Loneliness in the Crypt
I am delighted to be artist-in-residence at St Mary In The Castle Crypt in Hastings Old Town. It is an intensely atmospheric space which is already haunting my waking moments with the thrill of discovery and possibility.
Local historian Brion Purdey has kindly given me a most illuminating tour of the resting places of so many who travelled here for the 'sea cure' in the early 19th century. Many young unmarried women were brought to Hastings by their families but soon succumbed to consumption (TB). Their solitary gravestones suggest to me the loneliness of being far from home, buried away from their families. I hope to pay tribute to the unlived anonymous lives of these young women....
St Mary In The Castle Crypt | Hastings Old Town | July 2011
I will be working there most days 11am-3pm for the whole of July. Drop-in Days will be announced soon. For more information, go to my website www.cathrynkemp.com or St Mary's website www.stmaryinthecastle.com
New Work
My eyesight is taking a battering at the moment as I'm hand stitching some of my diaries onto Victorian Christening Gowns. The diaries are intensely personal - they describe my feelings around being told I can't have children. Part of making this work is as a memorial to those sentiments and honouring the emotional process so many women face with infertility and displaced motherhood. The piece - entitled Christening Gown 2011 (shown above) - showcased at Parallax 1 and was well-received. Photo credit: Alex Brattell.www.cathrynkemp.com
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