1: Instillation
Aim: Bring the space back to its former glory
What: Find photos of garden and recreate it in the space so the past is bought back to life and hopefully become a permanent part of the Drill Hall
Audience: Drill Hall users, members of the public, people wanting a break from city life
Experience: The privacy and intimacy of a garden but a community feel. The sights, smell and textures of a garden juxtaposed to the faint sound of the main road
Inspiration: wanting to make the courtyard nicer for the staff ad public at the Drill Hall and also to commemorate Betty’s life there.
2: Durational piece
Aim: Show the process of creating a living space through nature
What: take photos and short video of us planting flowers and recreating the space and the plants growing over time. When the garden is ready, project these images on the sheet in the recreated garden
Audience: Drill Hall users, members of the public, people wanting a break from city life, ourselves
Experience: Appreciate the process behind creating something from scratch and making it your own. Relate to their own experiences that took time or aspects of their lives that didn’t end like they’d expected
Inspiration: Expanding on previous idea
3: Interactive piece
Aim: To create a new space entirely off the memories of old spaces
What: Start the performance off with the Betty’s garden recreated as loosely as possible. As the audience arrive, we record them saying their memories of a garden or outside space. As this is playing, we adjust Betty’s recreated garden based on the recordings so that the main features match. At the end of the day, the garden will be a mash up of all the audiences’ garden/outdoor spaces and therefore a new space entirely
Audience: Drill Hall users, members of the public, people wanting a break from city life, ourselves
Experience: To see their memories brought to life with other strangers’ memories and to feel a sense of unity and reflection
Inspiration: Expanding on previous ideas