- Venue
- Tatton Park
- Location
The garden at Tatton Park, Cheshire, home to the first Biennial at the country estate, is already full of wonderful things. A glimpse of something exciting through the colossal trees that run through the grounds tempts you to explore without the incentive of any artists' responses. The garden has an allure of its own with surprises at every turn.
Of the eighteen commissioned works sited in the garden, the opener is a bit limp. An artificial pineapple odour in the Pineapple House, ‘Paradise this way' (Manuela Ribadeneira), doesn't really have much of a whiff and the placed artificial fruits prove all too subtle. Moving on from this disappointment and into the fantastic Fernery, (part of the indoor collections at the gardens) it isn't difficult to forget about looking for art altogether. Brick walled with high glass ceiling, a path disappears among tall ferns, lush green creeping plants cover the rocks and walls. On a quiet day with no one else around the atmosphere in this strange green room is really quite unusual.
Only upon venturing further does it become apparent that it is one of the works that is contributing to this weird little world. The soundtrack to Tessa Farmer and Sean Daniels stop frame animated film could draw a visitor in with its snippets of sound without needing to be explained by the film itself. The screen however tucked into a sort of cave in the undergrowth is well worth finding. Strange little fairies build nests and devour bumble bees whose buzzing vibrates within the soundtrack.
Wrapped around the exterior of the adjoining Orangery is the work of Gayle Chong Kwan. From one approach this comment on the citrus economy looks in danger of turning a little sour, however overlooking the wordy description accompanying the piece it turns out to have quite an impact. The acidic purples and reds of the image running around the windows provide a striking addition to the building and a manicured corner of the garden. Curiously framed by ornamental pedestals this designed approach is significant in a garden which doesn't rely on its formality.
There is no pressure to bolt about finding art works or even to follow a route, much as the place itself feels relaxed and exciting. Contributing crucially to the overall success of the commissions, the garden as a site doesn't feel it needs art works at all but when coming across them they seem to make sense. Scale is important and several artists have played with this, notably David Cotterell with his scattered trompe l'oeil pieces, using the garden's own monument as a repetitive image. Coming across the actual structure adds to the humour of the work and the impossibility of finding any perfect spot from which to take everything in.
Approaching Jacques Nimki's workstation of an artist's greenhouse 'A Tatton Florilegium' with a little cynicism, expecting a dull performance space, this too turns out to be delightful. More of a sweetie jar than an exercise in transparency, the inside, though seemingly sparse, is full of wonderful detail and fascinating things. Nimki's signature drawings and pressed flowers stretch out within. From the brambles creeping through the workbench to the dandelions, butterfly wings held with pins and containers of colourful things- taking note of these details proves useful to discovering the rest of the garden.
The Japanese garden, like the greenhouse benefits from being circled; even on a day when access is restricted, looking in on a little piece of somewhere else is enthralling. Also looking in, is a pagoda of manufactured garden sheds 'A Tower in the Minds of Others'-Nicky Coutts), a structure which holds a lot of weight. A repetitive feature of the average backyard is transposed within grounds which were themselves built on affluence and the luxury of travel and space. Hinting also at the English eccentric and the whim of the individual to be found in any garden, this witty piece is a reminder of the generations of people that have influenced the garden at Tatton Park.
Expecting the Morisons' bulbous folly to be the centre piece of the Biennial, it doesn't feel so. Not that it is at all disappointing but the other works are so enjoyable too that even this amazing looking hut doesn't need to compete with either the other art or it's setting. Across the lake a small forest of something gigantic looking resembling rhubarb is itself impressively architectural, sheltering and beautiful. A strange change in scale supports the other worldliness of the Morisons' woody work. Even the familiar hydrangea bush opposite ‘Escape Vehicle no.4' seems extraordinary with its spherical blooms of blue.
The Biennial has an impressive events programme, a reminder that not all of the works are intended to be an instant hit. It might feel a little cosy and genteel, all nestled away in the grand estate but this is what a visit to such a country house is about- a trip into someone else's world. Entertaining guests with ridiculous follies and visual trickery is a celebration of the garden's function historically and the visions of those who created it. Importantly the experience of the garden is reasserted through the art which put a focus back on to the place itself which is both humble and magnificent.
