Blanket (2016)

The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, UK

Blanket was a commission for the academic conference ‘Artists, Farmers and Philosophers’ which explored what people value, need, and want from their environment.

The blanket project involved creation of an installation made of foraged rowan berries in collaboration with refugees and asylum seekers. Berries were gathered from Houghall College in Durham which holds the national exemplar collection of Sorbus (rowan) trees. This extensive collection which originated from all over the world mirrored the wide and varied backgrounds of the participants.

The project brought forth the voices of marginalised minority group around issues explored at the conference such as belonging, un-belonging and the ownership of, and access to, landscape. Seemingly English, definitely mundane, the Rowan berry was revitalized through the project as a dynamic symbol of the natural and unnatural migratory movement of humans and plants alike.

Project was funded by Arts Council England.