It was in a poor state and protected by a daunting 345-page heritage conservation management plan, I transformed it in little over a decade. Patch of Earth was restored in drawing, painting, sculpture and installation. It was replumbed and rewired, rotted timbers were replaced and stone foundations that had dropped as much as 40 centimetres in places were eased into line. I carried out 160 years of maintenance in 12 months with a similar recurring concept located in these particular works. The found and the broken, the displaced and the forgotten. These objects support an urge to rescue, restore and re-purpose both materials and techniques.
It hasn’t been restored to the point where everything looks sharp and sparkly and crisp; it does have that lovely mellow sense of age about it. The layering, removing and repeating are gestures of the everyday and they give way to the final patterning. The result is a meditative contemplation on what feels correct and therefore resolved rather than trying to turn it into something it wasn’t.
morgan veness 