While hanging the show at Lighthouse, I decided to leave one piece of work untitled and invite visitors to name it instead.
The piece is a labyrinth made up of 3 Ordnance Survey maps of the local area – Landranger 157, Bournemouth and the Purbecks 1974, 1991 and 2014. The 3 editions of the same map are woven together to create the labyrinth, which is based on a traditional maze design dating from the 1800s. The walls marking the pathways are blue and are made up of strips of sea from the maps, whilst the pathways themselves are made up of ‘A’ roads and ‘B’ roads in the various colour codes that we are so familiar with from OS maps.
On this map, all the roads and pathways lead to Worth Matravers, a small village in the Isle of Purbeck with an infamous pub, The Square and Compass at its centre. It’s literally one of my favourite places on the planet, overlooking the fields that lead down to the sea, and always full of characters, stories, laughter, music and dogs. They serve an eclectic range of local ales and ciders from a single bar hatch, they only take cash, and food there is a simple choice of homemade veggie or meat pie/pasty, crisps or nuts… fantastic!
So, the winner, whose title gets chosen on Saturday 5th December – the last day of the exhibition run, wins a voucher to spend at The Square and Compass on whatever they choose. An afternoon chilling out in the fresh Purbeck sea air, waling for miles along the gorgeous coastline, then coming back for a well-earned refeshment or cosying up to the fire in the lounge by the bar… all of these are perfect ways to enjoy!
So, please spread the word and encourage people you love to come down and visit the exhibition and enter the competition. Lighthouse Gallery is open Tue – Sat 11am – close (about 10 pm).