Seascape Escape nearing completion in the art college yard, 1989
Testing the boat for the first time. Effectively returning the driftwood to the water. To everyones surprise - including mine- It floated! Photo: Sue Hilda
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'Seascape Escape' was completed in August 1989 and built to escape from art college in Hull. It was made from driftwood found by the river Humber and was about twelve foot long.
The first image shows the nearly completed boat just before launch in one of the art college yards. I built it there so I could climb over the fence when the art college was shut. The boat had taken so long to build that the term had finished and all the other students had gone home for the summer. Instead of going home I remained in Hull; climbing over the fence each day effectively breaking into art college to finish my boat that I was building to escape from art college. Near the art college in Hull there is a small monument to Robinson Crusoe. This area of Hull, called Queen's Gardens, was built on a filled in dock called 'Queens Dock'. This dock had been so old that it existed about the same time as Robinson Crusoe- had he not been a character from fiction. In the book Crusoe begins his journey in Hull and by association the suggestion is that he left from Queens Dock. Therefore I like to say that he left from my art college. I also called the boat 'Friday'. Accompanying me in the boat were my two of my fellow art student friends - Eddie Weldon and Paul Slater. Escaping from Art College in Hull, the first obstacle was the river. The plan was to cross the river Humber which at Hull is about four miles wide. I did not succeed. |
Trying to cross the river Humber -The other side is just visible on the horizon. Photo: Clare Allan
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Super 8 film footage. Video cameras were expensive and large when this film was made. Although obsolete, second hand 'Super 8' cameras were very cheap. We could afford to lose it if we dropped it overboard. The sound comes from an equally obsolute cassette tape recorder that we had in the boat to record ambient sound and conversation- it became a bit like one of those 'black box flight recorders' that you get in a crashed aeroplane. Passing George dock the the boat collides with a buoy. By chance it was scene by the Lady Joan tug who come out to rescue us. This doesn't go very well either.
Film-Eddie Weldon, Chris Dobrowolski, Paul Slater Film shown at 'Cinema at sea'. Curated by David Horowitz, 2011. |
Film 3 mins, 2 secs
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The boat was launched near Victoria pier, Hull. It went down stream past George dock where the crew were rescued. The semi submmerged boat continued to Saltend jetty and was eventually towed to Paull where it was destroyed.
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Damming newspaper articles from the local newspaper 'The Hull Daily Mail'. Needless to say a lot of it wasn't true. We did raise some money for the local hospice but that wasn't the primary objective. I knew people were more likely to help if I could say we were raising money for charity rather than having to explain that it was 'art'.
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The boat carried on floating downstream in its semi submerged state. The next day I found it but was given strict instructions from the authorities to set fire to it on the beach. The only thing left to display for art college was the beach where I had burnt it.
In 2005 the artist Simon Starling did something very similar and was awarded the Turner Prize... I was given a 2:1 and a 'telling off' from the harbour master. This very early project was the beginning of my obsession with failure as a subject in my work. Despite being a long time ago I often had to to revist this work; giving lectures about it to art students- Ironically this meant going back into art colleges on a regularly basis.
In 2005 the artist Simon Starling did something very similar and was awarded the Turner Prize... I was given a 2:1 and a 'telling off' from the harbour master. This very early project was the beginning of my obsession with failure as a subject in my work. Despite being a long time ago I often had to to revist this work; giving lectures about it to art students- Ironically this meant going back into art colleges on a regularly basis.
The boat was found several miles downstream at 'Saltend Jetty' (pictured in the background) and towed to this beach
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The destruction of the boat
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I made a model ship in a plastic bottle of my own boat.
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This image shows the beach, dug up and relayed outside the art college. Photo: Anna Miszewska
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The figure standing upright is myself. seated in the orange life jacket is Paul behind him is Eddie.
Photo:- Nick Manser
In 2015 I was offered a solo show at the 'Wimbledon Space' which is essentially the gallery for the Wimbledon college of art. I opted to show the ship in a bottle and two other of my escape vehicles. This was mainly because I enjoyed the irony of bringing the work back to an art college.
The ship in a bottle was displayed on this driftwood book shelf along with a copy of Gombrich's 'Story of Art' and 'Art in Theory 1900 - 1990. Inside the bottle was a small message that was actually a back projected screen telling the story. (See film below)
The ship in a bottle was displayed on this driftwood book shelf along with a copy of Gombrich's 'Story of Art' and 'Art in Theory 1900 - 1990. Inside the bottle was a small message that was actually a back projected screen telling the story. (See film below)
Film -5 mins. 20 secs.