It's been a little over a year now since I moved to New York for a few months and at that time I had no idea I would still have such an affinity with not only the city, but the Community Garden on West 104th Street. I haven't posted anything about the installation project for a few months but that's not to say nothing has happened between that time, in fact the situation is quite the opposite. The project has moved leaps and bounds - from my original water colour drawings, to meeting the Committee of Gardeners to approve of my installation and design, to revisiting New York late last year and to the series of e-mails and updates that have bounced back and forth across the Atlantic from WinterSpace founder, Anna Lise Jensen. The fruition of A Lot Of Possibilities has always been in our minds and we are literally steps away from seeing the proposals transform Manhattan's communal gardens: making our 'possibility' into a reality.
Flamingo Parade (2009-2010)
Thanks to Anna Lise's continuous dedication to the project, we were awarded funding from the Manhattan Community Arts Fund and we have received generous support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Autumn was in the air during my last visit to 104th Street Garden in the Manhattan Valley and the experience could not have been more different from my first encounter with the snow-covered lot only a couple of months earlier. Everything to me was different - the mood, the colours, the space - so I decided to redesign my original drawing so as to create a stronger image using new colorways (see above) that would work in all seasons and remain specific as well as being more a part of the organic structure of the garden, rather than simply an art installation.
So in short, as they say, this is the story so far. WinterSpace launches an exhibition today at the West 103rd Street site to display some of the proposals intended for the gardens, including my new repeated pattern Flamingo Parade (2009-2010). For those of you in New York check out all the works today from 2-6pm at 15 West 103rd Street # 4D - the exhibtion will continue thereafter by appointment only - click here for more information. As for the rest of us on this side of the Atlantic and elsewhere, the wheels are finally beginning to move so keep checking up on the blog for further posts and updates including photos of today's exhibition coming soon.
Have a great weekend everyone!
