By Becky Warnock
I was lucky enough to spend the summer working at the garden as part of a commission from Photo Fringe. I was invited to work with the people who attend the garden to think about their relationship to nature and the work they do together. I ran some activities and workshops to get know everyone better and share some skills in photography and drawing. In my work I often engage with community groups to think about the difficult issues that we face in life. Sometimes I work with big, challenging topics like mental health and trauma. They can be difficult subjects to talk about, often hidden away, and heavy to hold.
At Moulescoomb Forest Garden everyone is welcomed and accepted for who they are. Everyone comes together to do the jobs that need doing, each person doing what they are able to and supporting each other along the way. Each contribution looks different, but is equally valid. The garden thrives because of everyone’s grafting, and everyone comes away with a belly full of healthy food that nourishes them. All connected.
There aren’t many places like this that have survived cuts in funding and under resourcing, and it’s testament to the resilience of Warren and the team that the garden has been around for 30 years. I was asked to do a talk recently and described the work that the garden does as full of radical hope. It’s a place that exists in spite of and with knowledge of all the politics that makes its survival difficult, but also why it’s so crucial that it exists.
The artworks that we made together were shown on Brighton beach for the Photo Fringe from October to November this year, and also installed on Moulescoomb station bridge. It’s bright and colourful and I hope it captures a tiny essence of how it feels to come to the garden. I hope in the dark cold nights of winter when people cross the bridge they will feel a little spark of hopefulness as they are surrounded by bright pink and green and see smiling faces and lush leaves.
Since I’ve been back at my teaching job and not able to make it down to the garden, life has thrown me a few curve balls. It’s not been an easy few months, but today I’m going back to the garden to celebrate the end of the year with everyone. I’m reminded of how important hope is when things feel tough, and I’m so grateful that I got to spend the summer being nourished by the garden and the people in it. It really is an incredible place. Thanks for having me.
Becky Warnock, Artist
From the project When The Seeds Fall produced by Photo Fringe.
photofringe.org
This project is made possible with funding from Arts Council England Project Grant and part-funded by the UK government and Brighton & Hove City Council through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, East Brighton Trust and Chalk Cliff Trust, with Support from Network Rail, Southern Rail.
