Through which we research and respond to the architecture, history, function and spiritual resonance of sacred spaces. These places serve as soundings for people from different cultures and countries who all seek to ask or answer the eternal questions of human existence.

The work attempts to make a 'clearing', a space within each space wherein past and present can be experienced as an 'emergent presence'. It seeks to reveal only that which is embedded within each site, rather than embellishing it.

The project is site-specific and multi-media, using sculpture, drawing, painting, light and sound. Projections and video installation accompany some of the works.

The ARKIVE itself consists of a set of huge membrane sheets, which will be used to collect physical accumulations of 'the dust of ages' and imaginary traces of time. The sheets were made from liquid latex, poured and pulled over thin fabric film with printing squeegees. We used a derelict cotton mill which provided the necessary space and vast open wooden floors.

The layers took days to dry between coatings. The whole operation was difficult, latex fumes were intolerable, and it was physically demanding, but each stage of the production looked stunning.

As latex 'cures', its milky whiteness turns to gold.The whole surface of the mill gleamed with the golden liquid.

These latex sheets will be installed with close attention to each site. Their acoustic properties will form a further basis for 'sounding' the spaces.

The ARKIVE holds and carries traces of each action and venue, gathering layers of marking and memories, changing form and substance as it moves from place to place.

Ten works - Ten places
Places with as wide a span of uses and appearances as possible...
somewhere between Cathedral and Tree.

Anne Grebby - Sophie Benson - Helmut Lemke