During this second lockdown, many students felt an abundance of frustration as the university dynamic became instantly uncertain. Something that is quite clear is the fact that student experience will not be quite the same. With the majority of lectures existing online, having something to get out of the house for will be very beneficial.
Between 4th September until the 29th November (American Thanksgiving), an art installation has been established to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the sailing of The Mayflower. In recognition of the history, the project has been titled ‘Speedwell’ after The Mayflower’s companion ship. With coronavirus causing a multitude of event cancellations this year, thankfully this event was able to survive due its outdoor nature, and you can still see it for the last few days that its up.
Why was The Mayflower so important?
On 16th September 1620, The Mayflower and The Speedwell set sail for America from Plymouth. The Speedwell, however, did not make the journey across the Atlantic, but instead returned back to Plymouth. The Mayflower on the other hand, arrived safely upon the foreign shoreline (America), that the sailors labelled the ‘New World’, where in fact indigenous people already lived.
Peace formed between the two civilisations (Plymouth and Wampanoag) through the teaching of harvesting and hunting. The allegiance proved successful by fending off threat attacks and provided a fruitful harvest. Following this success, the colonists decided to celebrate with a three-day festival of prayer. A feast between the settlers and Native Americans then established what was to become known as the first Thanksgiving.
The problem was that the English Colony became greedy, sending out several more ships, where slowly the Native Americans became a minority. This caused the alliance to fracture and led to King Philip’s War which changed the identity of America.
Through the collective organisation ‘Still/Moving’, artists Laura Hopes, Martin Hampton and Léonie Hampton designed the illuminated sculpture. It hopes to provoke reflection about the human impulse to explore new worlds and its repercussions. The art installation has transformed the Mount Batten breakwater; stretching out 63 metres along it and 6 metres high. It consists of 3,723 LED light bulbs that are arranged to spell out ‘No New Worlds’.
The lights constantly change to offer multiple readings within the phrase. It is meant to enlighten the public around colonialism, climate change and the legacy of The Mayflower story and encourage the public to spark complex questions about these topics. It invites reflection behind the message upon the water, whether that was intended or not. It also allows the viewer to look outwards towards it from the Hoe in the same direction those 400 years ago would have to see the Mayflower depart. Looking outwards may, too, be something that the artists want us to do.
This pandemic has people worldwide experiencing a ‘new world’; one with unexpected environmental benefits. Léonie Hampton mentions that now is more important than ever for the population “to question our individual involvement, actions and behaviours which can contribute to a vision ahead whereby we can address the problems that we are facing socially and environmentally.” It is our choice how we want to see this ‘new world’, and how that view affects out future.
Sadly, the statement piece has stirred up some concerns for the overall costings, environmental issues, and the negative connotations towards Plymouth’s image. The conflict between the environmental issues and message that the artists want to portray comes across ironic, and almost hypocritical. Critics have also questioned whether it even classifies as art, due to it ‘only consisting of scaffolding and light bulbs’.
That said, art is and will always been something subjective to the user with every piece of art, from Picasso to Lenkiewicz, being both loved and hated. Even American painter, Edwin Parker, was influential with his paintings consisting of freely-scribbled, calligraphic and graffiti-like works. It is a matter of perception. Despite the collection of contrasting view points, the art installation has achieved what it was set out to do; create a discussion. It is absolutely worth a walk down to The Hoe to investigate and formulate your own opinion on The Speedwell The Mayflower!