Autumn in the West

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East Spring Birth film situated in the Church interior next to a table with brass crucifix

Art in the Romney Marsh

All Saints Church, Lydd, Kent.

Curated by Jonathan Wright, September 2011.

Black and white photo of the interior of All Saints Church
The interior of All Saints Church, Lydd.

‘Autumn in the West’ consisted of three small framed films, placed in the North, the East and the South of All Saint’s Church. 

The exhibition happened during the Autumn and visitors entered the through the West door. Therefore, the idea was to provoke a feeling of now and awareness of the orientation of the church and the cycle of life


The ‘North Winter Death’ film was placed in the North by a stone tomb of a knight and consisted of a digitised 16mm film of a candle being blown out and the resulting curling smoke fading into black.

Still of the 16mm film.
Close-up photo of the North Winter Death film playing within a black-bordered picture frame
‘North Winter Death’ film close-up.
Photo of the North Winter Death film playing in a picture frame resting on an exposed heating pipe
‘North Winter Death’ film from a distance.

The ‘East Spring Birth’ film was placed at the East end of the South aisle and consisted of a digitised 8mm film of cherry blossoms bouncing in the wind.

8mm film still shows cherry blossoms on branches of a tree
Still of the 8mm film.
Close-up photo of the East Spring Birth film playing within a black-bordered picture frame
‘East Spring Birth’ film close-up.
Photo of the East Spring Birth film playing in a picture frame next to a table with brass crucifix
‘East Spring Birth’ film from a distance.

The ‘South Summer Life’ film was in the area for Holy Water to be stored, on the South wall of All Saints Church, and consisted of a digital film of the sparkling sea.

Close-up photo of the South Summer Life film playing within a black-bordered picture frame, resting in an alcove
‘South Summer Life’ film close-up.
Photo of the South Summer Life film playing in a picture frame resting within a small alcove
‘South Summer Life’ film from a distance.

The experiencers would've found themselves journeying around the church; the north, east, south and then west of the church, encountering notions of the cycle of the sun, the seasons, of film technology and fundamentally the cycles of life, from death to birth, through life to decay found in the autumn and the west.