Forestry Commission - News - grizedale art makes its mark at the tatton flower show

A pioneering South Lakes art project has raised a few eyebrows at this year’s RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park (23-27 July), as part of the Forestry Commission’s 'Arts Roots Grizedale' initiative.

A sinking garden shed and a garden seed being grown in someone’s mouth were amongst the highlights of the specially commissioned forest art exhibit, set amongst the more conventional floral displays and formal gardens at Tatton.

'Arts Roots Grizedale' is a forest based art programme designed to inspire and engage people with the development of art at Grizedale Forest Park and forge the link between contemporary art, sculpture and the natural environment.

The Grizedale Forest art development team teamed up with two of the country’s most innovative artists to stage the exhibit at Tatton for the first time.

Dexter Dymoke’s ‘Sinking Hut’ and Rebecca Johnson’s ‘Grow a Seed in Your Mouth’ were chosen to spark debate and invite people to contribute to the master plan for Grizedale’s arts development and the famous Ridding Wood Trail.

Hayley Skipper, Arts Development Officer for the Forestry Commission at Grizedale Forest, said:

"'Arts Roots Grizedale' was a great opportunity to engage the public with the future redevelopment of art at Grizedale.

“Both Dexter Dymoke and Rebecca Johnson's work offered a fascinating talking point for gardening enthusiasts at Tatton, as reinterpretations of traditional gardening processes and icons.

“We run a great variety of events like this at Grizedale that we hope will attract new visitors and give people more reasons to come and visit again. “

Dymoke and Johnson’s works are already on display at Grizedale, as part of the new ‘HUNT’ exhibition, which is on the Ridding Wood Trail.

Designed as an accessible public sculpture trail in 1990, The Ridding Wood Trail is the most popular walk in Grizedale Forest. ‘HUNT’ is the first development in a series of plans for the reinvigoration of the artwork along this ever-popular route and around the forest.

Visitors to Grizedale are currently being encouraged to come and ‘HUNT’ for the tree-top sculptures on the Ridding Wood Trail and enjoy their humorous and unusual setting in the heart of the forest. The use of scale and the unexpected is central to both works.

Artist, Rebecca Johnson from Poole in Dorset, recently exhibited her work in Aberdeen and Liverpool.

Dexter Dymoke from London has exhibited his work in the Capital, has won an award at this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and is currently artist in residence at the Gallery Richter in the Netherlands.

The Ridding Wood Trail is free of charge and starts at the Grizedale Visitor Centre.

Earlier this year, the Forestry Commission appointed Hayley Skipper as its first Arts Development Officer in Britain at Grizedale.

Hayley, an artist and project co-ordinator, is now developing the art programme at Grizedale with new commissions that represent the best in established and emerging contemporary visual art.

Grizedale was at the forefront in the development of art in the environment in the 1970s and the Forest is home to over 60 sculptures including works by Andy Goldsworthy, Sally Matthews, Richard Harris and David Kemp.

The new Arts Development programme is part of the wider Grizedale Project, a �5 million scheme to improve the quality of the visitor experience and support the local economy.

The project will include improvements to the visitor centre, ‘The Yan’ a new resource centre, greater opportunities for local businesses, a wood-fuelled heating system and new measures to reduce car use.

The Grizedale Project has been made possible by grants from Cumbria Vision, the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund North West Action Plan Partnership, the Lake District National Park Authority Sustainable Development Fund and the DEFRA Rural Enterprise Scheme.

More information about Grizedale arts development, The Ridding Wood Trail and the Grizedale Project can be found at www.forestry.gov.uk/northwestengland

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. Images attached of Dexter Dymoke’s ‘Sinking Hut’ and 'Grow a Seed in Your Mouth’ by Rebecca Johnson at Tatton Park. Higher resolution versions are available by calling 015394-42436.

2. There are a number of routes through Grizedale Forest that give people the chance to see some of the sculptures. They include the Ridding Wood Trail, which is suitable for the disabled and can be completed in 1 hour. The Silurian Way is nearly 10 miles long and takes around 4-5 hours to complete.

3. The Forestry Commission is the largest provider of countryside recreation in Britain, with responsibility for more than one million hectares (2.4 million acres) of forest, woodlands and open countryside. The North West England Forest District covers the Lake District in Cumbria, the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire. The forests are managed for conservation, wildlife, landscape and recreation as well as providing a valuable source of timber.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Hayley Skipper on 07767-004562 or call Sue Gardiner on 01229-862002.