Love Ties entangles the viewer in an experience that is both celebratory and tragic. Uplifted or pensive the viewer’s understanding of the work will depend on not only the time of day and season, but also their own emotional experiences. 

On a dull day the letters sit quietly amongst the willow trees, hovering above the water waiting to be discovered yet as the sun appears from behind the clouds the texts burst into light, shining love at you.  As you walk round the boating lake the reflections shimmer and shift, making the texts look like they are speaking to you in different tones.  To read each whole quote entails a walk around the entire boating lake, or up three flights of stairs, sometimes near and sometimes far,
around the islands the quotes appear to accompany you, connect with you or hold you at bay, distant.  Peering at the plaques on the stairs, your image is intimately reflected in the shiny polished texts. 

On the one hand Love Ties serves to uplift, to fill the viewer with love to permeate love throughout Hanley Park and beyond as the viewer passes through on in to Hanley.  With all the texts coming from the communities that use the park, the concept of public ownership is absolute and therefore a beautiful reflection of the people that contributed to the piece. Of the hidden treasures that lie within their hearts, of their honesty, their passion and their ability to communicate.

Love Ties too becomes a reminder of distant memories, of words once spoken that can and often are so easily forgotten or torn apart.  As it lives in the park the permanent and solid nature of these letters is not allowed to die, they can’t be retracted or torn up.  Love Ties serves to remind us that despite what we may have neglected, our words can and often do live on in others.
If you would like a copy of the DVD, please contact Emily