To Forgotten Fleets

Artists: Simon Read and Ros Conway
Location: Felixstowe, Suffolk

‘To Forgotten Fleets’ was initiated in 1994 by Commissions East and The Photographers’ Gallery as part of Maximum Exposure, an international competition for siting photography in public places. Felixstowe in Suffolk was chosen as one of four national sites.

Artists Simon Read and Ros Conway won the competition and were invited to develop a project for the sea front which focused on the North Sea, maritime heritage and local history. A tree planting scheme, which was part of a local environmental programme, was utilised to create new navigational reference points. A series of photographic images were taken of local tree carvings, reproduced in enamel and placed alongside the new planting. In addition, a panorama of old shipping fleets was sandblasted into the concrete sea defences.

‘To Forgotten Fleets’ highlights both the fragile nature of the coastline itself and the relationship of inhabitants to the sea.