Well, this is timely! This is an artist’s account of the South-West coast of Britain and comes just at the moment none of us can get there. Rather than just captioned images, however, each of the four main sections is curated (I don’t think that’s too strong a word) by a writer – Andrew Lambirth, Christiana Payne, Judith LeGrove and Steve Marshall. Their text covers more than just commentary and geographical information and includes history, interpretation and background material. The result is a highly cohesive whole, which makes this more than just an album or even a topographic account.
Gardiner’s work could probably be best described as interpretive realism. That’s to say, these are not simply records of views, nor yet flights of fancy. Rather, they capture the spirit of place and incorporate textures that reflect geological structure. Combined with the accompanying text, a quite remarkable sense of place is achieved.
The book was originally intended to accompany a touring exhibition at the St Barbe Gallery, Lymington, The Nine British Art and Falmouth Art Gallery. Quite what will happen to this is unclear, although maybe it will extend once we can all get out again.
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