The Garden of Watery Delights, 2023.
Digital print on Canson Platine Fibre Rag, hand-finished acrylic box with aluminium composite material panel backing, image 100 x 200 cm, framed 112x 212 cm.
Image credit: Lucy Foster.
The Garden of Watery Delights is an imaginative contemplation on the recreational space of waterparks. Adopting the proportions of a beach towel, the work utilises collage, printing and lens-based techniques to consider the meaning of these places within a broader social and cultural context.
Through acts of tearing, cutting and warping printed images and fabric, the illusion of the commercial waterpark is materially ripped and pulled apart before being reconfigured. This process provided time to contemplate the uneasy ways in which parts of the natural world, such as oceans, waterfalls, sea creatures, flamingos, rocks and volcanoes, are selectively recruited, sanitised and commodified for consumption.
The title of the work is a reference to the well known 15th Century painting The Garden of Earthly Delights, (1490–1500) by Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch.
Exhibited as part of the Recreation exhibition at Project8 Gallery. For purchasing enquiries please contact Project8 Gallery.