Air eQuality: Revealing the Air

An initial exploration of sedimentation along the North Sea coast developed to focus on the shipping emissions that condense on this paradoxical peninsula. Outside of the port borders, the nature reserve is protected by SSSI status and scheduled monument designations. The proposal for a sculpture park places significant emphasis on air quality and pollutants, conveyed by using lino printed silk pointing to the fragile ecosystem impacted by industrial processes.

The project aims to reveal imperceptible elements of the landscape. In the centre of the park is the “sky room”; devoid of distractions, the viewer’s gaze is drawn skywards sparking conversations about the air around us. At the sky room’s centre a reflection pool acts as a vessel for scrying - a body of still water that may become a sky gazing mirror to offer moments of revelation or inspiration. The park’s accessibility is enhanced by bicycles provided from the town centre, promoting clean transport but also as data collectors for air quality. A newly constructed path, shown in acid etched copper with sulphur patina highlights the sulphur dioxide emissions of cargo ships. The path guides visitors to installations and transforms accessibility while reducing erosion to the protected shingle vegetation.