrive in Harlow by mid
October. This venue, St. Paul’s Church and its
neighbouring Barnabas Hall will act as venues for
the programme of events and exhibitions that will
take place in November and December 2008.
It will include a new film by Amanda Beech filmed
at Gibberd House and Bishopsfield, and a public
talks programme developed by Essex University
with participants including the international artist
Bob & Roberta Smith.
Performances by Wayne Lloyd, together with his
resulting artwork and comic book, will provide
a continuous thread between the different events.
Roman’s current work with the preferred
developer’s design team is resulting in a growing
understanding of how future spaces and
landscaping can anticipate a rolling programme
of temporary visual art commissions as a core
aspect of the wider visual arts strategy.
Overall, the work is showing evidence of success.
Roman’s input is recognised by partners as adding
a unique component to the scheme.
It is an exciting approach and is viewed positively.
In the coming months, the strength of this work
can be used to develop a wider discussion about
art in Harlow and the potential generation of
resources, including the Percent for Art scheme.
“Harlow was developed in the post-war period as a New Town, based upon innovative master planning and design concepts, with a vast collection of art, public art and
sculpture sited around the town. At this critical stage in the town’s history, with large-scale regeneration, housing growth and investment plans, the role of the lead artist
is to build on this strong sense of place and ensure public art is central to the future of the town.”
Ian Hatton, Senior Regeneration and Policy Manager, Essex County Council
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Art and The New Town sketch
BRUCE WILLIAMS
TURNER VILLAGE/QUEEN BOUDICCA SCHOOL
The aim of the project is to integrate visual arts
and crafts into the architecture and grounds of the
new primary school building, thereby enhancing the
environment and raising the aspiration of pupils, staff
and others working in, and visiting, the school.
Bruce works primarily in the public realm, creating
works of art in response to commissions tendered
by local government, public art agencies and private
developers. His career has been marked by
high-profile projects, both permanent and temporary
and usually on a grand scale. Bruce’s largest single
image to date is Water Wings, a dramatic eight by
four metre image for Blackpool sea front. The work
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explores imagery beyond the figure and incorporates
a unique, specially designed lighting system.
Since 2005 he has been consultant artist for the North
Swindon Schools development, designing integral
digital glass works for the atriums and school halls
of seven schools. Four layered sculptures were
installed in early 2008.
In the course of making public art works over the last
twenty years he has always tried to make work which
is centred on the people and the places they are
designed for.
www.brucewilliams.net
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‘Parasol’, Surrey
“I had imagined that I would be
making one large artwork for the
school but in fact, the project
has grown and developed
in unexpected ways. This
growth has come from a formal
and informal exchange with
teachers, pupils, the architects,
material specialists and park
rangers. Some ideas have
fallen by the wayside but others
are flourishing through our
collaborative endeavour.”
Bruce Williams
“We have been thoroughly
enjoying our dialogue with the
artist and believe that his input
will add a layer of richness to
the scheme. For example, we
are eagerly anticipating the
effect of the artist’s proposed
leaf design to the underside of
the skylights within the corridor
to the classroom block that will
transform this circulation space
in terms of daylight
and shadowing.”
Michael Florides, bhp architects
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PROJECT INFORMATION
CREATIVE PROCESSES
The new school is part of a wider new housing development
in North Colchester with plans for a new link road and
roundabout. Whilst the project was in its early stages, Bruce
and the architect discussed possible areas of collaboration
and development such as the outdoor play and learning
space at the school, types of materials that could be used
in the building, how quiet spaces are accessed and other
acoustic possibilities.
The school is located almost next door to High Woods
Country Park and Bruce’s overarching idea for his proposals
is to bring some of this natural environment into the fabric
of the new school building. The first evidence of this will
be seen on approaching the school when visitors will pass
through a line of cast silver birch trees which hold up the
overhanging roof.
The new school must provide some multi-use for the
community but the overall aim of the project is to provide an
efficient, effective and inspiring learning environment that fits
well into the designated site and surrounding community.
Bruce proposes that the door handles will not be selected
from a catalogue but collected from the forest floor by
children from Mylands and North Primary Schools. The
selected branches will be cast in bronze and transformed
into door handles. The bronze itself will change colour and
brightness as it is constantly handled by thousands of hands.
The corridor which runs down the centre of the building is
the route to all classrooms. It is lit by natural daylight which
comes through a number of skylights. Here light will be
filtered through laser cut steel grills which mimic the tree
canopies of High Woods. Photographs taken in the woods
by the children and Bruce will be arranged in layers to cast
dappled shadows across the corridor.
Bruce is also developing ideas for other areas of the school
in partnership with the architect. Ideas include printing
images on the glass classroom partitions and outdoor
sculptures.
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Design Concepts
NAYAN KULKARNI
SADLERS FARM
Nayan is working as an integral part of the design
team to provide the strategic inclusion of public
art in the ongoing design development of Sadlers
Farm highway improvements. It is anticipated that
the involvement of an artist at an early stage in the
design process will ensure complete integration
into the scheme and form a benchmark for major
commissions within future road infrastructure works
in Essex.
For over a decade Nayan’s art practice has informed
a series of diverse public realm and architectural
collaborations. All of his work comes out of an
engagement with notions of place and experience,
underpinned by his fascination with light, technology,
material and architectonic structure.
His past projects have included integrated
37
architectural interventions in the public realm, light
and art elements in urban design frameworks, lighting
strategies, temporary installations, landscape based
sculptural interventions and public art strategies.
His studio work has been shown extensively in the
UK and abroad.
Recent and on-going collaborations and design
partnerships include Moment Southampton,
Shoal Cardiff, Cascade Derby, Nocturne
Newcastle/Gateshead, Sky Mirror Birmingham,
Breaking Boundaries Ashford and Blink & Shimmer
Parkland Gateway Corby.
Nayan is interested in the moments where light,
people, structure and space work together.
www.nkprojects.co.uk
38
B-04
BACKGROUND TO THE SCHEME
The A13/A130 Sadlers Farm junction forms part of
the strategic highway networks serving the Essex
Thames Gateway (ETG). The existing junction is
currently subject to severe congestion and the
planned development in the ETG would further
increase the traffic demand.
Subsequently, Sadlers Farm was identified
as presenting a major opportunity for the
commissioning of an integrated public art
project and developing a collaborative working
practice for the County.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
The vision for this project is to create a distinct
‘place’ which is set apart and made more visible
through high quality design, engineering and
art. Nayan has been working in parallel with the
design team to contribute another layer to the road
improvements. This means that any proposals
realised through the project become integrated
into the main works on site.
Nayan considers that this critical piece of
transport infrastructure creates a complex set
of conceptual, formal and technical challenges
through which artworks can grow. He is excited by
the opportunity to contribute to the way that a new
linear landscape can be informed and transformed
through the agency of contemporary art.
The identification of appropriate opportunities at
this site is an important part of the design process.
Areas for consideration might include contributions
to the landscape, cuttings, bridge structures as
well as cycle and pedestrian links.
Nayan believes that the Sadlers Farm project
comes at a time of rapid change in the Thames
Estuary. The relationships between economic and
social development that will play out in this area
of England through the agency of rapid population
growth and demographic change are going to be
extremely interesting. This means that
large-scale infrastructure changes will become
the focus of public debate.
The concept proposals have developed from
an initial extensive period of research and creative
development. At the centre of this primary work
two questions acted as guides: What makes
a place? What makes a great road? From this
research notions of landscape intervention
emerged that could exploit the possibilities
that the new road forms produces.
The concept Oasis: Five Gardens for Essex seeks
to challenge the dominant language of road
landscape design through proposing ideas of
narrative and issues of experience at the forefront
of the design.
Nayan and the design team will work in partnership
to maximise quality, value and simplicity of
construction and maintenance.
“The sources from the concepts come from many places. However, the Essex location and scale of the proposed changes to the local landscape interest me. Inspiration is
as varied as a small tyre used as a planter at the Watt Tyler Country Park and as complex as the communities that visit Pitsea Cemetery. In other words, the local landscape.”
Nayan Kulkarni
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40
OPEN SPACE PROGRAMME
41
OPEN SPACE PROGRAMME
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
The Open Space programme is a series of four temporary projects, curated
by Jane Watt, that will take place in 2009. Matt Cook, Gordon Flemons,
Miranda Sharp, Damien Robinson & Stuart Bowditch, who are all either
based in Essex, or who have a strong connection with Essex, have been
appointed to make work in Harlow, Colchester and Basildon.
listening, looking, feeling, walking, talking, mapping, capturing, archiving,
writing, photographing, filming, recording, sketching, proposing, making,
discovering, revisiting, re-examining, consolidating, challenging, highlighting.
The Open Space programme is an opportunity for the selected artists to
create a higher public visibility for Genius Loci whilst the major commissions
are realised and to present new processes and works of contemporary art
to local audiences.
The temporary projects will encourage an immediacy in approach and
production which will attempt to test new ways of working and interacting
with public space. Temporary public works are often, by their very nature,
more open ended, not seeking to answer questions, but rather pose them.
As the American art critic Patricia C. Phillips puts it: “The point is not just
to produce another thing for people to admire, but to create an opportunity
– a situation – that enables viewers to look back at the world with renewed
perspectives and clear angles of vision.”1
These are some of the things that Matt, Gordon, Miranda, Damien & Stuart
will be doing in Colchester, Basildon, Harlow and environs over the next
twelve months to create a series of temporary works for the Open Space
programme.
ASPIRATIONS
Individually these activities are nothing out of the ordinary. But with the
artists’ intensity of purpose, and collective imagining, Open Space curator,
Jane Watt, hopes that new understandings of the ‘spirit of place’ can
emerge for the artists, as well as the individuals who encounter the works
as process, or as presented works in the public realm. Perhaps, then, these
ordinary types of actions will be viewed as valuable ways in which we can
continue an ongoing and meaningful engagement with the environment in
which we live.
Patricia C. Phillips ‘Public Constructions’ in Suzanne Lacy (ed.)
Mapping the Terrain: new genre public art, Seattle: Bay Press, 1995, pp60-71.
1
42
JANE WATT
CURATOR
“The Open Space programme is key to our Genius Loci work, as it provides
the opportunity for artists to take risks in their creativity and develop
exciting temporary spaces in the public realm.
This programme becomes the glue that starts to connect all our projects
together and begins to form our foundations in making Essex an exciting
and vibrant place to live.”
Gavin Hodson, Public Art Officer, Essex County Council
Jane Watt is a visual artist, researcher and writer based
in London. She has made installations and specific
work in the public realm since 1994. Her work is largely
project-based. She often develops her practice in
site-specific contexts and she collaborates with
a number of professionals from other specialisms
including architecture and design, as well as
community individuals and groups.
www.janewattprojects.com
43
MATT COOK
MIRANDA SHARP
The basis for Matt Cook’s art practice is in creating works
of sound, performance and installation. He takes influence
from urban geography, cultural history, natural rhythm
and everyday life. He hopes to represent the world in a
way that will enable people to view their environment
differently and notice ambient elements of the world they
would normally ignore.
Miranda Sharp was awarded a first class degree in
Sculpture at Wimbledon School of Art in 2002. Her
work is often concerned with the psychological effect
of the institutional spaces we find ourselves in and an
unyielding desire for intimacy in those public spaces. She
works using photography, video, Super 8, performance,
installation, text and direct engagement with the public.
www.sciencefidelity.co.uk
www.mirandasharp.com
44
DAMIEN ROBINSON
45
STUART BOWDITCH
Damien Robinson is an artist working with digital media
focusing on the interplay between images, sounds and
vibrations. Her practice involves exploring systems for
recording and playing sound using the aspects that can
be felt as vibration, which she refers to as ‘feel-sound’, as
well as, or instead of, being heard. In addition, she develops
visuals which complement and enhance the feel-sound
experience.
Stuart Bowditch is an artist, DJ and music producer,
working on installations, songs and soundtracks and is
fascinated by the sounds of the world around him. He
interacts with the environment to collect everyday sounds
from objects and subjects, industrial and public spaces.
He has worked collaboratively with Damien Robinson
on several national and international sound installation
projects.
www.damienrobinson.co.uk
www.stuartbowditch.co.uk
GORDON FLEMONS
Gordon Flemon’s practice is grounded in the trilectic
of space, time and social being, expressed by the
geographer Edward Soja. As such the work is closely
integrated with its location. Bordering on performance,
the animated sculptures and installations are frequently
made in the public arena, inviting questions, and placing
engagement with the viewer, or audience, at the centre
of his way of working.
www.gordonflemons.com
46
48
Jaywick
ALEX MURDIN
MARTELLO TOWER, JAYWICK
Alex Murdin is a writer, curator and artist who has
developed numerous projects in public places,
in both urban and rural settings. He is currently
developing a PhD at Dartington College of Arts on
‘Art in public spaces and the politics of rural leisure:
access, environment and inclusion.’
As part of this research work he set up Rural
Recreation, a grassroots campaigning body which
puts forward new views and develops action research
projects on the issues of access, environment and
audience inclusion in the British countryside.
Alex’s past work includes acting as a public art
advisor to both public sector commissioners and
private developers, and initiating his own projects in
a variety of contexts. A recent project Inclusive Path
was developed in Cumbria as part of the FRED public
art festival. He is the current recipient of a Bright
Sparks award, a unique funding scheme developed
by Landscape+Arts Network Services, which
supports artists and other creative professionals
to develop ideas and research which explore the
physical and social aspects of open spaces.
www.ruralrecreation.org.uk
49
DAVID COTTERRELL
MARTELLO TOWER, JAYWICK
David Cotterrell’s work invades public spaces in
unexpected ways. He is interested in how artists
can influence policy and also how the role of the
artist may act as a social commentator and instigate
debate. He has completed investigations into public
art strategies, engaged with local communities and
developed new technologies which have allowed
people to publish anecdotes about their city.
Working in a variety of mediums to develop his
projects, including film, sound, interactive media,
artificial intelligence and hybrid technology, David’s
art practice focuses on the political and social
aspects of our society, while always remaining
sensitive and specific to each place that he works
Over the last ten years, David’s work has been
commissioned and exhibited in North America,
Europe and the Far East, in gallery spaces,
museums and within the public realm. He has
recently completed an RSA Arts & Ecology residency
in Kabul, Afghanistan as well as having spent time
with the Royal Army Medical Corps and Royal Marine
Commandos at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province,
Southern Afghanistan.
www.cotterrell.com
50
BACKGROUND
Martello Tower C is one of 103 Martello towers
constructed along the south and east coast
line from 1803-1812 in response to the threat
of a Napoleonic invasion in the early nineteenth
century. The towers are constructed from
extremely thick brickwork, over two metres
thick, with a slightly battered profile and they
were consequently very effective in resisting
cannon balls.
Martello Tower, Jaywick
The towers never saw any action in the
Napoleonic war and soon became obsolete
because developments in heavy artillery, for
example exploding shells, meant that they were
easily penetrable. Many of the towers including
tower C were used during the two World Wars
as lookout points or gun emplacements and
many were heavily adapted for the purpose.
51
Since the re-opening of Jaywick Martello Tower
in 2005, a series of community led arts projects
have inspired recent developments. The new
vision of the Tower is to incorporate themes
most relevant to the area’s assets: community,
heritage and environment. This has led to the
introduction of Arcadia Revisited a partnership
funded programme of work which is a creativeled process by artists Alex Murdin and David
Cotterrell that explores the notions of arcadia
in relation to coastal leisure and tourism to help
capture the genius loci, spirit of place.
THE PROJECT
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
Arcadia Revisited aims to explore the ‘essence’
of Jaywick – the social, cultural, historical and
environmental elements that contribute to a sense
of place. Drawing on the ancient Greek concept
of ‘arcadia’ as an idyllic vision of the wilderness,
Arcadia Revisited looks again at the original
utopian vision that led to the creation of holiday
communities such as Jaywick. During summer,
David and Alex worked with the people of Jaywick
to develop a creative project which investigates
what this arcadia vision means today and what it
could mean in the future.
Having spent time learning how to use the same
software used in aviation simulators, David will
be using this immersive environment software to
develop interactive maps of Jaywick where local
people are invited and encouraged to contribute
their views, memories, photos, voices and other
information. For the first time this information
will be made available to professionals at Essex
and Tendring Councils and aims to form a two
way communication.
This vision will be shared with the professionals
of Essex County Council and Tendring District
Council.
This is a cross-disciplinary project. The resulting
partnerships will be established through creative
participation, as well as the resulting new
approaches that could inform future practice in the
redevelopment of coastal areas. It will also develop
a methodology for analysis and visioning for future
developments taking into account the valuable
social and physical heritage of an area.
Combining the spirit of place with the
environmental shift in the landscape, Alex will
investigate how the impact of coastal erosion
could inform a new landscape and leisure provision
within the future planning. Working at a conceptual
level, he can look at how Jaywick sits within the
cultural profile of the Sunshine Coast of Tendring in
Essex, as well as how the environment may
alter that.
“Jaywick is a place with a unique history and heritage
that deserves to be better known, a place where the
community has created a DIY holiday resort of immense
character. I’m hoping that any work we do at Jaywick
will support this community of residents and visitors
alike to sustain a relationship with the stark beauty of
the marshes and the ever changing seascape as the
environment and society changes in the future.”
Alex Murdin
“Despite the established consultation processes within
planning, there still remains a perceptual divide between
external consultants and ‘local residents’ understanding
of place, value and community. This project will not
resolve this issue, but it may serve to create prototype
mechanisms to re-evaluate the existing hierarchies
of information and raise questions about the historic
weaknesses in transparent communication between
those who are designing landscape and those who live
within it.”
David Cotterrell
Alex’s practice then explores the possibility of
combining elements to provide unique leisure
opportunities that can also be educational in
raising awareness of natural habitats. With
this project, Alex will look to make physical
connections between David’s exploration of social
heritage and the natural and man-made changes
in the Jaywick environment.
52
Jaywick
PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT
ALL LEAD ARTISTS ARE YET TO BE COMMISSIONED FOR THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS
GATEWAY TO ESSEX - A MAJOR STRATEGIC COMMISSION
Harwich
Braintree
Stansted
Colchester
Jaywick
Chelmsford
Harlow
Epping
South Woodham
Brentwood
Basildon
Wickford
Essex County Council commissioned a report by CBAT in 2005 (ref: Public Art in the Transportation Systems
of Essex County Council | CBAT | 2005) to survey suitable locations for a major gateway to the County.
They have suggested a variety of possible locations, these being;
1. M11 junction 8 2. M25 junction 27 with A127 3. M25 junction 28 with A12
4. M25 junction 30/31 with A13 5. Sadlers Farm new carriageway
6. A120 junction with A12 at Colchester 7. Harwich Port and Bathside Bay
The role of the Public Art Strategy Group is to investigate these possible locations as a future suitable site
for a major gateway to Essex.
COLLABORATIVE LEARNING CENTRE, WICKFORD
A flexible and innovative Collaborative Learning Centre (CLC) serving the Wickford area is to be built on the
The Bromfords Secondary School site at a cost of £3.5m. The CLC will be used by all of the primary schools
and special schools in Wickford. It will be an eco-friendly building with large flexible spaces for specialist
activities and state of the art ICT facilities.
SOUTH WOODHAM FERRERS PUBLIC SQUARE IMPROVEMENTS
The major elements for this scheme are to develop and improve the current Trinity Square area that include
aspirations for the development on the church and school sites. The opportunity to combine proposed
highways work with the needs of the community offer exciting implications for the future of the town.
SPRINGWOOD DRIVE WASTE RE-CYCLING CENTRE
This is the development of a new waste re-cycling centre in Braintree that offers the commissioning of a lead
artist to work with the design team and help to enhance the scheme. The entrance to the site has been pin
pointed as an area of possible artistic intervention.
55
PROJECT LOCATION MAP
Bruce Williams
Nayan Kulkarni
Harwich
Braintree
Stansted
Jacqueline Poncelet
Roman Vasseur
Colchester
Andy McKeown
Jaywick
Michael Johnson
The People Speak
Ray Smith
Chelmsford
Harlow
Michael Pinsky
Gordon Flemons
Epping
South Woodham Ferrers
Brentwood
Miranda Sharp
Damien Robinson
Basildon
Wickford
Stuart Bowditch
Matt Cook
Alex Murdin & David Cotterrell
Projects in Development
56
GAVIN HODSON
BUILT ENVIRONMENT OFFICER, ECC
THE FUTURE
Our aim for Genius Loci is that it forms an integral part of our overall public art strategy to enhance and
improve the image of the County of Essex nationally and internationally, as an exciting, forward looking and
inspiring location. To achieve this we must continue to install a working practice of commissioning artists
as early as possible as a valued member of the design team, produce high quality artwork, build upon the
foundations we are currently creating, develop strong partnerships and have a coherent vision of public
art within Essex, and how it can compliment or inform other art processes.
Our journey so far couldn’t have been achieved without the delivery skills of Commissions East in a number
of our projects. From a personal perspective, having the opportunity to work closely with such an exciting
and forward looking group of artists and professionals over a sustained period of time delivering Genius Loci
has been an exciting addition to the programme allowing a studio feel to develop through good conversation,
honesty, communication, group meetings, peer reviews and the exchange of skills and understanding through
different disciplines. A factor in this has been the introduction of the artist electronic sketchbook, which has
allowed the artists to communicate informally online, create a gallery of their images and share ideas between
themselves.
I find that the role I have in commissioning artists in areas where traditionally it’s not been an accepted policy
is fantastic. We need to show not only what tremendous skills artists can offer to the public realm but to do
this we have to deliver quality, provide a legacy of skills, inspire and continue to prove our worth and value to
the public and the decision makers. We are all working together to enhance Essex arts culture and understanding and if we continue to build on these foundations, deliver successful projects and offer the quality skills from
artists which are available, perhaps one day this process will be an accepted norm.
57
58
PARTNERS
Access to Work | Art in Architecture | Arts & Business | Arts Council England | Arts Development, Essex County Council | Basildon Borough Council | Birse Civils
Ltd | Brentwood Borough Council | Bryant Harvey Partnership Architects | Built Environment, Essex County Council | Capital Programme & Building
Development, Essex County Council | Commissions East | Community, Planning & Regeneration, Essex County Council | Creative Partnerships | Development,
Highways & Transportation, Essex County Council | EEDA | English Partnerships | Epping Primary School | Essex Community Foundation | Essex University
| Flitch Green Primary School | Friends of Brooklands | Harlow Arts Trust | Harlow Borough Council | Harlow Civic Trust | Harlow Renaissance | Interaction:
Neighbourhood Management Renewal | Jaywick Agencies Group | Jaywick Community Programming Fund | LAND group: Princes Trust | LANS | Mouchel | nps
architects | Park Resorts | Ramsden Hall School | Stanley Bragg Partnership Limited | Swan Housing | TDC | Tending District Council (Regeneration, Tourism)
| Town Centre Partnership (Brentwood) | Turner Village/Queen Boudicca Primary School | University of West England | Waste & Recycling, Essex County Council
| Writtle College
COMMISSIONS EAST
The Genius Loci Open Space Programme together with the projects for Harlow, Basildon and Sadlers Farm were developed for Essex County Council
by Commissions East.
www.commissionseast.org.uk
59
INFORMATION
For further information please contact the Public Art Team at Environment, Sustainability & Highways, Built Environment, County Hall, Chelmsford,
Essex CM1 1QH.
The promotion of public art is supported through the Essex Design Initiative (EDI) which aims to establish sustainable growth and improve the built environment
within new developments in Essex. Its programmes and publications champion quality in urban design through training, design guidance and the coordination
of a Design Champions network.
Telephone: 01245 437521 or 01245 436553
Email: gavin.hodson@essex.gov.uk
Web: www.the-edi.co.uk www.essex.gov.uk
Electronic copies of this publication can be downloaded from the above websites.
Photo Credits
Page 44, Matt Cook, Artist Becomes Aeroplane, Richard Huw Morgan
Page 45, Damien Robinson, Benedict Johnson and Metal
Page 46, Gordon Flemons, J Townshend
Cover image, pages 47-48 and 53-54 Alex Murdin
Published November 2008.
The Authors of this document are The Public Art Team, Essex County Council.
Designed by Terry Moore.
The images contained in this document are the copyright of the individual artist. No images may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means (graphic,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or information storage) without permission from the copyright holder. For further information on the artists
please contact the Public Art Team.
All effort has been made to ensure that the information provided was correct at time of publication.
60
“I found Genius Loci an exciting and quite visionary concept. Ray Smith’s very presence in the school has made it so worthwhile
and my pupils will vouch for that. Whatever else happens in terms of public art will be testament to a superb partnership.”
Stewart Grant, Head Teacher, Ramsden Hall School