Seacoast Intervened (2008), installation, sculpture, postcard/photo series.
The idea of giving a different take on the Seacoast New Hampshire area is very close to my heart. As much as our oceanic landscapes, lovely lighthouses and such are just wonderful to look at, the fact that the artistic representation of our area is almost exclusively that has always really annoyed me.
For the exhibition "Seacoast Redefined" at ellO gallery (Portsmouth, NH, US) I took on the heavy tourism aspect of our area (especially during the summer) and created a series of postcards that show various locations in the area intervened with off-kilter elements. Elements from the postcards were also on display in a beachy installation in the gallery with actual sand from the seacoast beaches. I also created a large outdoor sculpture of an ex-Tiki-bar-bomb-shelter which was installed in the back patio area of the gallery. Details as follows:
There’s Better Places, There’s Worse Places (2008), sculpture/installation + postcard print
What was originally a cheaply made Tiki Bar has been transformed into a “publicly” defaced construction resembling the bus stop/bombing shelter hybrids which have been popping up around Sderot, Israel, a small city approx. the size of Portsmouth, NH (where this interventional photo was taken), bordering the Gaza Strip. Since 2001, Sderot has been the main city in Israel regularly targeted by random Palestinian militant rocket fire from the Gaza strip. (Hebrew text on postcard says “New Hampshire”. Hebrew text on the physical tiki-shelter reads “(bombing) Shelter”). Sculpture/installation: 205 x 135 x 185 cm
A Touch of Class, postcard print
The landscape of Hampton Beach, NH gets an upgrade with the photocopied facades of the Burj Al-Arab (Tower of the Arabs) hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The hotel is the tallest and most luxurious hotel in the world, referring to itself as the only “7-Star” hotel in existence. The hotel itself lies on a man-made island jutting from a beach and cost over $650 million to construct and finish. (Arabic text on front says “New Hampshire”)
We Make The Best of It, postcard print
Taken at South Cemetery in Portsmouth, NH, which technically doesn’t “exist” as it is actually 5 separate graveyards merged together into a mega-cemetery featuring it’s own pond. It’s not the oldest in town, but it does span the ages. Is it wrong to have fun in a cemetery? Who is truly bothered by it, the living or the dead?
Live Free or Hurry Up and Make Money, postcard print
“If you wanna be rich..” is taken from the 1983 disco hit “White Horse” by Danish act Laid Back. The graffiti “It’s a messed up fucked up fucking sytem (sic)” is by an unknown rogue youth. Both are tacky but honest examples of our perception of money and life. Intervention located and documented at Fort Stark in New Castle, NH which was a working military fort from about 1800 until the end of World War II, then opened to the public in 1978.
The Rich Aren’t Complaining, sculpture + postcard print
Taken on the grounds of the Wentworth by the Sea luxury hotel & spa and residential properties in New Castle, NH, intervened with sculptural construction. Before the hotel and surrounding area had a major renovation after 2002-3 most of the surrounding area (but not the hotel itself) was accessible to all. Now the pathway to the famous gazebo is roped off only for homeowners.
Sculpture: 39 x 26 x 45cm
The idea of giving a different take on the Seacoast New Hampshire area is very close to my heart. As much as our oceanic landscapes, lovely lighthouses and such are just wonderful to look at, the fact that the artistic representation of our area is almost exclusively that has always really annoyed me.
For the exhibition "Seacoast Redefined" at ellO gallery (Portsmouth, NH, US) I took on the heavy tourism aspect of our area (especially during the summer) and created a series of postcards that show various locations in the area intervened with off-kilter elements. Elements from the postcards were also on display in a beachy installation in the gallery with actual sand from the seacoast beaches. I also created a large outdoor sculpture of an ex-Tiki-bar-bomb-shelter which was installed in the back patio area of the gallery. Details as follows:
There’s Better Places, There’s Worse Places (2008), sculpture/installation + postcard print
What was originally a cheaply made Tiki Bar has been transformed into a “publicly” defaced construction resembling the bus stop/bombing shelter hybrids which have been popping up around Sderot, Israel, a small city approx. the size of Portsmouth, NH (where this interventional photo was taken), bordering the Gaza Strip. Since 2001, Sderot has been the main city in Israel regularly targeted by random Palestinian militant rocket fire from the Gaza strip. (Hebrew text on postcard says “New Hampshire”. Hebrew text on the physical tiki-shelter reads “(bombing) Shelter”). Sculpture/installation: 205 x 135 x 185 cm
A Touch of Class, postcard print
The landscape of Hampton Beach, NH gets an upgrade with the photocopied facades of the Burj Al-Arab (Tower of the Arabs) hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The hotel is the tallest and most luxurious hotel in the world, referring to itself as the only “7-Star” hotel in existence. The hotel itself lies on a man-made island jutting from a beach and cost over $650 million to construct and finish. (Arabic text on front says “New Hampshire”)
We Make The Best of It, postcard print
Taken at South Cemetery in Portsmouth, NH, which technically doesn’t “exist” as it is actually 5 separate graveyards merged together into a mega-cemetery featuring it’s own pond. It’s not the oldest in town, but it does span the ages. Is it wrong to have fun in a cemetery? Who is truly bothered by it, the living or the dead?
Live Free or Hurry Up and Make Money, postcard print
“If you wanna be rich..” is taken from the 1983 disco hit “White Horse” by Danish act Laid Back. The graffiti “It’s a messed up fucked up fucking sytem (sic)” is by an unknown rogue youth. Both are tacky but honest examples of our perception of money and life. Intervention located and documented at Fort Stark in New Castle, NH which was a working military fort from about 1800 until the end of World War II, then opened to the public in 1978.
The Rich Aren’t Complaining, sculpture + postcard print
Taken on the grounds of the Wentworth by the Sea luxury hotel & spa and residential properties in New Castle, NH, intervened with sculptural construction. Before the hotel and surrounding area had a major renovation after 2002-3 most of the surrounding area (but not the hotel itself) was accessible to all. Now the pathway to the famous gazebo is roped off only for homeowners.
Sculpture: 39 x 26 x 45cm
