Working with sound artist and composer Graeme Miller, Ackroyd & Harvey temporarily transformed the unique site of Dilston Grove, a de-consecrated and now derelict church in Bermondsey, into a verdant green chamber of living grass.
Dilston Grove (formerly known as Clare College Mission Church) is located on the edge of Southwark Park and was the first concrete church to be built in this country. Designed in an early Italian style, the austere exterior gave way to a dramatic and compelling interior which over a three week period, had life literally drawn back into its very fabric through the interplay of light, sound and growth.
Through the application of clay, germinating grass seed, water and natural light the boundary between growth and decay, reverie and renewal was exposed within this repository of spiritual memory. The artists regarded the architectural structure as in some sense being inert, brooding and boarded up, no longer functioning in the community. Bringing memory to the surface, the living skin of grass literally drew life back within the fabric of the church. A momentary resurrection.
Former Clare College Mission Church, Bermondsey, London. Commissioned by LIFT and presented in association with Café Gallery Projects and Artsadmin. Sound composition Graeme Miller. Created with financial support from Arts Council England, London.
