Adam Bridgland ‘Upon Every Wave’
Upon Every Wave & Out to Sea
Commissioned 2017-18.
Print edition, Plywood Sculpture, Vinyl Installation.
40 Hamilton Road & Old Felixstowe, close to Martello Tower ‘T’.
In 2018, artists Adam Bridgland and Caroline Wright undertook residencies in Felixstowe to develop or reimagine work that used the brief of ‘THRIVE | REVIVE’ as a starting point. The programme produced across the Summer comprised public art interventions, consultations, performances, and events. Both artists also worked alongside local youth project Level Two.
Artist and printmaker Adam Bridgland produced two public art interventions in Felixstowe. These interventions developed out of his interest in the impact of the coast on wellbeing - or blue health - which were explored in a screenprint titled ‘Upon Every Wave’ commissioned in 2017.
In his sculpture located in Old Felixstowe, these same words were seen on a sign-like wooden structure that seemed to grow out of the landscape. With the North Sea as a backdrop and adjacent to the walking path from the centre of Felixtsowe to the ferry, ‘Upon Every Wave’ invited us to consider the motion of the sea as a metaphor for our experience of life. Its humble DIY aesthetic riffed on harbour notices alerting us to ferry times, ice-cream prices, and the ‘catch of the day - direct messages from coastal workers - eschewing the spectacle often associated with public sculpture for a more gentle, poetic provocation.
The second work, a vinyl installation, was located in the shop-front window of 40 Hamilton Road. Titled ‘Out to Sea’ the images and text referenced the sea as a place of sanctuary and solace and was a subtle nod to the importance of the open-water swimming community within the town.