Anchor Man, it’s in the letter box

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Ecogeographer is starting to gather data about objects that were brought together at the business and academic conference ‘The Society and the Sea‘ via a workshop held on the banks of the Thames at Greenwich, London. Delegates were asked to bring an object from their home or from their walk to the conference that meant something to them about their coast.

Some objects were left as a keepsake, some were left with instructions “please return via post to …. “. As the lead artist, it’s been my job to check this anchor gets put into a red post box. It’s on its way. The owner says ‘they feel naked without it’.

Ecogeographer has named this ‘Object Elucidation’. It has been born out of a Global Challenges Research Funded project called Coral Communities. NGO’s have been pivotal in shaping the research and practice. The arts team have summarised the ‘Object Elucidation’ workshop in this photographic essay. It captures the event and its urban beach staged setting.

The next job is to build another blog post that shows people talking about their objects as they hold or position them onto an aerial chart. This chart was made of sand and it framed the stage. It was a proscenium stage, the elevated backdrop was the river and the skyline of London – a landscape laden with centuries of sea-based heritage.

Photograph Andy Hughes