We would be so happy you and me
No one there to tell us what to do
I'd like to be under the sea
In an octopus' garden with you
- excerpt from Octopus’s Garden song written by The Beatles
The Aqueerium has been my first “solo” art installation at an event/festival. In October 2019, I took it to an amazing event called Lubble in New Zealand for the inaugural setup, test and trial.
Of sorts, it was a birthday present to myself. I've grown so much working with Hannah and Lumiel, and without their love and support, I would not have been brave enough to experiment with working on an idea involving 50+ soft toys and The Beatles.
Solo efforts are rarely one person, so I express my deep appreciation for everyone who helped with the inspiration, set-up, reconstruction, pack down and especially everyone who took a swim and spent some time enjoying being under the sea. Special mentions for Hannah, Henry, Sean, Richard, Steve and Daniella for helping with the construction and reconstruction. Thanks to Chris and the Lubble organisers for support before and during Lubble. Thanks also to JP who provided much encouraging feedback to bring it to AUM!
The design and build for the installation have been in progress since August. Lubble was an amazing opportunity to experiment with a full setup of the intended experience.
As a result of destructively strong winds on Friday, the set-up was quite delayed, and we only had a chance to set-up the tunnel and a portion of the main structure on Friday evening – mostly in the dark. On Saturday morning I proceeded to complete the set-up. I struggled with the ongoing wind gusts, a very weak gazebo structure, partly broken already by the wind and then I attempted to add even more pressure and weight on the structure. After returning to camp for a beer, I came back to find the main structure wrecked and flat on the ground. It was a disaster. My little project was mangled on the ground amidst fluffy sea creatures, tarps, ropes, metal and blankets. I was under no commitment to complete the project and felt comforted that it was indeed the experiment I had hoped it to be. A disaster, but still a good learning experience.
As I stood there, I still felt an overwhelming desire to fulfill my commitment to bring it back to life in some form or another. I decided to at least clean up all the mess and see which pieces of the broken gazebo structure I might be able to rescue and reuse to create something out of the ruins. But then came along Steve, our nearest neighbors at Lubble. Steve thought he might have a spare gazebo which was also damaged.
I finished clearing up the original mess and then started to erect this new gazebo structure and with help from Sean, found that the broken metal from the original gazebo could be used to repair and strengthen the new structure. Then came along Henry who spent hours helping me rebuild the Aqueerium as intended, making it weatherproof and getting it towards final completion. With further help in the afternoon from Hannah, Daniella and Richard we were able to bring the Aqueerium quite close to the experience that had been envisioned.
Laughter. Walking back and forth through the night between the dance floor and our camp, the things I most regularly encountered were the sounds of laughter emanating from the Aqueerium tunnel and main tank. Such a beautiful thing to hear the laughter.
The Aqueerium is based on many various inspirations. Usually, we look at fish tanks from the outside. The Aqueerium provided an opportunity to swim in through the tunnel and be inside the tank. In the Beatles movie “Yellow Submarine”, on their way to Pepperland, they journey under the sea in a yellow submarine. Our oceans are under threat, a threat we don’t often see because most of us only see the ocean from the outside looking in, and we can’t directly see the impact of toxins and climate change on marine ecology. And isn't life itself now like swimming continuously round and round a fish bowl?
Another big thanks to Steve who has donated the new gazebo to us to use again for further outings and iterations of the Aqueerium at other events over summer...
We would be warm below the storm
In our little hideaway beneath the waves
Resting our head on the sea bed
In an octopus' garden near a cave…
Of sorts, it was a birthday present to myself. I've grown so much working with Hannah and Lumiel, and without their love and support, I would not have been brave enough to experiment with working on an idea involving 50+ soft toys and The Beatles.
Solo efforts are rarely one person, so I express my deep appreciation for everyone who helped with the inspiration, set-up, reconstruction, pack down and especially everyone who took a swim and spent some time enjoying being under the sea. Special mentions for Hannah, Henry, Sean, Richard, Steve and Daniella for helping with the construction and reconstruction. Thanks to Chris and the Lubble organisers for support before and during Lubble. Thanks also to JP who provided much encouraging feedback to bring it to AUM!
The design and build for the installation have been in progress since August. Lubble was an amazing opportunity to experiment with a full setup of the intended experience.
As a result of destructively strong winds on Friday, the set-up was quite delayed, and we only had a chance to set-up the tunnel and a portion of the main structure on Friday evening – mostly in the dark. On Saturday morning I proceeded to complete the set-up. I struggled with the ongoing wind gusts, a very weak gazebo structure, partly broken already by the wind and then I attempted to add even more pressure and weight on the structure. After returning to camp for a beer, I came back to find the main structure wrecked and flat on the ground. It was a disaster. My little project was mangled on the ground amidst fluffy sea creatures, tarps, ropes, metal and blankets. I was under no commitment to complete the project and felt comforted that it was indeed the experiment I had hoped it to be. A disaster, but still a good learning experience.
As I stood there, I still felt an overwhelming desire to fulfill my commitment to bring it back to life in some form or another. I decided to at least clean up all the mess and see which pieces of the broken gazebo structure I might be able to rescue and reuse to create something out of the ruins. But then came along Steve, our nearest neighbors at Lubble. Steve thought he might have a spare gazebo which was also damaged.
I finished clearing up the original mess and then started to erect this new gazebo structure and with help from Sean, found that the broken metal from the original gazebo could be used to repair and strengthen the new structure. Then came along Henry who spent hours helping me rebuild the Aqueerium as intended, making it weatherproof and getting it towards final completion. With further help in the afternoon from Hannah, Daniella and Richard we were able to bring the Aqueerium quite close to the experience that had been envisioned.
Laughter. Walking back and forth through the night between the dance floor and our camp, the things I most regularly encountered were the sounds of laughter emanating from the Aqueerium tunnel and main tank. Such a beautiful thing to hear the laughter.
The Aqueerium is based on many various inspirations. Usually, we look at fish tanks from the outside. The Aqueerium provided an opportunity to swim in through the tunnel and be inside the tank. In the Beatles movie “Yellow Submarine”, on their way to Pepperland, they journey under the sea in a yellow submarine. Our oceans are under threat, a threat we don’t often see because most of us only see the ocean from the outside looking in, and we can’t directly see the impact of toxins and climate change on marine ecology. And isn't life itself now like swimming continuously round and round a fish bowl?
Another big thanks to Steve who has donated the new gazebo to us to use again for further outings and iterations of the Aqueerium at other events over summer...
We would be warm below the storm
In our little hideaway beneath the waves
Resting our head on the sea bed
In an octopus' garden near a cave…
Photo used under Creative Commons from verchmarco
