Helen Cammock: On WindTides

About

Spanning the River Lea, On WindTides is a large-scale text installation by Helen Cammock that explores movement, migration and change. It consists of a short prose, on either side of a 60-metre cable bridge just north of Cody Dock. One side of the bridge reads ‘we fold ourselves across the tides,’ whilst the other side reads ‘from silt to land sometimes we live as wind blown sand’. The letters sit proud of the bridge, creating shadows with the movement of the sun.

The work was developed in relation to the local area, its heritage and its diverse communities. Once heavily industrial, the landscape and local ecology of the surrounding area is changing. The mint green of ‘we fold ourselves across the tides’ nods to the diverse array of plant and wildlife around the warehouses and canals. The text itself embraces the idea of waterways as connectors, using tides as a metaphor for the ways individuals, communities, neighbourhoods and landscapes change over time.

‘from silt to land sometimes we live as wind blown sand’ prompts us to reflect on how and why people move from one place to another. Like sand, which can settle in a landscape or can be blown elsewhere, we might land somewhere unexpectedly or through intent. This text references movement as a fundamental part of human existence and, with its ochre colouring, represents the shifting mixture of silt, sand and mud of the riverbed.

Nearby, a display cabinet features a changing display of text-based works on paper made by local community groups through workshopped conversations with the artist where participants experimented with text and collage. Using the language, signs and symbols of everyday life, their works respond to the bridge installation and its themes, referencing local history, culture, ecology, and the idea and importance of home. This display changes on a monthly basis, creating a dialogue with the words on the bridge whilst allowing new meanings and interpretations to emerge.

On WindTides is one of three co-commissions developed by The Line in collaboration with local residents. Supported by Newham Council and Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust.