What the artists have created for Nova Festival, a mix of slapstick and political conceptual pieces, all unique, all profits go to ActionAid's reconstruction efforts in Haiti.
Here it is, the last weekend before the inaugural Nova Festival launches. The esteemed, experienced festival producers are working their visually spellbinding magic on this beautiful countryside valley, and the build on the amazing Adventureland Golf is underway.
Doug Fishbone has created and curated his take on the seaside crazy golf phenomenon. In aid of ActionAid, he invited famous artists to dream up and create expressive installations or statues to grace each hole of this pay-as-you-putt conceptual festival first, the Adventureland Golf course (just £1 for the course).
Doug Fishbone has created and curated his take on the seaside crazy golf phenomenon. In aid of ActionAid, he invited famous artists to dream up and create expressive installations or statues to grace each hole of this pay-as-you-putt conceptual festival first, the Adventureland Golf course (just £1 for the course).
Jake & Dinos Chapman: a moving Hitler sculpture, who salutes and shouts at the players
David Shrigley: 12 amusing slogans, dotted around the site to egg you on as you play
Jonathan Allen: a boarded up library, looking at the darker side of the modern Britain
Ian Munroe: putt-for-your-pound, a play on the currency crisis engulfing the euro zone
Gary Webb: a builder bends over, aim for the crack. The cheekiest piece on the course!
Brian Griffith: a fully carpeted tropical island, playing off of traditional crazy golf designs
Zatorski and Zatorski: a minimal black marble heaven and hell. Putt the ball, it gets incinerated. Hopefully it goes to a better place…
Pete Fowler: a whacky monster figure designed to thrill and delight
Doug Fishbone: a tilting Saddam Hussein, concentrate as he topples over in front of your eyes
On his sculpture Doug says, “I wanted to infuse the project with a political edge, and play with the conventions of the mini golf course a bit. Since Saddam tilts over, he works like a conventional obstacle designed to distract the putter by moving while he or she is taking aim. Using Saddam in such a leisure context brings to mind the idea of the Great Game, the imperial politicking in Central Asia in the 19th century, and imply that not only is it still going on, but it is still treated as a game in the West, with remote-controlled drones and people ignoring the greater human consequences. And it touches on the ludicrousness of monumental public sculpture, one day you are the boss, adorning the city square for all to admire, and the next you're kicked over and flung on the scrapheap of history, only to be resurrected as a bit of ironic, hipster fun. Or forgotten altogether."
Fishbone (famous for filling Trafalgar Square with 30,000 bananas in 2004) supports ActionAid’s reconstruction efforts in Haiti (Katrina and Victoria have already raised £100,000 rehabilitation funds for this charity at a benefit gig at London's Roundhouse). As Fishbone notes, "Prepare to be amused and amazed.”
One thing is for sure, in the words of artist David Shrigley, on this course, " GOLF ISN'T BORING."
12 Months of Neon Love – retro illuminations nestle into the landscape, the work of artists Victoria Lucas and Richard Wheater, who created one sign every month for a year in celebration of Leeds' heritage – the city was once alight with neon signs, manufactured in the city itself. Says Nova co-organiser Katrina Larkin: “I'm a sucker for neon so I love how famous lyrics have been produced as visual art pieces, a fantastic cross-over of art and music”.
Rankin & Damien Hirst's Myths, Monsters and Legends cinematic, woodland installation features model Dani Smith and fantasy creatures from classical civilisations, “where myths and fairy tales come to life” in an imagined sequence of events with monsters of ancient settlements. Says Rankin “we were all intrigued by the idea of taking something really beautiful, and making it ugly,” Dazed Digital.
Landscape – award-winning screen writer Tony Grisoni (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Red Riding) explores themes of Landscape, featuring Jem Finer's installation. Finer left a camera in a tree, and from those 18,000 photographs over two years created Still: an image in a state of constant flux; beautiful, meditative, silent and haunting. British film director, writer and artist Andrew Kotting screens new film, “This Is Our Still Life”. Clio Barnard, director of the awards winning documentary The Arbour will screen her film “Road Race” as part of the Landscape programme curated by Tony Grisoni.
Music for Architecture – Nova will premiere award-winning architect David Adjaye and his brother Peter Adjaye's musical and film collaboration Music for Architecture. Compositions of drones, pulses and beats are put together by Peter, inspired by David's buildings, and the audio is performed live to video during the festival.
THEATRE, CINEMA, COMEDY, CASINO
The Flicker Club – Nova’s bespoke cinema will screen Jan Svankmajer's 1988 version of Alice in Wonderland, accompanied by dozens of performance artists and actors, creating a dramatic and unique, interactive cinematic experience. More films are scheduled for the weekend.
Creative Make It! salons host sessions on drawing, foraging, cooking, burlesque, photography, painting, filmmaking and millinery. London Drawing's Anne Noble-Partridge and David Price will hold life drawing classes using various studio or human-dancing props. Andrew Logan (sculptor, “camp pop art” jewellery-maker, and the subject of Jes Benstock’s 2011 award-winning feature film The British Guide to Showing Off) is on site instructing jewellery-making with mosaics.
Family fun includes Teatro-Saurus, a high-quality children's mask-theatre specialists, with stalking poets, prowling postmen and secret surprises. GreenandPleasantLand brings their unique blend of physical theatre, live music and folk traditions for an epic adventure for audiences aged 10-upwards. The Land of the Bumblyboo is Nova's dedicated kids' area with face-painting, treasure-hunting, mask-making and storytelling.
Nova's beautiful self-contained English countryside site will feature a: Valley Stage, Cinema Salon, Wordsmithy tent, Theatre, campfire parties and in the woods, the Nova Arms pub.
FINALLY
Hotel Bell Tent is a boutique camping service in Quiet Camping. Spacious canvas bell tents sleep up to six, decked out with high-end luxury inflatable mattresses. Prices start from just £385 based on a 4m Classic Bell Tent. To book visit www.hotelbelltent.co.uk
Bathing under the Sky: rejuvenate in a Swedish-style hot tub in a beautiful corner of the Zen Garden. £15-20 tickets permit 2 hours in the tub with hot showers; luxurious wood-heated Swedish-style hot tubs; a dry Finnish barrel sauna; cold showers and Southsea Deckchairs for unwinding. Bring swimmers or go nude! Info: www.bathingunderthesky.com
Festival therapy inside various Soul Pads will offer deep tissue, aromatherapy, Thai, Indian head, shiatsu and acupressure massages; reflexology, reiki and Tui Na (bookings can be made on site). Bliss Domes with sound and light baths, yoga sessions, a Wild Run and hot tubs for hire
Published on 29 June 2012 by Wayne Feltham
