King George's Park, London
King George’s Park: Through Kaleidoscope Eyes, Emily Tracy
Year
2018 - 2021
Client
fereday pollard for Tideway
Artist
Emily Tracy
Service
Commission Management
Location
King George’s Park, Wandsworth, London
A collage for the hoarding at King George’s Park
Emily Tracy’s collage was the result of a series of workshops organised by the artist in November 2017, which included an opportunity to work with a local beekeeper, The Wandle Trust, and The Garden Classroom. Participants were invited to create their own collages, generate ideas, and gather facts, thoughts and stories about King George’s Park to help create the final artwork.
Tracy invited people to re-look at the familiar surroundings of the park in a new light, and enter another world through playing with image, mirrors and kaleidoscopes. Ordinary objects when multiplied make compelling patterns, colours and shapes, and yet they remain what they are, a mouse, a leaf or a bench. The kaleidoscope allows us to see the beauty and geometry in our surroundings with a new perspective, and to observe the ecology of King George’s Park, both human and natural, which we might otherwise miss.
“The work takes you somewhere. Not to the countryside exactly but somewhere else. It combats a bad mood and takes away the tension.”
Using this idea as a starting point, six collages were made in response to participants’ views. The artwork incorporates ideas and collages made during workshops of the things that people value in the park. The collages try to include the diversity of activity in King George’s Park – people and objects alongside natural elements of plants, insects and animals, as well as some historical references to the rich history of the park and local area, such as Calico prints and watermills.
The artworks are interspersed with unfolding kaleidoscopic forms, inspired by the geometry and science of kaleidoscopes. Upon closer inspection the collages take park users on a journey from the south end of the park, meandering alongside the River Wandle, to the northern entrance, before one quick leap downstream to the Thames, much like the new sewer pipe. The images included in each collage provide a clue to the location that it is inspired by.
The artwork has now been taken down as the site’s landscaping is started.
“This project celebrates this local park, the people that use it, the nature within it, and its history. Its plays with the human desire to find pattern, repetition and meaning in our surroundings. The kaleidoscope was invented and manufactured exactly 200 years ago by a British scientist who realised its potential for artists and designers to create an ‘infinity of patterns’. The children and families who took part all made their own unique patterns and gave their own perspectives and contributions to the collages. I hope the local community will enjoy re looking at King George’s Park in a different light”
Emily Tracy’s practice is primarily focused on social engagement and participation.
Her work aims to allow participants to re-view a familiar place through intervention or transformation of space, event, participation, spectacle, and collaboration, with simple materials such as paper.
Emily has created visual art projects for a wide range of outdoor and cultural environments with communities, schools and audiences over the last 20 years.
For more information see:
www.tideway.london