Bermondsey Bothy Southwark Park Galleries, London, 2018
douglas fir timber frame, polycarbonate cladding, carved oak hands, glassfibre reinforced concrete plant pots
Situated within Southwark Park Galleries garden, a simple timber frame structure of exposed Douglas Fir is wrapped in opal polycarbonate; a series of window boxes puncture its body, mimicking large format field cameras with interchangeable coloured glazing panels to give the user a way to play with the light and privacy of the space. Outside, the opalescent white polycarbonate provides the backdrop for a sculptural growing wall assembled from a series of wooden hands holding concrete vessels and plants.
Within the context of Southwark Park Galleries gallery allotment, the simplified figurative form of the hand references the collective processes of growing, nurturing, creating and sharing within the creative act of gardening itself. The Bermondsey Bothy will be a dual purpose space for gardeners, artists and gallery visitors; a shared space for community activity, thinking, making and taking shelter, a space to share perspectives and responses to the surroundings of the bothy, gallery and Southwark Park.