The Bridge Guard - Part Three - Lists

A new day, a new list...

I have a list to get done by the end of tomorrow that will lead onto several other lists.

So, you have an idea, (still interested in building something indoors) then look for materials and tools. I've identified wood that would be perfect to try out the idea, I've identified a person who may be able to help me find out how to find out who owns the material! AND find out if I can have it, or some of it?? That's just one material, that's a very investigative process. IF this material is unavailable, I start again...again. This will be addressed tomorrow. Kati from http://www.kaleidoszkophaz.hu/ will be sorry she met me...

But here's the wood identified outside a church in Esztergom (probably a really important Church that I don't know the name of yet) I only had eyes for the wood.

Then there is a question of tools - drills, screwdrivers, metal drums to put fires in, sky lanterns etc - that will be discussed tonight with Guri. Poor George.

Then I have this other idea, the fancy dress party thing, this is something that will be ongoing throughout this process. I already have the ball rolling, meeting last week at the local high school with some very tall 16 year olds. They seemed keen, well one did! This followed on from an invite from Adriana (who is a teacher at the school and new friend) to come and watch a school play about English History. I was intrigued...

It was brilliant! I learnt so much! The Bear Theatre company perform all over Europe performing as an assist to helping kids with their English. http://www.thebeartheatre.com/en 

I tell ye wa...I wish we'd had stuff like this at school. It was funny and well written and afterwards we all went out for lunch. Hurah! David Fisher (the company founder) and Lenka Fisherova even brought their euro coin collection to show me. Fascinating.

David and Lenka with their big bag of coins!

So I'm hoping by Wednesday to have lots of questions answered. In the meantime I have some bits and pieces in the studio I'd like to start experimenting with. I may use some cardboard I found to work with first. I've had some good adventures this past week, an overload of the senses so it's good to write about it here and begin to process it all.

One of the highlights of the week was Bratislava. I had the morning to wander around while Adriana went to a seminar - I was fascinated by the architecture, the old town really is the old town, and then everything else built up around it. One of my favourite bits however was the walls of graffiti and 'childrens wall' around the base of the cathedral. 

Bratislava speaks for itself...

 

I stumbled across the Slovak National Gallery and ended up spending ages in the current exhibition called Interrupted Song. The Art of Socialist Realism 1948-1956. What a find, I had no particular plan that day and sometimes you come across things that can influence an entire trip, this is one of those chance experiences. I didn't even notice the Stalin statue outside when I first went in, part of the exhibition! If you happen to be passing through Bratislava in the next week I can highly recommend it. Maybe it's an outsider thing though? Maybe it's so fascinating to me coming from a perspective of never living under communist rule. I wonder how people who have feel about this exhibition? 

http://www.sng.sk/en/uvod/vystavy/aktualne/prerusena-piesen

Jan Murdroch, Partisan Woman, 1954

and then a tremendous pink tram

Adriana (the fastest walker in all of Europe) and Bratislava

The Blue Church, Adriana's favourite, a hidden gem in Bratislava

The new controversial bridge

Back to art and back to Esztergom, great show opened at Kaleidoscope on Friday, a Hungarian painter,  http://www.gazdagagnes.com/index.html Her work is equally freaky as it is beautiful, I thought about Paula Rego when I was looking at it, she hadn't heard of Rego. We had a good night too, the night flew by, I thought it was about 10.30pm when I left but it can't have been as I got in at 1.30am, unless I slipped into some weird unexplained bridge time zone on the way home...now there's an interesting thought...

Big Headed, oil on canvas, 80 x 120cm

Rabbit, oil of canvas, 24 x 18cm

The final leg of the blog (promise) ends rightly so at the famous Green Pub, as I finally got a buddie (temporarily although) to hang out with in such a fine establishment. Lauren and I were welcomed with open arms and free Borovička, the Slovak national drink, a bit like gin but much nicer to down as a shot. It was a good night. It's a shame Lauren lives in Budapest.







I'll sign off again for the week with some photies taken from around and about, the day to day business of Bridge Guarding.

 Bridge Guard out.

The Bridge Guard - Part Two - Exactly a week

Well, it's around about time for a part two I think.

I am not ashamed to say that it was a rocky beginning. I felt a bit overwhelmed, lost and lonely a few times. Getting used to this new space and living by myself has been more testing than I thought, but, one week in and I'm looking forward to this now rather than feeling daunted by the three months ahead.

I'd say this is due to people. Yes! I need people! Some of you reading may think, what are you talking about? You've gone out there to make work, what's wrong with you woman!? But 'ahhh', I'll say, shaking my head, I need to feel safe and like I have somewhere to bounce ideas from, I need feedback.  I'll say more about this later but it got me thinking (you do a lot more of this too living on your own!) I've always found with all or most of my projects part of the work is in the conversations it takes to actually make it. A lot of the time it involves a wide range of people to make it happen, either I need something that they have, maybe materials or skills? They could be in a position to help with granting legal stuff? Like permits or planning permission? Or I need them for funding or just support or advice. What I find most interesting is that it creates a unique individual project 'gang'.

I've had an avalanche of ideas this last few days, keeping me awake most nights. I have two main strands that are currently leading the way.

EARLY THOUGHTS...

Communication:

• basically, making friends
• developing relationships
• bring everyone together for a gathering of some sort
• introductions - story swapping
• future collaborations
• learn
• teach
• explore
• living in someone else's country should inspire me and I hope to inspire the people I meet too, even if it's just to follow the Mighty Reds (they'll have to be patient but we'll come good!)
• make new connections between people both sides of the bridge
• A party
• A Bridge Guard Party
• A fire
• exhibition opening night 22nd Dec???
• costumes?
• Bridge Guard costumes?
• What would you wear if you could design your own?
• A project I could use when I go into the schools
• Involve everyone
• Bridge Guard Fancy Dress Party

Building:

• Construction
• follows on from previous work
• brings the bridge inside with the people I invite 
• I have a space to build in
• I like bridges
• structure
• old wood in Esztergom, must find out where I can get some or if I can have that??
• I like the idea of building inside the apartment - something echoing the bridge
• Something big if possible! My boss Karol will be nervous reading this now, haha
• used stuff again - old wood - a past
• Use an existing arch in the flat as a starting point
• use light to cast shadows

Early 4am scribbles

first quick sketch of the bridge

I met some great people this week including Terri and Andrea, both teachers, who took me for my a few drinks and a walk up to the cathedral in Esztergom. Great views back at the bridge from there...

I had a visit from Adrianna, another teacher who works with Guri (who I've decided is the most popular man in Sturovo!) It's like walking round with Johnny Depp! Adrianna is picking me up at 6.30am (eek) on Tuesday to go to Bratislava, very happy about this, also have a good tip from Karol to check out Space Gallery while I'm there. I've got a full day Wednesday with Adrianna too, school in the morning to see an English history play?? Then I have to be a the Culture Centre with the vice Mayor at 1.30pm (not quite sure what that was for - think it's a international gathering - it was explained but there was champagne and I was tired! In the afternoon I'm back in the school then afterwards I THINK I'm joining a local zumba class!!!

On Saturday I was greeted on the bridge with flowers from the girls from Kaleidoszkop http://www.kaleidoszkophaz.hu/ they run this brilliant art centre in Esztergom that I instantly loved...

Kaleidoszkop 

Kaleidoszkop

Kaleidoszkop

Kaleidoszkop

Kaleidoszkop

I was then taken for lunch at a local restaurant and on the back of a bill I asked them to write down what I'd just had...it was a very humorous conversation.

and this was the 'meat soup' with the offending testicle! I did not eat it, they didn't either! It's the thing in the bottom left corner...the soup was nice though!

I tried palinka for the first time too, a traditional fruit brandy, loved it!

palinka with Katalin, the owner of Kaleidoszkop

As if that wasn't enough excitement for one day I then went to meet Guri and Sophie (newly adopted Ma 'n Pa of Sturovo) for a local concert at the Culture Centre in Sturovo. Afterwards, whilst enjoying the champagne and buffet I met the Mayor, I was extremely disappointed to learn that he's a Manchester United fan, ughhhhh, we had a bet anyway, two pints on this time next year Liverpool being above them in the league...seemed possible at the time, I have faith! 

I'll finish with another list of other things that I've seen/heard/done. It's quicker and less work for you.

• I had a massage
• I confused a man at the swimming pool with my rolled up paper under my arm, he kept touching it saying, 'no'. I only wanted to know what times the pool was open, I think he thought I wanted to come in and use my paper (I'd bought to draw on) as a towel
• I saw a Nan on a bike outside Lidl eating a magnum (or magnum equivalent)
• I made a wardrobe from two fold out chairs, Sellotape and some bamboo
• I rode on the wrong side of the road on my bike
• I discovered that 10% lager sold in Lidl in giant bottles is a normal occurrence
• I know a man who says hello meaning 'hello' and says hello meaning 'goodbye' and it makes me laugh every single time. 
• I haven't met any Slovakians
• Sturovo is 80% Hungarian
• Music is played everyday at 4.30 from St. Thomas Chapel, it's beautiful, I asked Guri what it was and he translated the words. And on that note, part two is done. Thank you for reading.

You're beautiful, you're beautiful Hungary,

More beautiful than the world at large

If the music resounds the word, I can see bright, beautiful cheek.

horses where we're going

calls for grass, trees, leaves and flowers.

Cries the violin, waiting for a beautiful country.

The Bridge Guard - Part 1 - Flying.

Well, two days in and I don't know where to begin. For those of you not familiar with my current surroundings a short intro.

I am in a town called Štúrovo, it's in Slovakia. There's a bridge, Mária Valéria that crosses the Danube river to Esztergom in Hungary. The idea of the residency is that people are invited from all over the world to make work that responds to the bridge and it's history through living locally for three or six months. The title of the residency is Bridge Guard and I have only just figured out that they didn't mean literally guarding it, although I could if I wanted to! The idea is to keep the bridge as the focal point to the work you make whilst here. This is to be interpreted however you want. Therefor the bridge lives on in the minds of the visiting artists and the links they make and also the readers of blogs such as this. It becomes part of a wider reaching story.

"In the year 2001 the Mária Valéria bridge between Štúrovo (Slovakia) and Esztergom (Hungary) was reopened. During its history, this bridge was destroyed and unusable for a longer time than it was actually connecting the two towns. The bridge’s stubs kept the memory of the second World War alive for 57 years.

This was the second destruction of the bridge built in 1895. Already between 1919 and 1926 it was out of service.

The rebuilt bridge deserves to be saved from further destruction by people. To this aim, mental protection is more important than physical protection. As long as the mental connection between people is intact, the bridge is not endangered."

http://www.bridgeguard.org/en/project/

So, history bit done - it is fascinating I just know with my limited knowledge at this stage and rubbish ability to recall never mind rewrite facts and dates this blog is going to be a more personal account of my time here.

So...deep breadth - here goes ;-)

I arrived at around 11pm on Sunday 30th September after an interesting journey from Budapest! After working out a route to Esztegom and showing it to the guy at the airport he pretty much tore it up and said don't do that go this much more complicated way. To be fair, if it had of been daytime and I hadn't of had so much to carry it would've been OK. But, it was dark and I did have the stupidest heaviest bags to carry! At the final bus station, Arpad hid, there was no staff and I ended up asking some cleaners to help me - after about 20 minutes they got me a ticket to the correct place, I don't speak Hungarian and they didn't speak English, but we got there in the end and they were very friendly. 

I fell asleep on the bus and woke up in Esztergom! I was so relieved when the man approaching me with a big white beard resembling Father Christmas was in fact Karol, the boss. I then met Sandra, the current bridge guard and we headed back to the apartment. I was so tired and relieved that I didn't really notice where we were driving, plus it was really dark but I caught my first glimpse of the bridge and was really impressed, it was all lit up and looked, well...triumphant! After an hour or so of chat and an omelette everyone went to bed. I didn't sleep too well, all the strangeness and curious noises of a new place kept nudging me out of my sleep.

The next morning there was a brief chat to Sandra before she headed off back to Berlin and Karol was going back to Switzerland. I was sorry both of them were going so soon as I liked them! I was briefly introduced to Guri (George), who said he'd be back at 6pm. It was then 10am and I thought OK, hmmmm, what do I do now? I walked around the gigantic apartment and felt a little lost to be honest. After a few moments of feeling a crisis of confidence creep up on me decided to get out for a walk. I couldn't quite get my head around anything and my mind darted off in crazy directions as certain buildings/words/people/architecture reminded me of other places varying wildly between Mexico, particularly San Cristobal, a tiny town in the US I once stayed in years ago called Towanda which then led to a pondering of Huck Finn whilst looking over the Danube river. My geographical clock was all over the place.

I was really impressed by the bridge and my first impressions of Esztergom were very good. I was brave and ordered a beer at one of the cafes besides the river, and took a picture of it. Look...

Maria Valeria Bridge

A beer in Esztergom, think it was about 70p

Esztergom Bazilika

My new front door (with workies)

view back to Slovakia from Hungary

I got back to the apartment and Guri turned up, he said we were going to his families house, I said OK! I then spent the evening with Guri and his wife Sophie, it was so good as I'd felt uneasy and out of sorts all day and they put me at ease. We had locally made bor (wine) and talked about music, politics and their trip to England to visit their kids. A great end to a very wobbly day.

Day two started so much better, I felt more confident and looking forward to the day. I pottered around the flat, have I said how massive it is!? So much so I haven't quite settled in one particular room yet, still haven't unpacked either. Anyway, Guri came around and we went to get a Slovakian sim card, we also had some good coffee and strudel. Good stuff. By chance we bumped into a photographer from a nearby village who happened to be having a show in a gallery two minutes away, this led to meeting a journalist from a Slovakian newspaper who asked if she could interview me sometime. The photographer guy invited us to come around soon and have fish and drink wine. Hurrah, I said. I liked today.

One of the best discoveries of the day was seeing Martin Skrtel on the front of the newspaper here, this made me really happy!

"Skrtel to blow away: finally"

"Finally"

I've just burnt my dinner writing this...I shall be back in a few days. 

So so close!

39 Lothair Road, L4

So, I had an idea, ran with it but alas (for now) it'll have to put on hold.

The idea was simple, a summer project with local teenagers to paint something beautiful, a butterfly, onto something others deemed not beautiful, an empty 'tinned up' house in Anfield. The original idea was to paint in Granton Road in Everton, where we grew up and my family lived until 2009. I was informed that demolition was too close for work to be carried out in our street so I started looking around the area for an alternative property. This search led me to LFC and this house on the photograph above in Lothair Road.

After months of planning and countless discussions with Liverpool Biennial folk and the Homebaked Crew, a local councillor, a Regeneration Officer, local Youth Club Workers, local teenagers, everyone on my business course, my mentor, my driving instructor, Liverpool Football Club, Regional Social Landlords, an Arts Council Officer, folk at FACT, a local film maker, a local author, at least 10 different paint companies, portaloo hire companies, container hire companies, insurance company, cherry picker companies, other artists, a painter and decorator consultant, my Mum, Dad, Aunty, Cousin, Stevo and Juliet I was ALMOST ready to go...project start date fixed as 23rd July.

However, the Arts Council decided one week ago today not to fund it. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. But that's that. I sulked for the entire weekend and I actually had no clue what to do next. I put everything into this and felt initially like a big giant failure. It's now a week on and I've had time to re-group and let everyone know. I've decided to see if I can now carry it over from a summer project to an Easter one next year...so the journey begins all over again now. Flippeneck.

Now that I've stopped sulking I'm starting to see some real positives coming from Project Butterfly. The amount of people who've jumped on board and been really supportive has been brilliant. I knew nobody on the above list 10 weeks ago - apart from the last five obviously!

Something will come of this.