TO ARRIVE IS SUCH SWEET SORROW
Walking across the tarmac to the easyjet experience, bound for Schiphol, I get a call. It’s Ashley from Hartlepool Council;
“Radio Tees want to do an interview with you can you do it live on the 3 o’ clock show?”
Such are the wonders of technology that it seems I can.
So it is that, looking out of my Amsterdam hotel window as the planes dip in every two minutes, I find myself doing a spot of Press n PR about the Rink project. It’s all a bit chirpy, and the reception seem a tad dodgy, but I make my bid for media glory and rabbit on about the upcoming show.
Yes the upcoming show, and there I was in the Netherlands filming something a lot less arty in order to earn a crust. The coming week though was to be dedicated to the 100 mile round trip to Hartlepool each day, something I was looking forward to but also a little nervous about. You never know how it’s going to hang together do you; and with this piece in particular there are so many elements that have to sit in quite a demanding space, that it was deep breath time.
Day one and there is a small team of people; four to be exact, plus me, which is encouraging. Plinths have been built for the four large monitors, which look great (and substantial so they won’t fall on anybody… always good even with that five million Air public liability insurance as backup) and a wall gets underway to make a separate viewing area for the main video. We have cinema seats too…only four but it makes it a bit special and in keeping with the cinematic theme.
Day two and the gallery is open, so rather oddly members of the general public come breezing in whilst we are putting the show up. They look at what there is to see at this juncture and I find myself sneaking sly peeks at them to assess their reactions. I have a bit of a protected space at the end of the gallery as I have put up two bright magenta banners and strung hazard tape across the opening. This leaves me room to work on one of the cabinets which, it turns out becomes a lengthier task than I had first envisaged. I have a box full of recycled cardboard plectrums and my self imposed task is to cover the glass facade of the cabinet with them. I am using spray mount.. not sure if there might have been something better to fix them with but there you are. Spray mount, three large cans as it turns out and a very tacky floor by day four, despite covers. In fact driving home on day two I noticed the soles of my shoes were sticking to the pedals.
It turns out the museums service aren’t too keen on me putting real grass in another cabinet with Kip Heron’s trumpet from the collection so I have a quick re-think. My Marion doll is going in that cabinet and I really did want grass from the ballroom site to be in there as it has become a bit of a motif and adds the element of time and decay. I decide I must get a toy trumpet instead. You would think that would be easy, but these days most things are online and ordered for collection or delivery a couple of days later. Got one eventually after scouring Newcastle and ending up on an out of the way industrial trading estate, then back to the plectrums.
Day three and we lift the Lambretta scooter onto its plinth. This is a very garish collector’s item type machine that definitely hasn’t seen Brighton, unless it went by rail. Almost immediately blokes of a certain age appear as if deposited from a train spotters convention bus trip. They coo over the pristine object and I feel like a bit of a killjoy for doing what I know I am about to do. Time to wrap it in organza, hoping I have estimated enough meters. Now that looks better and far less brazen.
