Mark Haywood

 

"City dwellers take for granted the availability of fresh produce in the supermarket regardless of the season. It is so easy to forget about the harvest and it's vagaries, yet even the agro-industries of Western Europe and North America still depend upon the right weather at the right time in order achieve a successful crop. Despite the sophistication of their machinery and farming techniques, in this respect they still share the anxieties and worries of the first farmers.

The intended installation has not been possible because the crop, which was its principal component, has failed. The farmer has nothing to show for his months of labour, the middleman has lost his cut, the carrier will not be needed to transport the load and the artist has been unable to make the piece he intended. However he is perhaps more fortunate than the rest. The failure of one artwork generates the creation of another, which otherwise would not have existed.

Over the centuries mankind has sought solace in homilies, repeating them gives us an illusion of control and we can contextualise our situation as being a common misfortune. Perhaps we also experience a brief sense of community and continuity with others who have passed this way previously."

"A trouble shared is a trouble halved."