Brownsea: An Imaginary Island (An Island of the Imaginary)

This installation draws on artist Neal White's ongoing Test Sites research into Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour in Dorset with Arts Catalyst, London. Brownsea: The Imaginary Island as an installation does not provide an informational view onto this idyllic space, but explores its role as part of deeper psychological, political and creative projections by the various gatekeepers, wardens, guards, enthusiasts and conservationists who call this place their own. The installation becomes a space in which the artist reflects on these shared social and spatial imaginaries – the romantic, sublime, utilitarian, economic and social – as they interact with deep and hidden aspects of the landscape; oil extraction, marine pollution and leisure overload. It acts as an analogue to the Island; a space for an exchange of views in which the burden of our imaginations are shared, and our political views and personal desires for the sublime projected. Ultimately, it aims to explore the possibility of a future platform on the Island, in which these personal and social imaginaries are realised. Norm Contaminated, a soundscape by artist Anna Troisi, has been specially created to form part of the installation