Passionate About

We bought a derelict Wesleyan Chapel in the village of Wellingore that offered us the opportunity to create a big open space in which to live and work.

Perhaps the two most important things about our move from the urban to the rural were firstly that we had to look up where Lincolnshire was and secondly since moving here we have hardly walked. During the past seven years the distances of this vast county have made us realise the impact such geographical isolation has on the lives of people in rural settings.

We came from a city life where we thought nothing of being on a tube for an hour to travel seven miles. Now we think nothing of driving for over an hour to cover 30 miles.

Living in the city we often went to galleries, busy places, where we popped in on the way to other activities. In Lincolnshire a visit to a gallery involves a long drive and the galleries are not busy because the population is spread across such a large area. The experience of getting from A to B is different and influences the way people look at visual art.

John's practice as an artist was about negotiating the urban landscape, he did a lot of walking through the urban environment. Moving to the rural changed his practice. His interest became about negotiating a rural landscape and he did this by driving through the countryside.

Slowly the seeds of the Beacon art project were sown. If it is difficult for an audience to get to see art, then the urban model of the gallery, where the art is taken to the audience may not be appropriate. Why not take the audience to the art?

Beacon Art Project

In 2004 we launched the Beacon art project, a coach excursion around “hidden” heritage sites in rural Lincolnshire where innovative temporary artworks were shown. The idea of using heritage sites as the "galleries" was also referring to an urban influence. John’s 20 years as a practising artist in London taught him that artists do not need conventional gallery spaces to show and look at art. Many artists have spent most of their careers exhibiting in non gallery spaces.

Our passion has been for the rural. The benefits of the life cannot be disputed. The sky gives us a sense of space which is the reason we moved here. We had only previously known a city environment and we feel passionately that urban ways cannot simply be parachuted into the rural. However there are urban values and expectations from which the modern rural could be enriched. Parks are a suggestion of the rural to enrich the urban, so the urban too has riches. The exchange should be reciprocal.

The Beacon Art Project 9 September- 1 October 2006 is a coach of temporary contemporary art installations in hidden rural heritage sites around south Lincolnshire, and has pick-up points all over the surrounding areas. It is free within Lincolnshire.