Mantlepiece

Mantlepiece is based upon aspects of the artist’s own participatory practice, expanded through new collaborations. In 2016 Nick Garnett had a solo exhibition at Didcot Cornerstone entitled ‘Bones of a House’ which explored the idea of domestic space and how we project our identities upon the blank spaces which we inhabit.

His proposal would seek to engage participants in the creation of a sculptural space that is populated by collections of personal and discarded objects. Broken toys, lost Keys, discarded ornaments, hair clips, nails, post cards and the contents of that jam jar that sits by everyones telephone. The objects will be woven together forming a coral reef landscape that reflects the local community and is made from materials that they have donated. The piece should offer shelter, be a place to stop and talk, be interactive and playful and be highly visually engaging.

For the final piece, Nick would work with a local company, Live Edge Design, to encapsulate the compositions that are produced, using epoxy clear cast. The result would be structural panels containing ‘frozen moments’ that participants would recognise as their own for years to come. The panels would then become walls in the construction of a small but beautiful pagoda or shrine in the space between the two accommodation blocks of the ‘Domain’ development.

Nick Garnett, Artist

Nick has been a freelance artist for 20 years producing public commissions for the National Trust, Natural England, and various Councils. In his previous life he worked in collaboration with Newbury based Thrift Music Theatre giving life to E.R.I.C, an antique computerised entity, providing immersive learning experiences for thousands of children.

He has work extensively with various carnival companies designing and building large outdoor performances and processions. These days Nick has metamorphosed and become Alan D Dreamharvest, Founder of the Annual Daydream Harvest, a highly secretive disorganisation working to make the world a less ordinary place.

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