2ND INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS AIRSHOW
Sat 30 June 2007
Gunpowder Park, Sewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex
This was a day of international artists’ projects reflecting the explosive and ephemeral nature of Gunpowder Park – a former testing ground for high explosives - and investigating the artists' almost impossible dream of flight.
Australian artist Ben Blakebrough’s astonishing one-person flying craft Winged Self points at a lost future of personal flight. Ruth Maclennan (UK) created a choreographed performance with flying eagle, bugler and the crowd, across the testing ground of Gunpowder Park. Anne Bean, Mark Anderson and Nick Sales (UK) made a new black cloud to mingle with those already lurking overhead, and a white mist which swept away across the park.
Around the park, installations by Sonia Khurana (India) and HeHe - Helen Evans and Heiko Hansen (France) could be discovered. Rachel Chapman (UK) “mapped the air” by collecting airborne spores from people’s clothing. Environmental artist Brandon Ballengee (USA) led bug walks in the park.
The event was accompanied by a symposium 'The Aesthetics of Impossibility' featuring the Airshow artists and including the premiere of Simon Faithfull’s new work Gravity Sucks, as well as artists Janette Paris and Usman Haque, and cloudspotting expert Gavin Pretor-Pinney. The event was MC’d by Simon Munnery
The event took place at Gunpowder Park, a new country park for the benefit of people, wildlife and the arts. For 300 years the site was used for testing high explosives until the research establishment was closed in 1991.
Gunpowder Park
The 2nd International Artists Airshow was a collaboration between The Arts Catalyst and Gunpowder Park.
Funded by a Grant for the Arts from Arts Council England, the Henry Moore
Foundation, and ANAT.
