Ferrens art Gallery, Hull. 'Landscape Escape' and a selection of landscapes from their painting archive. Two of the framed pictures are in fact photographs of the pedal car in the landscape (ie. crossing the Fenns on the way to London). The windscreen was eventually made from a gold picture frame and the headlights on the car spotlight the two images. 2002
Childhood pram wheeled go karts were really the inspiration for Landscape Escape. It was one of those things I can remember doing as a child totally innocently. There was no ulterior motive, no one paid us; we didn’t get a qualification at the end of it. Growing up the children in my neighbourhood built them for the pure pleasure of getting to the end of the road on something we made ourselves. It just seemed to be something truthful and I felt that the art I created should be coming from the same place...And once it was finished I could escape from art college on it.
Not one I made myself - it was bought from a shop but its the only go kart photo of me I could find.
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Childen in Hull making pram wheeled go-karts like i had done as a kid. Unfortunately there are no hills in Hull so they have attached a handle to the back so they can push it to the nearby flyover.
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Photo : Yusuke Toda
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Car loaded with camping equipment outside our student digs ready to depart for Spurn Point
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Built from car and bicycle parts. The bonnet is only for storage as power comes from the two sets of pedals.
The first journey was to the 'Spurn Point'; the tip of land sticking out into the mouth of the River Humber; the very edge of Holderness; the rural district between Hull and the sea. Effectively our objective was the "end of the land".
The first journey was to the 'Spurn Point'; the tip of land sticking out into the mouth of the River Humber; the very edge of Holderness; the rural district between Hull and the sea. Effectively our objective was the "end of the land".
An unexpected outcome of making this car/bicycle was that it didn’t fall neatly into categorisation. Although the art college in Hull was very good and challenged me on more than one occasion about the validity of spending so much time making a pedal car.
Ultimately they accepted the artistic integrity of what I was doing. However, at this time in the early 90’s, there was still debate in the art world generally as to whether this was actually ‘art’. Interestingly issues to do with 'categorisation' were mirrored by the authorities in the real world once it was on the road. There weren’t many home-made four wheeled pedal powered vehicles around at the time and to the police it seemed to fall into a legal grey area.
Ultimately they accepted the artistic integrity of what I was doing. However, at this time in the early 90’s, there was still debate in the art world generally as to whether this was actually ‘art’. Interestingly issues to do with 'categorisation' were mirrored by the authorities in the real world once it was on the road. There weren’t many home-made four wheeled pedal powered vehicles around at the time and to the police it seemed to fall into a legal grey area.
Being stopped by the police on the way to Spurn point.
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After a lot of discussion about whether it was legal, the police eventually let us go on our way but sent us off the main road... where we very quickly became lost.
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Before I set off on a trip to London from Hull I asked the police for some clarity. Two men with clip boards from VIB (Vehicle inspection Branch) arrived. They weren't sure either.
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Being stopped by a police woman somewhere in Lincolnshire on our way to London
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A full account of this journey is in the section of this website called 'Escape - publication' - "read an extract from the book".
Eventually I did leave Hull for good on the pedal car and managed to get all the way to London in an attempt to find 'success!'. Needless to say I didn't find it.
Eventually I did leave Hull for good on the pedal car and managed to get all the way to London in an attempt to find 'success!'. Needless to say I didn't find it.
Crossing the Fenns, Lincolnshire, on the way to London. Photo: Leo Hazelrigg
'Wimbledon Space'. The trunk has a record play in it that is connected to a movement sensor. Photo:- Nick Manser
'Landscape Escape' was shown as part of 'Escape' , Wimbledon Space 2015. One headlamp bulb was replaced by a spotlight bulb the other was replaced by a Pico projector showing a film of the pedal car from 1990. The spotlight illuminated the label. On the label was printed the following...
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Chris Dobrowolski Landscape Escape 1990- 2015 The pedal car was built in 1990 when Dobrowolski was still a student and is one of a series of vehicles made by the artist to escape from art college. These futile anti-art gestures have subsequently become actions synonymous with the artist’s love-hate relationship with the art world in general. One of the artist’s concerns in this piece is to let the work speak for itself. Dobrowolski takes great pains to avoid labels that explain the content of his work, believing that a label highlights the failing of the work to convey meaning via visual language alone. In the 13 years since Landscape Escape was last shown in an art gallery, Dobrowolski developed a way of displaying his work that addressed these preoccupations, however- nobody cared. Consequently, he has shamelessly resorted to using a label here to convey more information about his artistic process than is, perhaps, self evident. Today, a quarter of a century after Dobrowolski’s first escape attempts, the response of the contemporary art establishment continues to be one of indifference and, ironically, here is the pedal car displayed in an art college. |
Photo:- Nick Manser
Music :- Nocturne in F sharp major. Chopin opus 15, No.2. Jan Paderewski. Photo:- Nick Manser
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The music was triggered by a movement sensor hidden behind the grill at the front of the car. It was often triggered by somebody passing the front of the car to read the label. When it starts depends on where the record stopped previously after the last person walked away from the sensor. As the film plays continuously, where the music comes in is left entirely to chance. When the record reaches the end it resets itself to play from the beginning.
Although a Chopin record was used for this exhibition, in the past, a favourite piece of music was 'Do you know the way to San Jose' by Dione Warwick.
The music was triggered by a movement sensor hidden behind the grill at the front of the car. It was often triggered by somebody passing the front of the car to read the label. When it starts depends on where the record stopped previously after the last person walked away from the sensor. As the film plays continuously, where the music comes in is left entirely to chance. When the record reaches the end it resets itself to play from the beginning.
Although a Chopin record was used for this exhibition, in the past, a favourite piece of music was 'Do you know the way to San Jose' by Dione Warwick.
​The screen is a strange quadralateral shape to take into account the angle
of the car to the wall.
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(film 2 min.s 38 secs.) Camera: Chris Dob. and Eddie Weldon. Music :- Nocturne in F sharp major. Chopin opus 15, No.2. Jan Paderewski.
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1991. Crossing the Humber bridge, leaving Hull for ever, Photo: Leo Hazelrigg
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In 2001 I was invited to be part of an exhibition in Vlaardingen, Rotterdam Holland ('Reisbureau Mareado'). I drove the pedal car there. In this image I am presenting my passport to Dutch passport control. Photo Eric Van Straaten
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Click this button for the 'Reisbureau Mareado' page.
 ​'Landscape Escape' at Spurn Point , 'The end of the land' .
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One of the better newspaper images of the car. T 4 2 was a reference to the bonnet being made from a tea chest. It was title I soon dropped once I realised how cheesey it was. I also got rid of the number plate.
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