ambush

‘We do not have to be long in the woods to experience the always rather anxious impression of “going deeper and deeper” into a limitless world. Soon, if we do not know where we are going, we no longer knew where we are’

Gaston Bachelard, The poetics of space 1994, Beacon Press, p.185

Ambush is a year of the artist project hosted by ArtSway and the Forestry Commission. Year of the Artist run from June 2000 – May 2001 and was the largest and most ambitious arts project ever mounted in England, This project was one of 100 taking place across the region, co-ordinated by Southern Arts.

Ambush was a temporary major architectural intervention in space where engineered tunnels were used to expose the roots of living trees with glazed roof areas allowing the visitors to see the world from below the ground. The work extended and developed new arenas for contemporary visual arts practice, to a locality traditionally unresponsive to such initiatives.

Ambush was made possible by the support and assistance of the following organisations: T.J. Thickett & Associates, Price & Myers Cosulting Engineers and Hansen Glass Processors. I would like to thank James Packer from Price & Myers, Trevor Thickett, Derek Adcock from Milton Stell Fabrication Ltd, Mark Segal from ArtSway, Linda Fredricks, David Cutler and Nick J. Filbee for they generous support and assistance.