Student's art show lights up park (From Echo)

Student's art show lights up park

4:00am Thursday 13th November 2008

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CHALKWELL Park resembled a fairytale when art student Clare Lynn lit up the central walkway with an innovative display of miniature lights.

Entitled A Light Stroll, the installation used more than 400 paper boxes filled with LED lights scattered about the path.

Clare, 26, of Southborne Grove, Chalkwell, is studying fine art at South East Essex College.

She said: “This brought the park to life in a different way. During the day it is so beautiful, but at night it can be quite intimidating so I wanted to open it up to people again and help them to not be afraid to experience the park at night.

“I’m so pleased with how it went. It was absolutely fantastic. The feedback from everyone was so positive.”

Miss Lynn has worked with light in various ways throughout her degree, including a fibre optic and canvas display inspired by her travels in South Africa.

“The park did inspire me. I wanted to work outdoors for an installation and the park is a wonderful space,” she said.

“The park is quite fascinating at night and I have worked there before on a much smaller scale. I just decided to go for it on a bigger scale and I got the effect I was aiming for. I wanted people to be overwhelmed by this.

“Everyone relies on light day in and day out so I am hoping to make people think about it in a different way and appreciate it more.

“Everyone loved the fact the park was so welcoming and it really brought home how light helps make people feel safe, and how it can make a real difference to how they see an area.”

The boxes were all hand-made by Clare, and were constructed from white paper.

“There is a lot of simplicity about the display,” she said. “We had young and old come along and a lot of people found it unusual being able to pick up the boxes and be part of the artwork. I left some spare boxes for the children to put out themselves and they just loved it. I got out of it exactly what I wanted and I am still buzzing with excitement, it was fantastic.”

The display was rescheduled from last week, when bad weather forced its cancellation over fears the rain would destroy the delicate boxes.

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