The Borough of Southwark commissioned a work of art to be installed in the park as part of the centenary commemorations. Artist Sally Hogarth has been commissioned to produce a series of model houses, to be installed in October 2018 around the park. Below she outlines the thinking behind the commission.
October 2018 update: Read Sally Hogarth’s blog on the Southwark Heritage website about creating the sculptures.
Some of the key elements I would like to use within the project are:
- The home face of war – this is a piece not focusing on soldiers or the battle front. This is reflecting the impact WW1 had on home turf and domestic life.
- The people – using the community research we have the names of all of the fatal victims of this incident. The variety of ages, backgrounds and occupations reflect the area as a whole.
- Maps + Records – Through the initial research it is interesting to see the information in recorded data from the time, which is something you can only access if you go looking for it. I want to see if there is a way to bring this into the public space for all to see.
- Current community reflecting back – a part that still remains is to gather a text element of each of the parts, each from a different source and tap into current community projects.
- Multiple pieces – creating a trail makes impactful use of the space and a recurring emblem during repeated visits to the park.
Another theme are lines of maps tracing the building that were once in the park.
The incident is just one of many that destroyed the community that once lay in the footprint of the park. One of the most striking experiences of being in the space is the awareness of the scale of homes and houses that once stood on this ground.
The gradient used to map this damage feels a striking use of colour for the project. A similar colour scale will be adopted according the proximity of each piece to the location of where the bomb hit. The closer to the site – the more red-purple the piece.
Quotes
‘Oh I Was Very Lucky’ – Painting by Priscilla Thornycroft
- Student Competition
- Song
- Poem
- News Report – Archives
- Tweet- Burgess Park Social Media
- Line from play – Theatre Deli Emma Blackman
- Quote from victim family member
- Stat from the HMS P14
- Suggestion from Friends of Burgess Park Research
The final concept
The final concept will be a series of concrete house structures, human in height, dotted around the park. The closer each house is to the original Zeppelin bomb site, the darker in colour it will be. Each house will represent one of the people who died in the Calmington road Zeppelin bomb incident. The height of each house will be altered to reflect the age and sex of each individual victim. Each house will have a quote relating to the history of the area and wider community projects, collected from a variety of sources. The piece pays homage to the buildings, lives and history of the area, bringing an appreciation and understanding of what once existed where Burgess Park stands today.
