Viva Brighton Issue #65 July 2018

ART AL FRESCO
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The Wonder Project
Walking in a Wakehurst wonderland
Wakehurst brims with historic and, increasingly,
environmental significance. But what happens
when you leave its pathways and get lost in the
woods? Mary Jane Edwards and Andy Franzkowiak,
from arts collective Shrinking Space, tell us
what to expect of The Wonder Project.
Shrinking Space often looks at topical issues
– air pollution, climate change, discrimination;
we find artists and scientists who are interested
in those ideas and bring disciplines together to
create art. ‘Education’ is sometimes a dirty word,
but we want people to take something away that’s
meaningful to their own lives; to have a deeper
connection with what they’ve encountered.
It’s kind of a social experiment: science and art
collaborating to create amazing experiences for
audiences.
The Wonder Project’s starting point for us
and Kew was wanting to help people feel part
of nature. We’ve built a kind of ‘humans and nature’
narrative where we assume we’re not within
the nature around us: might this have played
a part in how we’ve dealt with climate change,
extinction, the decimation of our natural environments?
Every step has an effect – and it forever
changes the landscape. That’s a beautiful thing,
but it also shows we’re part of what’s around us.
So enjoy, think about that step and be aware of its
repercussions: what kind of relationship are you
starting with that piece of ground, or that tree
you’re touching, or the air you’re breathing?
Scientists and artists actively consider these
ideas – they research, jumble them up,
question and experiment. So we’re taking their
innate way of experiencing a place like Wakehurst
and helping the audience experience it in that way
too. Wakehurst is a crazy collection of seeds, trees,
gardens and scientific research. It’s a total clash
of cultures – where humanity’s hand is at its most
absolute. The Wonder Project offers space to
think about why things are the way they are, how
they got there.
To help us do this, groups like the Hidden
Orchestra will explore how natural environments
communicate, translating that into a
soundscape which audiences will encounter in the
woods. Eloise and Vicky from the Colour Field
project also sum up the essence of experiencing
things differently. They’ve been inspired by Maria
Sybella Merian – a 17th-century naturalist, who,
as a woman, wasn’t allowed to use the same tools
as male scientists and artists. So she had to be
creative, resulting in her beautiful depictions of
natural phenomena, like metamorphosis.
The hope is that all this ‘wondering’ can instill
a sense of concern and responsibility. But
also, to realise how incredible it is to be human
in nature – to take off your shoes and socks, walk
through the overgrown grass, close your eyes and
think about the sounds and other elements that
play out around this ecosystem – from all the
things you can’t see, the roots and the soil, all the
way to the sunsets – that universal moment in
time for every living being. Amy Holtz
Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, 26th-29th July and 2nd-
5th August from 6.30pm
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