What Are You Made of Folkestone?
Street installation, exhibition and public workshops. AIR for Magic Carpets EU Project with Eva International, Folkestone, England. July 2021.
What Are you made of Folkestone? was a collaborative and inclusive inquiry into Folkestone town and surrounding area as place, presented through naturally occurring material (clay), modified materials (ceramic) and material culture (found artifacts).
This month-long residency investigated the traces left behind over millennia by geological forces and human activity, tracking the development of Folkestone from 110 million years ago to the present. The outcome of the residency was twofold. First, an exhibition disseminating the primary research gathered throughout the residency, including found objects, clay samples, brick samples ground to make coloured pigments, and a photobook documenting the journeys taken on foot through the town as a research methodology.
Second, the installation of a site-specific panel of tiles made from locally dug clay – the same clay used to manufacture brick for the local rail network and the Victorian buildings that contributed to the development of the town. The site of installation was a vacant panel on a derelict building that was covered in traditional decorative tiles where the tiles had been removed. The installation of this new, contrasting panel served to draw attention to the existent, yet forgotten tiles and the ceramic heritage of the town.
Watch a Video about the project and residency
Red more about the residency’s process and outcomes
Read a review of the 2021 project by Olivia Franklin.