Wonders of Western Trip

We spent the day in Weston looking at the public artworks, eating cockles, discussing the sea and what it meant to us, watching people, looking at the new developments and historic features of the town, and building sand models of Steep Holm. We sat in front of Tim Etchells piece on the Winter Gardens while the neon was turned on especially for our group, and used the text to trigger our own thoughts and ideas about ‘the things that we can’t forget’, and ‘the things that we can’t remember’. Some of the group travelled to see a number of the works along the seafront, including Etchell’s other work - engraved texts on a shelter documenting everyday events on the beach. Participants worked together in small group and also took their own walks, with most people recording images on cameras. By the time we got on the coach to come home, there was a confident and warm hearted feel to the whole group, and on the journey home, many people took out their art packs on their own initiative and began sketching and writing responses to the creative tasks. This was an especially inspiring and cohesive moment on the project, and the playful, thoughtful and productive time on the bus was testament to the interesting and unusual day we had spent together. The relaxed yet very focussed day out had generated a temporary ‘community’ that was genuinely engaged in considering place, public space, people and artistic production.