Exhibition opens in St Omer.

I approached the exhibition as a member of the public.  I was very conscious of my knee-jerk. reaction to grapple around in my academic suitcase for  responses.  Although having said this i am an ordinary member of the public, i am not a visual artist. 

  It’s been to long since I have been to France considering my proximity to it!  It never ceases to amaze me that with great ease we can reach ‘over there’ a new country.   A childlike anticipation in remembering  mothers voice, fancy going over the ‘other side’.  Revisited the rituals of waving goodbye as the  place I call home disappears and the feelings on arrival in Calais.   I still did this in my head.  I wonder if anyone else does this and why, when we spend so long looking out from the cliffs do we also look back, in both directions is there a shared sense of  desire to move and stay still, to Look Left Look Right Look Left again?  Recall of these sensations I felt as a child from Dover, where the ‘other side’ always had some presence or closeness but always foreign and distant.

Seduced by the charm of St Omer.

Meet Charlotte  the UK mediator.  I was interested in how she would approach the public, She talked about the  welcome process not being intrusive,how some may want to talk and some not. 

There was no explanation, no forced interpretation her approach was to offer stimulus for the imagination,and keys for contemplation and reflection allowing me space to consider and develop my own individual feelings. We talked about shadows, movement and stillness, net curtains, train-station as a site for the exhibition.

I was pleasantly surprised by the visceral reaction i had to Pierres installation and was encouraged to go with it, which was very revealing of my personal baggage.

I loved the discovery of Sharon's installation, hidden in a forgotten part of the train station. The site and all its comings and goings and the work that inverted seemed to reveal more and more of its self of the time i was there.

I was impressed by the turnout, i think its fair to say the French 

generally more culturally aware or active. This will inevitably be where the Uk and French mediators role differ.

Edda instigated playtime;childhood games immediately eased the Anglo-French gap.  I may not speak french but defiantly  know how to play!  

Back home with a boot of smelly cheese, artichokes and all manner of lovely french imports.