Start’s “Inner Word” Art-Garden
Visitors were surprised and intrigued
Inner Word wins special Commendation at the RHS Flower Show 2006 at Tatton Park…more
Start in Manchester's installation ‘Inner Word’ (or ‘In a Word’), made for the Manchester-based arts festival Garden of Delights, caused a stir amongst the thousands of visitors who made the trip to this exciting celebration of visual and theatrical arts.
Our Zen-inspired Art-Garden featured one hundred hand-made ceramic pebbles carrying words of hope, healing and recovery, arranged amongst subtle textures of stone, slate and plants to create a contemplative artwork. We invited the public to walk around the slate pathway that ran through the installation, encouraging them to read the words, touch the pebbles, and reflect on recovery journeys and mental health experiences.
With reactions ranging from intrigued and fascinated to quietly moved, our visitor comments included descriptives such as “Absolutely beautiful… fantastic… gorgeous… magnificent.” Children were enchanted by being able to walk through the installation, and a group of passing teenagers were delighted to spot Urdu words amongst the English, impressed into the pebbles.
Several visitors asked whether the installation had been made for the Royal Horticultural Show at Chelsea, one person adding “It deserves to win a Gold Medal!”. Director of Manchester-based arts and health project LIME, Brain Chapman, commented “It’s like a shrine of ideas”, whilst another visitor reflected “The words are positive... ‘breakthrough’ and ‘recovery’ … it’s superb that’s it’s made by a group of people who have real experience to share… It should be covered in perspex and made a permanent feature.”
“…illness need not be a negative experience…”
Perhaps most importantly, many visitors commented on the mental health themes, several asking for more details of Start’s work. One person, on being told who had made the artwork, said “It’s tranquil and inspiring…I have mental health problems, I’m on anti-depressants. It’s made me feel emotional…uplifted….”
To evoke a range of responses as warm and varied as these has delighted Start students (service users) and staff alike, showing that the ‘Inner Word’ installation has the power to move and inspire.
The show organisers were likewise thrilled at the public’s reactions. In their letter thanking us for our contribution, they said “The Stewards told us how impressed everyone was on seeing the installation…We hope the artists who created the piece were really happy with it, because every detail - the plants, the stone path, the pebbles - created such a stunning piece of work and invited action and contemplation”.
Artistic coordinators for the project, Rachel Cooke and Annie Tortora describe the garden in this way:
"It deserves to win a Gold Medal !"
“‘Inner Word’ was designed by those using our service, and ourselves, to speak to the public about the journeys we may take whilst on the road to recovery. The words on the hand-made pebbles are a reflection of the emotions people pass through on those journeys, and they show that a period of illness need not be a negative experience, but can have positive meaning in that what you learn from it can shape your life for the better. It’s for this reason that we were inspired by Zen gardens - like a Zen garden, in our garden each object represents an idea, the design is rich with meaning and the whole garden uplifts and encourages reflection.”
Horticulture coordinator for the project, Paul Rippon adds:
“We were keen to use this opportunity to bring the gardening and art departments together once more, as we did for the RHS show at Tatton Park some years ago. The ‘Inner Word’ Garden was a pleasure to work on, and I’m delighted it has drawn visitors in so effectively.”
“a pleasure to work on”
Start in Manchester teamed up with Victoria Park Day Centre to make pebbles for the garden. Both are part of Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust. Start aims to help its participants to rebuild confidence and self-esteem in as creative a way as possible, through studying art and horticulture.
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