12th January 2008, 11:38 AM
During the Whitefriars "Big Dig" excavations in Canterbury the developer Land Securities employed an artist in residence who created a number of permanent and temporary installations linked to archaeology. The artist - Janet Hodgeson - was interested in the 'artistry of archaeology and the archaeological record'. One of the permanent installations consists of sandblasted drawings in the york stone paving of the new Whitefriars Square. Janet was interested in how the archaeologist 'drew time' and as such decided to copy the site plans at 1:1 of all rubbish pits in their original location. The plans were copied exactly - including any annotation or jottings made by the archaeologist on the originals.
There was also a book produced about the installation known as 'The Pits'. It is very interesting to see people stop and look down trying to make sense of the lines inscribed beneath their feet, and even more interesting to hear people 'knowingly' telling others what the lines represent and getting it completely wrong. Of course there is also the satisfaction of walking through the square thinking 'I drew that'!
There was also a book produced about the installation known as 'The Pits'. It is very interesting to see people stop and look down trying to make sense of the lines inscribed beneath their feet, and even more interesting to hear people 'knowingly' telling others what the lines represent and getting it completely wrong. Of course there is also the satisfaction of walking through the square thinking 'I drew that'!