Art and gardening collide at RHS Show Tatton Park
An exciting collision of artistic vision and accomplished garden manipulation is due to take place at the RHS Show Tatton Park (21-25 July) as Tony Heywood confirms his appearance at the prestigious high summer event.
Acclaimed as being at the forefront of the UK’s conceptual garden scene, Heywood will encapsulate the essence of his favourite landscapes in the UK by creating revelatory replica worlds within the confines of self-contained steel chambers.
Having filmed his visits to Formby Beach in Merseyside, Tintagel in Cornwall and the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, Heywood then intensified his experiences through a shamanistic practice known as ‘meditative journeying.’ He then returned to his studio to relive the experience wearing virtual simulation eyewear.
During the replay he etched what amounts to a graphic expression of the film onto the walls and floors of each steel chamber. This initial artwork then provided the template from which he went on to construct a real abstract landscape. Bejewelled and highly ornate, it is intended to dazzle as well as to present an almost hallucinogenic experience reflecting the visionary, alternative reality he experienced during his meditative journey.
A ritual performance during the show will further highlight how Tony envisages these chambers being used as personalised landscapes of contemplation.
Tony says: “Tatton will be my first experience of exhibiting at an RHS show and with its reputation as a stage for fresh ideas and new garden design techniques there is certainly a great synergy with my work. Ultimately, I hope my garden will inspire discussion on how landscapes and gardens work as well as spark debate about how they should be experienced.”
Kris Hulewicz, show manager for the RHS Show Tatton Park, says: ‘Every year we are stunned by the creativity that is embedded into the garden design we see at the show but I think Tony’s installation will become a real centre-piece of this year’s event.”
Tony’s conceptual approach to garden design is extended to the Visionary Gardens category at Tatton where six exhibitors selected by an expert judging panel will create gardens using futuristic design ideas and sustainable gardening methods.
Sheena Seeks, who secured an RHS Gold Medal for her ‘Time’ garden in 2009 will be returning to the Visionary Garden category this year with ‘The Prayer of the Bone’ - a visual interpretation of nature and culture in conflict.
Also returning for the second year running is the Welsh College of Horticulture’s Garden Design lecturer Peter Styles, who will be creating ‘Kaleidoscope’, an exploration of the relationship between mental and physical landscapes. Styles faces a new challenge this year in the shape of current student Sally Griffiths. The Welsh College student will be taking on her lecturer as she presents her debut show garden with ‘Room for Inspiration’.
Tony Smith, creator of last year’s memorable Quilted Velvet Show Garden, which picked up an RHS Gold Medal, will be changing direction to exhibit the ‘Alien Garden’ in this alternative category.
Marcus Green is well versed in the creation of innovative, imaginative garden design having exhibited a Visionary Garden at Tatton last year and having shown at the Butterfly Project’s Future Gardens. This year he will be creating ‘The Space Between’, a living sculpture that is intended to be viewed from all sides.
Completing the line up in the Visionary Gardens is John Everiss of Bezza Nurseries in Preston, who is making a departure from his signature Show Gardens with ‘Wave Dance’, his interpretation of a breaking wave in the garden expressed using sculpture and planting in a modern context.
Tickets to the RHS Show at Tatton Park 2010 are now on sale. Advance booking is recommended for those determined not to miss these unique exhibits. To book visit rhs.org.uk/tatton.