Peer into the portal of All Colours Sam’s Windowless Hut. Inside, Fay and an Unknown Boy, in slippers, are playing at a table. There’s a wooden chair, switches strewn around and faded wallpaper covered with a pattern of dials. Fay is taking an imaginary school register while the Unknown Boy, has finished a packet of Salt n Shake crisps.* He is now reading a Clangers manual.
“Are you a ghost?” the Unknown Boy asks Sam Sam replies, “Well, I am in an odd sort of way.” Fay turns around and asks, “What are you then?” Sam replies, “You Know.” They all chuckle.
“It was important to me to phyiscally create a window installation that brings the Sandown Clown story to life, giving viewers a sense of the world Fay and the boy entered in May 1973.”
While the Sandown Clown story has found a global audience, it remains surprisingly unknown in its hometown. Teresa brings this episode of high strangeness to life by drawing on her craft of storytelling, play, and puppetry, re-imagining the past as a curious piece of nostalgic theatre.
“Whether the elements were imagined or real, using genuine artifacts from the time was important to bring a fidelity that will hopefully resonate and add a sense of familiarity.“
In the Shadow of Sam – Sam statue in background by Xanadu Collective
“While the hut is the correct size and scale for children, the children themselves are reimagined as almost alien beings, with large papier-mâché heads composed of the BUFORA report. This reflects the cyclical nature of their imagination, posing the question: Has what happened happened to their minds, or has it been soaked up by their papier-mâché brains?“
BUFORA Journal 1978 / Spaceman or Golf Links Ghost
“Fay and the Unknown Boy have almost become a sideshow in the world of the Sandown Clown. But what if Sam is the one who is a sideshow in their world?”
The Windowless Hut is on display at Boojum&Snark, 105 High Street, Sandown PO36 8AF until September 10. The installation is part of the Arts Council England-supported Sandown Rocks project developed by Tracy Mikich, exploring new and hidden Sandown narratives. With special thanks to Sebrina Calkins aka BR1NA for artist interview <3
#SandownRocks #InspiredbySandown #IrisManifesto
*In 1993 Walkers and Smith’s were merged into a single entity. Walkers relaunched Salt ‘n’ Shake in 2003 Photography – T Mikich For information on the Xanadu Collective visit Xanadu Collective
