All is not lost was a dual-site installation work, using 800 paper scrolls (wrapped in blue cloth and bound in texts on the nature of gift) and the actions of the public – linked through a subtle intervention from one site to another – through the city itself. It existed in two locations, in almost identical form: the Musee Picardie and a cabin on the Isle Perdu (e), part of Les Hortillionages, a network of garden islands on the edge of the city of Amiens. The installation in the cabin – half of the total work – contain an open invitation to visitors to take a piece of the work away, as a gift. 400 people took one of the scrolls that made up the island work, and here is the letter they were led to online to read, which was linked to on a label around the scroll itself. It tells the story of the work and gives them further food for thought.
All is not lost was commissioned by Musee Picardie as part of their Caritas programme, and as part of the Festival Art, Villes et Paysages, supported by Out of the Blue Woad/Waid programme. I came to make this work through connections made during my 2014 artist residency at Fabrica Gallery, Brighton.
More on this on my Interhuman blog or Watch me talk about my residency/current focus in the second half of their Talking Point gallery film about the current On Balance show by Jacob Dahlgren here
All is not Lost ran from June 28th – December 12th 2014.