Arts Thread

“From a distance” is a response to the Kent landscapes shaped through walking, gathering, and transforming earth into form. It explores how we experience land in the age of the Anthropocene, where encounters with place are often fractured or lost. A panoramic billboard, earth-formed monoliths and spheres, and screens with video and sound construct a mediated ‘spectacle’ of place. Together, they juxtapose the direct, embodied engagement of walking in the land and a distanced technological representation. The billboard acts as both a window and a barrier, symbolising a longing for connection with nature, while confronting the reality of our disconnection. At its core is the retired hoverport of Pegwell Bay, a site once dominated by industry, now slowly reclaimed by nature. Its haunting beauty holds both ruin and resilience. The work asks: What remains of place after extraction, neglect, and spectacle? And can we begin to reimagine more attentive, ethical ways of being with the land?