Who cares for nature and how is it often shaped by assumptions about what a ‘normal’ body is? What if we centred sensory-diverse and disabled experiences instead? Developed in collaboration with London National Park City Rangers, join Becky Lyon for an interactive experience at The Wilderness. Inspired by encounters with the fox, an animal often seen as a disruptive body out of place, the installation challenges ideas of who belongs in nature and how conservation is practiced. You will be invited to explore some of these insights through creative sound, moving image and text formats.
ABOUT BECKY LYON
Becky Lyon is an English-Jamaican artist and researcher from London. Her practice is invested in the politics of ecology, particularly in England and the possibilities of artistic methods in rehearsing more equitable and liveable worlds. She often explores sensory and bodily knowledges as ways of reclaiming our relationship to place and resisting harmful power dynamics. Her work takes the form of tactile objects, sensory installations, hand-made moving image, audio experiments and publications. Her physical work is activated by a facilitation practice that invites audiences closer into dialogue and creates space for theory to emerge. Recent projects have included investigating notions of Britishness through the spread of the ‘invasive’ Muntjac deer; a heat-reactive installation for visitors to embody the uneven distribution of rising temperatures; performances for London’s polluted waters and surfacing relationships to soil and water through a pop-up cafe experience. She runs Ground Provisions, a ‘schooled-by-the-forest’ for adults and The Department of Artecology, a space for transdisciplinary conversations in the conservation sector. She is a Volunteer Ranger for London National Park City and is currently researching for her PhD, "Performing objects, tactile data, sense-ative documents and feelwork: touch as method for critical ecological stewardship in England” at Goldsmiths University. She side hustles as a consultant and trends researcher for global brands.
ABOUT TURF:
Founded in 2013 by Croydon locals, Turf is Croydon’s homegrown artist space and the first entirely artist-run contemporary art space in the borough. Based in Croydon’s Whitgift Shopping Centre, we put on free exhibitions 7 workshops, provide affordable artist studios, run a free creative project space for locals & host a number of other local creative organisations and collectives. A registered charity, Turf aims to provide paid opportunities for artists and creatives who might otherwise be undersupported.
A request from the Turf team - if you book, please turn up!
In 2023, around 30% of people booking free tickets didn’t attend. As a charity, we aim to support people who need creative opportunities the most and our free tickets are limited and in high demand. Every person who doesn’t turn up means someone else can’t attend, so please let us know if you can’t make it to free up a space. If you don’t attend twice or more without letting us know, you may be restricted from booking again.
KEY ACCESS INFO
- To help us support you best, please let us know if you have any access needs when booking.
- For access info about getting to Turf and the Turf space, click here.
- Our unit in the Whitgift Centre is 4 minutes walk (0.2 miles) from Wellesley Road Tram stop via the underpass, and 7 minutes walk (0.3 miles) from West Croydon Station and 8 minutes walk (0.4 miles) from East Croydon station.
WORKSHOP CODE:
Turf aims to be a space where all are welcomed & respected. We ask all attendees to align with this spirit when booking and support us in creating a welcoming & collaborative atmosphere together. We ask that everyone is;
- Kind and respectful in our language and behaviour towards others. Turf is a space which is anti racism, sexism, homophobia and ableism.
- Considerate of others’ time; allowing others room to speak & engage.
- Respectful of the space itself as belonging to many people, treating the space & objects with care.
