Sissinghurst Gazebo Residency - June 2022
The Gazebo
As part of my commission at Sissinghurst, I was invited to spend time working in the Gazebo; a building perched on the edge of the meadows over looking the moat. It was once used as a writing room by Nigel Nicolson, who built it with his brother Percy as a memorial to their father Harold Nicolson. Today it is offered as an off-grid workspace for creatives through a small residency programme.
On a bright and breezy day in June, I had the privilege of calling this quirky space my studio! Before 11am, I had the gardens to myself and wandered around with my camera. Without the buzz of visitors, the spirit of the garden came to life. Each ‘garden room’ has its own personality and somehow I could relate the style of writing in Vita’s garden articles, with the character of the space.
I am interested by how Vita and Harold inhabited Sissinghurst. The site was derelict when they moved there and they sprawled their life across various buildings for different activities. The ‘Big Room’ was their library in the Stables, they slept in South Cottage, where Harold Nicolson also had his book room, and Vita’s personal study was in the tower. Between each of these living spaces were their gardens, which acted as corridors.
Below is an extract from Vita Sackville-West’s poem ‘Sonnet’ which I think beautifully captures the in-and-outdoors life she lived at Sissinghurst.
“My garden all is overblown with roses,
My spirit all is overblown with rhyme,
As like a drunken honeybee I waver
From house to garden and again to house,
And, undetermined which delight to favour,
On verse and rose alternately carouse.”
Time in the garden has helped to inspire aspects of my installation. Ideas for colour palettes, textures and a tone of voice for the piece have started to emerge and it has been useful to experience how the climate in Kent differs to my home in Manchester. I have explored areas around the site where flowers for my installation can be picked, and identified interesting bits of forgotten wilderness to raid. I took away armfuls of meadow grasses and other snips from the cutting garden, which I’ll dry and return in July for install.
Textural details of Sissinghurst’s gardens, which inspired me to draw and reflect.