"The gardens of history are being replaced by sites of time."
—Robert Smithson
—Robert Smithson
To think about Chiswick House and Gardens is to think about history, to think about layers of history, and the place,
this place, as a site of time, a site of transformation and change. And then to see this site, as if it were a
stage, a stage upon which we appear, and then disappear, as others have appeared and dis-
appeared before us. Stories are told, and re-told -- once upon a time, a time once
upon -- of moments forgotten, and of moments remaining. Like water
under the bridge, we see the trace of time — its translucence,
its transience -- and the movement, the movement
of the moment of remembrance.
this place, as a site of time, a site of transformation and change. And then to see this site, as if it were a
stage, a stage upon which we appear, and then disappear, as others have appeared and dis-
appeared before us. Stories are told, and re-told -- once upon a time, a time once
upon -- of moments forgotten, and of moments remaining. Like water
under the bridge, we see the trace of time — its translucence,
its transience -- and the movement, the movement
of the moment of remembrance.
Part One
A Time Once Upon
At the Ionic Temple (1729)
A Time Once Upon
At the Ionic Temple (1729)
Part Two
REMEM / BRANCE
At a bend in the stream, just down the trail from Chiswick Garden's Ionic Temple, the word "REMEM / BRANCE"
was written on the water. Divided within itself, its formation split and separated upon the water's reflecting
surface (a world turned upside down), the floating word was read in motion, read in time,
read in its re-connection, its re-collection. "REMEM / BRANCE" -- seen and said,
as if walking into the word, into the memory of its own meaning,
into the meaning of its own memory --
pictured into place.
REMEM / BRANCE
At a bend in the stream, just down the trail from Chiswick Garden's Ionic Temple, the word "REMEM / BRANCE"
was written on the water. Divided within itself, its formation split and separated upon the water's reflecting
surface (a world turned upside down), the floating word was read in motion, read in time,
read in its re-connection, its re-collection. "REMEM / BRANCE" -- seen and said,
as if walking into the word, into the memory of its own meaning,
into the meaning of its own memory --
pictured into place.
"You may think that the memories themselves vanish every time there's a disappearance, but that's not true.
They're just floating in a pool where the sunlight never reaches. All you have to do is plunge your
hand in and you're bound to find something. Something to bring back into the light."
—from Yoko Ogawa's The Memory Police (177)
They're just floating in a pool where the sunlight never reaches. All you have to do is plunge your
hand in and you're bound to find something. Something to bring back into the light."
—from Yoko Ogawa's The Memory Police (177)
A World Turned Upside Down
The Installation Announcement
The Morning of the Installation at the Orange Tree Grove and Ionic Temple
Installation Photographs by Aaron Colina
De-Installation of half of "Remembrance," June 13, 2019 (video by Nicholas Coleman)
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Lord Burlington (1694-1753)
Chiswick House and Gardens Proprietor and Architect |
William Kent (1685-1748)
Chiswick Gardens Landscape Architect |
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"William Kent was painter enough to taste the charms of landscape . . . He leapt the fence, and saw that
all nature was a garden. He felt the delicious contrast of hill and valley changing imperceptibly
into each other, tasted the beauty of the gentle swell, or concave scoop, and remarked
how loose groves crowned an easy eminence with happy ornament.”
—Horace Walpole (1717-1797)
all nature was a garden. He felt the delicious contrast of hill and valley changing imperceptibly
into each other, tasted the beauty of the gentle swell, or concave scoop, and remarked
how loose groves crowned an easy eminence with happy ornament.”
—Horace Walpole (1717-1797)
Pictured into Place
Many thanks to Nicolas Coleman, Sarah Fogleman, Henry Fullerton, and Christyn Kelly for assisting with this installation; and to Jake Lonergan at Chiswick House and Gardens.
Copyright © 2019 Clark Lunberry. All rights reserved.