Sunday survey

On April 10th, local families began exploring the wilder green spaces of Camden Arts Centre with Ashley and fellow artist Stephen Nelson.

Families made special viewing tools for observing the flora and fauna.

Inspired by Pino Pascali's sculptures and performances on show in the galleries, we developed camouflage treatments for the viewing tools in that would allow us to connect with and inspect the wild spaces of the garden more closely.

The barriers warning of danger and advising visitors to keep out of the wilder spaces in the garden will be removed as the nature trail is developed. The families wrote down some questions they have about the garden and threw them into the undergrowth beyond the barriers, like curious seeds. Questions included:

Why are you green and not blue or red?

How long have you been here?

Are you really dangerous?

How many different plants grow here?

We look forward to the answers blooming and revealing themselves in the next family session in Summer ...

Seeing whilst unseen

On April 1st, Year 1 and 3 pupils from Holy Trinity Primary School began exploring the wilder spaces of Camden Arts Centre with Ashley and Susanne from erect architecture. Pupils looked closely at the conditions of the space in Spring, playing I Spy, drawing details and devising list of words to describe the spaces - wild, dangerous, spooky, forest, woods, green, crazy, dark, scary...

In the galleries we were thrilled by Pino Pascali's strange sculptures. Pupils observed that the artist uses a mix of natural and man made materials. He enlarges and expands familiar images to giant proportions. But the giant 'spider' sculpture, the biggest we have ever seen, seems more playful than threatening because the artist made it with bright blue fake fur fabric. Pupils speculated that a giant 'mushroom' sculpture might house fairies and small woodland animals, and a steelwool net might trap wild animals.

Inspired by Pino Pascali's use of everyday materials and taking advice from the classic song - Teddy Bears Picnic, we developed camouflage disguises that would allow us to venture closer into the wild spaces of the garden, in order to see whilst unseen.

We didn't find any teddy bears picnic, but other surprises included ants, bees, logs, tiny buds, bushes and a 'mystery tree of the unknown'.

The research and exploration will continue in the Summer term...