interviewing Botanic Gardens folk

On Sunday (Aug. 17th, 2008) I went around Botanic gardens interviewing people. I gave them a word and asked them to say the first three words that popped into their mind. Most people were eager to participate and enjoyed the little bit of quirkiness added to their walk through the park. I got some great words and good feedback. It was invaluable to put some of the ideas of the project in the hands of the people who visit Botanic gardens even if it was in a far removed, abstracted way.

The words I used were... sanctuary, haven, refuge, garden, secret garden, park, oasis, safe place, conservatory. I think the only word that was too removed from the concept of my installation was 'oasis'. It has too many connotations of the desert and the musical group. From the other words there was a lot of interesting associations. For example, from 'secret garden' there was 'key', 'safe', 'open', 'walls'...

One thing that was not too surprising but interesting to note is that the Botanic Gardens is extremely multi-cultural. Much more so than the surrounding residential area and Belfast in general. It highlights the enjoyment of gardens across cultural lines.

I still haven't decided for sure whether I will use these voices or whether I will go for the live recorded approach but these interviews have really grounded my work in the Public and in the Botanic Gardens.