What they said about Figure Ground and Light Vessel 21...

“It’s about the sights and emotions and seeing the bits in between” – Hil, High Halstow. Hil was the lovely lady who kept us fed and watered at the refreshment table as we meandered around the ship, so a huge “Thank You” for that, Hil :-)

“A very good idea to preserve a bit of history; the whole concept is creative” – Joyoti, Calcutta (left). Joyoti is taking a well earned holiday from helping India’s street kids in Calcutta, where he is also involved in running an amateur community radio station.

“A tester piece for artists and LV21 to have bigger installations ... use your head and heat to respond to the space. How to react ... not just an exhibition, it was how the collaborations work and where to go next!” – Jon Adams, artist.

Figure Ground/LV21: The Light Vessel Historical Society

Yes, I dutifully began taking notes, thinking I could use it in the Rochester People article, while also thinking I ought to be concentrating on Figure Ground ... I actually wrote “not part of Figure Ground” after the very convincing “We apologise for the noise and people, we’ve been double booked”!

The web address they gave us - http://www.lightvesselhistoricalsociety.org/ - doesn’t exist. But it should do - so I took the liberty! You’ll find a short Figure Ground history of LV21 here! (Some of it may even be true!)

NB: I've since been in contact with Fiona Long, one of the contributing artists on the Lightvessel Historical Society project, alongside Steve McPherson, Sarah Britten-Jones and Katy Beinart. Please do pop over to her blog about the event and keep an eye on it, since more about the history of LV21 may well appear in the future!

Figure Gound/LV21: Hannah Hull and Bob the Mariner, Untitled

An almost accidental meeting for macramé artist Hannah and Bob the Mariner resulted in Hannah acquiring a set of new skills, as sea-soned (sea what I did there? And there?) Mariner Bob showed Hannah ...er, more ropes! Her “fancy rope work” is now strengthened by Bob’s 50 years worth of knotty knowledge; he found his land legs and needed a hobby!

Figure Ground/LV21: Ingrid Plum, Lookout

Depth of tone and paper boats filled the lookout space, don’t let the innocent Red Riding Hood look deceive you; the strong, clear quality of Ingrid’s vocal would’ve captivated the big bad wolf and left him helpless.

Figure Ground/LV21: Elise Liversedge & Mary Hooper, Last Station

The cabin of the last crewman, Brian Packham, was traced, literally “tracing the solidity of the steel” – for Elise, fired up to take the project further “this is just the domestic start”. The light Vessel, here and now, moored on the pier. How will it merge with the landscape and interact with the developments?

Figure Ground/LV21: Colin Turner, Nicola Rae & Paul Malone, Hydrophone Frequencies

Hydrophone Frequencies was a computer interpretation of the water outside the Light Vessel, with sound reverberating and echoing unlike it would in any other gallery and a visual to match. With a hydrophone in the water relaying one set of images, and recordings of Colin singing sea shanties transmitted from below deck producing another, a bit of sustained humming from me produced the wavy lines you see above! Pure fun! Thanks for letting me have a play, Nicola!

Figure Ground/LV21: Matt Bray, Sea Monster

Matt Bray is well known to Medway creatives, as he’s often to be found dishing out the cappuccinos and cakes from behind the counter at the Deaf Cat! Imagining his creation within the lightship space, rough sketches gave way to the full size creature, a carefully controlled explosion of my favourite colours.

“Extremely proud; he’s living his dream” – Matt’s Mum

“I like the blue lines working with the blue chain” – Chris, UCA Rochester.

I like that the Octopus seems to be eyeing up the apple core ... “someone left their own little installation” quipped Matt!

Figure Ground/LV21: Jane Ponsford, Endless Voyage

Jane’s idea of an endless voyage began with thoughts of how a crew member would be feeling when on board the lightship: detached, out there, in a world full of little worlds. From ships in bottles, the idea evolved to include water from the Medway, seaweed and those amazing lights, suffusing the blackened hull into an otherworldly space.

In her words: “Being on the LV21 has been a brilliant experience; an experiment with lovely people.”

Figure Ground/LV21: Jon Adams

Jon Adams is an original member of Figure Ground and is Artist in Residence for the University of Portsmouth. As with many of the Figure Ground installations on LV21, sound was the preferred media; Jon’s mum used to live in Gillingham, and he relayed radio recordings of her fascinating wartime memories of nearby Skinner Street and the Pier.

As a lead artist for Dysarticulate 2, Jon is encouraging the community to make a field of flags (when I say field ... it could be a window box, a roundabout or a beach – it’s your choice!) culminating in an Open Weekend on 22nd -24th July, the start of the 12 month countdown to the 2012 London Olympics. To find out how you can be involved as an individual or part of a group, visit the website here.

Figure Ground Artists Commandeer Light Vessel 21!

A perfect Spring day dawned for the Figure Ground artists on Light Vessel 21 – I wrote a small piece on Rochester People to accompany the gallery of photos, but wanted to feature some of the installations and individuals artists I spoke to on the day. As with the South Bank Sky Arts piece, I shall put them into nice easy manageable chunks!

Figure Ground is an artists' network in that aims to reconfigure the current context of art in public spaces, initiating projects throughout South East England. Keep an eye on updates for any near you!

LV21 is a stunning creative space on board a decommissioned Lightship moored at Gillingham Pier, whose aim is one of collaboration and support for creatives throughout Medway and beyond.