On 1st August, an artistic installation that has caught the imagination of audiences in major cities across the world is coming to the UK for the first time, yes, to Cardiff, giving people the chance to go wild and have a completely unique experience with nature in the heart of the Welsh capital.
Tape is the brainchild of Numen / For Use, a Croatian collective working in the field of conceptual art, scenography and spatial design. The installation will involve tape being wound around twelve trees in the magnificent surroundings of Bute Park to create a fluid, interactive structure somewhere between a spider’s web and a cocoon.
The project is being delivered in partnership by RSPB Cymru’s flagship Giving Nature a Home in Cardiff project, Welsh arts organisation Migrations and the City of Cardiff Council. Funding for the project comes from the Arts Council of Wales and Tesco customers through the Welsh carrier bag levy.
Giving Nature a Home in Cardiff’s Project Manager, Carolyn Robertson, said: “We’re really excited to bring this unique piece of work to Cardiff. The Giving Nature a Home in Cardiff project is all about restoring a connection with nature that many people have lost. Being able to crawl around inside Tape will give people a chance to get a completely different perspective amongst the trees that we hope will inspire them to think differently about the natural world.”
Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Bob Derbyshire, said: “Versions of Tape have been seen in some of the world’s most exciting cities so it’s wonderful to be welcoming it to Cardiff. The Welsh capital is blessed with some fantastic parks and green spaces and some amazing wildlife but it’s all too easy to live in a city without giving any real thought to the natural world that surrounds us. The Giving Nature a Home in Cardiff project is really helping to put nature back into childhood and Tape should really enhance the sense of wonder that the natural world evokes and engage children, families, art and nature lovers with the city’s wildlife.”
Karine Décorne, Migrations’ Curator, said: "We are very excited to bring such a high-calibre international artists to Wales. This site-specific piece is a unique chance for people to experience contemporary art at its best. All the work we show is high-profile, contemporary yet generous and playful. On this special occasion, we are delighted to work with the RSPB and present something which will both challenge people’s perceptions and help them reconnect with their natural environment.”
Sven Jonke of Numen / For Use, said: "Tape Cardiff is for us one of those rare opportunities to work in an open terrain i.e. outside the confines of the gallery space and also a first Tape installation ever to be installed amidst the trees of a public park. The parasitical, biomorphic character of the object can perhaps be best observed when it invades the natural environment, which is why such contexts are very dear to us. We are looking forward to inspiring work process and to an interesting result."
Alongside the installation the Giving Nature a Home in Cardiff team will be delivering a whole range of fun, family friendly nature based activities including bio-blitzes and bug hunts to encourage people to think about how they can help protect our urban wildlife and give nature a home where they live.
But the story doesn’t end there…once the installation is dismantled, all the Tape will be recycled and made into wildflower planters that will continue giving nature a home for years to come.
Tape is free to explore and will be open to the public from August 1 – August 31 from 8am – 8pm, But Park, Cardiff
www.migrations.uk
http://www.numen.eu