30/6 St.Omer – Just back from an amazing 5 days working in the Côte d’Opale. Driving and simultaneous map reading was rather nerve racking but managed without too many wrong directions and missed turnings to get to St. Omer, which is about 30 miles from Dunkerque.
I was well catered for in a small hotel by the station – the station being the place where the final work from Résider/Reside will be sited. The station is a lovely example of 18th French neo-renaissance style architecture and there are plenty of possibliites for placing different kinds of work inside.
My french improved greatly – though I did have to refer quite frequently to my backup of french/english dictionary and numerous phrase books … but I was pleased that I got by. The simple things I managed ok ‘un timbre pour Angleterre s’il vous plait’ … but the more complex issues about ideas, developing my work and working with local people were a bit more testing. Fortunately Evodie, from Espace 36 (one of the partner organisations) let me waffle on and then she clarified a bit in English and somehow between us we understood each other – most of the time !
Over the 5 days I explored a range of buildings and structures, looking for something to generate a starting point. I visited ruins, catherdrals, disused mills, quayside buildings, nazi bunkers and blockhouses plus the odd napoleonic fort. I began to get a sense of how turbulent European history had been in this part of France and how wars and occupations by other nations had had a significant impact on the landscape. It also became apparent quite quickly that the memory of this extraordinary history is deeply embedded in the naming of every town’s streets and squares.
There was so much to take in and I spent much of this initial period taking photos, making notes and doing a bit of filming.
