Wish you were Here!

They built a beach in the New Lodge - based on the traditional holiday for the people of the area - a trip to the seaside.

Artist Amanda McKittrick and young women aged 12 -15 collaborated to create this temporary piece of public art.

‘Wish You Were Here’ is a work which emphasizes public participation. It aimed to summon up the joy of a day at the seaside, encouraging the community to experience a familiar space in a new and exciting manner.

For one day only, the street outside the Star Neighbourhood Centre was transformed and infused with human energy. Young people, children, mums, dads, grannies and granddads all arrived with their buckets and spades to join in with the spirit of the event and the weather didn’t disappoint!

The group used over 12 tons of sand to create ‘New Lodge beach’ and had an array of water toys, waterslides and sprays, to add to the day’s experience.

A marquee was set up to house a slide show and sound instillation. You could hear the sound of seagulls and crashing waves and had the opportunity to view workshop slides of the young people and their trips to the beach to collect materials for the day. Also a slide show of old photographs the group had collected from within the community, an archive of images and memories of past holidays and trips to the seaside. The young people also used these images to create their own bunting to decorate and display at their beach.

Amidst the sounds, sand, shells and seaweed, children played with their buckets and spades enjoying a fun filled seaside experience on their door step.

A truly intergenerational experience as the rest of the community joined in to transform the space for one day. The young people along with artist Amanda McKittrick facilitated a sand casting workshop in which the participants of the event could take away a lasting memory of the day in the form of a plaster hand or foot print, a souvenir from ‘New Lodge Beach’.

New Lodge Beach is a memory that will not be forgotten by the community. It is something special that will be though of with pride by the young people who conceived the idea and made it a reality. One of the group said ‘It is something for us to remember as we grow up and will be a story to tell our children and even grandchildren one day....We made this space ours for one day’

Artist Amanda McKittrick said ‘Public art should not be reduced to something to brighten up the environment; it has the potential to weave threads of history, culture and personal expression into our lives’.