The forest has some fascinating places that many people consider to be merely tourist destinations. Yet some provide brilliant locations for contemporary art to be shown in, and Clearwell Caves is one of them. The exhibition by Sandi Carr that opened last night, is one worth seeing. If you take a peek at her website you will see she’s interested in visceral materials, and this new installation reflects that.
Quirky as always, one arrived in the car park to follow the path down to the caves, lit by tea lights inside jam jars. Nice and simple. We were a bit confused because there seemed to b e no-one above ground and all the doors to the caves were locked. Another pathway lined by fairy- lights led up and away from the mine. Soft and gentle underfoot, we started to follow the meandering path, which went up and down and around bends. at one point my friend said no, let’s go back, there’s nothing there…but we persevered and found the back door to the caves standing open and inside a roaring fireplace. Magic. We could hear voices, so ducked a little as we went through the caves a short distance where we found nibbles and a drink waiting. Further in we found the art works, as simple and honest as the original structure of the caves. Well lit by more candles.
I’m not going to describe the artworks – you need to go and see them in situ, because being there is important. But suffice to say they are poetic, beautiful and relevant. And relate to their title which is the heading of this blogpost.
Enjoy the visit!
Carolyn Black 