Walking Towards Hollow
We walk through Bristol University gardens, weaving the mirrored ‘Follow Me’ sculpture by Jeppe Hein. (Another public art project produced by Situations Bristol.) Following the dusty path lined with trees, we curl past a duck pond and arrive at Hollow. Stumpy shadows from the glaring sun stretch away from the base of the sculpture. This Neolithic henge looks freshly carved as it shoots its bright pink orange pillars into the blue sky.
Inside Hollow
The entrance is well hidden by a wooden door. We slide open the door and step inside. We are immediately standing on at least 20 of the 10,000 pieces of wood that have been placed in this space. This sculpture is designed to be touched. Wood juts out at different levels making the surface uneven and when you scan upwards, they do appear like stalactites but also like the pipes of an organ. I imagine if each one of these 10,000 pieces of wood was hollow, what kind of sound would an organ with 10,000 pipes produce? I call out into the space to hear my own voice and then imagine the sound of a small wooden instrument. An intimate one-to-one performance resonating within this small space built for two.
Hollow Projections
Large scale images of Hollow were projected on the wall of the Powell Theatre during the discussion with Katie paterson. Now a different light is being projected from the sun through the gaps above us, changing the colour of the wood. The dark and light raining down. This sacred space. This sanctuary. This place to be still. This place to discover. We rest for a while in silence taking in the shapes, the light, the colour, the texture, the solitude. And the silence is broken by the gentle slide of wood against wood. This space is about to be discovered by another all over again. We leave our cosy shelter and step out into the sun.
