The Weeds Pavilion Version A [2022]

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Mixed media room installation,  approx 3x3meters

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Textile collages, a de-constructed gazebo, artificial grass, and a picnic basket with bespoke printed plates.

The 39 textile collages are made from traditional textile designs from former countries and regions that were colonized by the UK. The designs are juxtaposed with drawings of various kinds of grass (or ‘weeds’, namely any kind of plant that is conceived to be ‘out of place’).  They are hung from a deconstructed gazebo that is suspended about 2 meters above the ground, which is covered with artificial grass (another kind of weed that is very welcome and epitomizes the English landscape). 

 

Traditionally “gazebo” is a structure placed on a higher ground in a park or natural setting from which one can view (gaze) the surroundings. In this case, the view is blocked by the textiles, and the visitors are invited to inhabit the structure and view its complex interior as well as to play a “make-believe” picnic.

 

The “Pavilion” in the work’s name echoes the UK’s Great Exhibition [1851] and the World Fairs, which were created to showcase and celebrate the Empire. In this work, the Pavilion is dismantled, and the weeds replace the structure and define the space. 

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