Gav Mart, one of our MA students put together an interactive art installation called ‘Secrets’ for Greenbelt 2015, writes Helen Harwood.
On Facebook he says: “I put together this interactive art installation for Greenbelt 2015. The idea was to make best use of a small shed placed idyllically amongst the landscaped gardens of Boughton House in Northamptonshire.
“People were invited by the sinister approach but smily interaction of the shed keeper of secrets, to share a secret confession in the shed. the shed keeper would serve penance on behalf of the confessor and the gift, in return, would be absolution for those who shared.
“The installation grew over the weekend as umbrellas collected secrets throughout the night. The secrets became more serious as the hours ticked by.
“The rain, as tears falling towards the earth, began to gently wash away the secrets as it soaked the land, the words dissolving softly into the mud….”
Gav told me “I was inspired by the shed, which I felt would make a nice confession box and I felt it was a place where people could simply be given permission to get something off their chest in a cathartic fashion. The rest, as they say, is artistic theatre.”
Gav gave a ‘pecha-kucha’ talk in the visual arts programme, which was about his Pioneering through the arts and referenced his studies with CMS pioneering, which we always like.
Gav also joined Martyn Joseph and Garth Hewitt as part of Cafe Palestina, showcasing artists who had performed in Palestine in August as a part of Bet Lahem Live festival. Gavin visited projects there in partnership with Amos Trust.
gavinmart.com