A precarious encampment was built using climber’s camping ledges (portaledges) outside the thirteenth floor window of Folkestone’s iconic Grand Burstin Hotel, overlooking the town, harbour and across the English Channel to France. Volunteers were sought and along with the artist, a single occupant maintained a watch over all that could be seen for the nine-week duration of the Triennial. An hourly log of was kept by the occupant and published online.
An appendage parasitically attached to the main body of the building, the work evokes a wide range of visual references that surround the theme of occupation, from a lookout in a ship’s crows-nest, or a hermit’s retreat to campouts synonymous with Greenpeace actions and the 1970’s rooftop protests of Strangeways prison.
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