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The east stands for lost causes, Sebald wrote in The Rings of
Saturn, and of those things lost, to which he refers, perhaps
the greatest is the vast expanse of woodland which grew upon the
flatlands of East Anglia before being destroyed by settlers and
avaricious landowners. Often, such woodland now exists only in
the art of the region, most especially the paintings of the Norwich
School, the first provincial art movement in Britain, and the inspiration
behind Simon Pope’s The Memorial Walks (2007). In
this project, an invited participant chooses a painting, from either
the Norwich or the Lincoln collections, that portrays trees or
woodland in particular, and then memorises it; they must then walk
to a location of Pope’s choosing – generally within
striking distance of the gallery – before then describing
the picture from memory, a process of recollection which is recorded
on tape and photographed. The process is repeated for each painting.
The paintings themselves are hung within the gallery, although most are draped with black silk, reminiscent of the ancient Dutch ritual practised in homes in which there had been a death, whereby landscape paintings and mirrors were draped with mourning ribbons in order that the departing soul would not become distracted upon its final journey. At regular intervals during the exhibition, a different painting will be unveiled, and its recalled description made available (as an audio file) on the Waterlog website; the other paintings are left to reside in our memories, or our imaginations.
The paintings themselves are hung within the gallery, although most are draped with black silk, reminiscent of the ancient Dutch ritual practised in homes in which there had been a death, whereby landscape paintings and mirrors were draped with mourning ribbons in order that the departing soul would not become distracted upon its final journey. At regular intervals during the exhibition, a different painting will be unveiled, and its recalled description made available (as an audio file) on the Waterlog website; the other paintings are left to reside in our memories, or our imaginations.
The Memorial Walks
(after John Berney Ladbrooke/The Great Oak)
(2007)
The Memorial Walks (Lincoln)
The Memorial Walks (Norwich)
(after John Berney Ladbrooke/The Great Oak)
(2007)
The Memorial Walks (Lincoln)
The Memorial Walks (Norwich)