Secret Meetings
Exploring the graceful tranquil garden, the Storytelling Shelter is awaiting for one’s discovery. Secret Meetings, is a collection of rabbits, or one may call wood spirits, which situate quietly and mysteriously under the Storytelling Shelter. The two groups of rabbits are circling around and holding secret meetings, leaving traces after a campfire party at the centre. One is welcome to join or explore what they are doing.
Secret Meetings centres around personal fascination of fairy tales and is inspired from my first impression of the Storytelling Shelter which I am fascinated by. During my first visit to the graceful garden, the Shelter has caught my attention and aroused my endless curiosity and interest. I crawled inside like what I often did when I was a child (occupying a tree’s shelter with my cousins as our secret station). Some imaginations appear in my mind which drives me to materialize my thoughts. Besides, the shelter not only reminds me of my childhood but also scenes in two of my favourite animated cartoons when I was small – ‘Alice in the Wonderland’, in which Alice follows White Rabbit and falls into a tree’s hollow leading her to the wonderland; and a Japanese animation written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, named ‘My Neighbor Totoro’, in which the little sister follows two rabbit-like magical creatures through a briar patch and accidentally falls into a large camphor tree’s hollow, leading her to the same but more enormous creature’s tummy (also known as the forest keeper). These stories both related to rabbits which run quickly and can talk and also tree’s shelters while rabbit always gives me an association of energy and fantasy and tree shelter inspires my imagination and fascination. All of these have inspired me to construct small sculptural rabbits and immerse them in the space under the tree’s shelter to create a vivid scene as if these wood spirits are going into their secret station to attend secret meeting or gathering. Stuffed with picked materials from the nature, I hope the rabbits can immerse in the nature and further burst the Shelter with vitality and curiosity as well as arousing one’s imagination and exploration of the place of fantasy and curiosity.
An Yung & Diana Yau
UCA at Canterbury, Fine Art Degree, Year 2
Glass raindrops
My name is Sarah Wilkinson and I have just finished my second year at the University for the Creative Arts in Canterbury. Although I am mainly a painter, I wanted to challenge myself to see what I could accomplish in 3D.
My inspiration for thinking of and making the glass raindrops is from the beautiful surroundings of Pines Calyx and the weather when I first visited the garden as it was raining. Keeping the sculpture simple with having such a complicated production of the raindrops and the very man-made element to them eventually led me to display them in the water; at the sheltered area with stepping stones going across the water, so the sculpture can be seen at different angles and also when looking at the outstanding view. With various sculptures already around the area it is very popular but also allows my sculpture to stand out on its own, so provides an excellent basis, allowing both the water and my raindrops to compliment each other.
Sarah Wilkinson
Artist and recent UCA graduate
