PLOT: Site One

Mathilda Fowler & Laura Lenander

'The red line is a conspicuous but unobtrusive line describing the footprint of the future hoarding that will separate the part of the Mall that will retain public right of way, from the part that will become a works site. In addition to the impact it will have on the physical environment, the line also defines an area where legal status is altered. By transferring information from architectural plans onto the actual space less of a leap of imagination is required for those interested in this public space.' Lenander/Fowler, 2009

Matilda Fowler graduated with BA Fine Art from Byam Shaw School of Art in 2008 and is an AIR Research Associate. Laura Lenander graduated with BA Fine Art from Byam Shaw School of Art in 2009.
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'An unannounced red line, quietly but determinedly stuck to the grubby seventies concrete paving – it makes me smile – I cannot resist doing an inversed Christopher Robin and scamper along it. Maybe I know too many Archway bears, but finding them rather obstructive creatures, it feels good to play with them. This is my moment of ‘step free access’… The creative trespass of two young artists mocks the improvident and abortive processes of distance suits. The evocative trace, and its precise performance, marks so many things – not least the destruction of a public space that never really was public. As I leave the ‘deep cleaners’ arrive – new Home Office money for a Safer Cleaner Archway – do they know whose line it is? Actually whose line is it? And which side are we on?' From Archway Bears Anna Hart March 2009