Tremayne Quay on the Helford River, Lizard peninsula
Image: courtesy Abigail Reynolds
Tremayne Quay
Abigail Reynolds
Sunday 23 September, 5.30pm
Tremayne | Live concert on the quay, with audience in boats
Described by Oliver Rackham as ‘one of the very few places in England where ancient woodland meets the sea’, the Helford River is technically a ‘ria’ (an ancient river valley that drowned when sea levels rose after the last Ice Age). Its upper reaches are an expanse of mud at low tide, while the lower branches of the sessile oaks dip into salt water at high tide. The ancient woods are remnants of wild woods that were coppiced by the earliest humans and have been continuously harvested for fuel (especially needed for the production of tin and lime) from that time until the recent past.
St Keverne Band will perform a composition by band leader Gareth Churcher that slowly focuses the mind toward the pull of the moon, the tides, and the rotation of the earth at this point of the year when the moon comes closest to the earth. The piece will be in layers of sound, rather as birds are heard calling down the river reaches. To finish, the band will play traditional songs from their repertoire.
The event is timed to coincide with high tide at the autumn equinox, when the moon exerts its strongest tidal pull. If the forecast for Sunday 23 September is stormy the event will move to Tuesday 25 September (when there will be a harvest moon) and start at 6.30pm (again, to coincide with the high tide). Sunset is shortly after 7pm. The entire performance will last about an hour, ending by sunset. Bring a picnic and refreshments.
There is no road access to this event and no toilets at Tremayne. Come by boat and be prepared to stay in your vessels throughout. The band will occupy the quay. Please be moored with the other boats in good time for the performance to begin.
We are looking for places for people who do not have boats. Please contact the Groundwork team if you are planning to come and might have space for extra passengers in your vessel. Phone 01326 565632 or email [email protected].
This concert is dedicated to the memory of Mark Wilkin, who played as a drummer with St Keverne Band and died in a motorbike accident in May this year. A memorial fund has been set up to support ten children each year to receive a year of musical training with the band. The Cornwall Music Service Trust is collecting donations via their Paypal account – special instructions can be added to direct donations to the ‘Mark Wilkin Memorial Bursary’ (MWMB).
Download a programme for Tremayne here.
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Abigail Reynolds’s work is closely linked to books, which she uses both as sites of research and as source material. Working within the British landscape tradition, Reynolds mines the cultural remains of our recent past, searching for patterns, rhythms and networks of association and meaning. Her sculptural assemblages and three-dimensional collages splice disparate images together, releasing them from the time of their capture and opening them to more nuanced meaning and association.
Recent exhibitions include The Universal Now and further episodes, PEER London (April 25 – June 23 2018), We Beat the Bounds, a live work commissioned by Tate St Ives to celebrate the opening of the new building (October 2017), Lost Libraries at Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Basel Miami Beach (2017), and the West China Biennial (2016). In March 2016 she was awarded the BMW Art Journey prize at Art Basel, to travel to lost libraries along the Silk Road. Her book ‘Lost Libraries’ was published by Hatje Cantz in December 2017.