Henry Seaton's "Homes Fit for Heroes"

Henry Seaton
Friday 17th – Wednesday 29th September

Henry Seaton’s ‘Homes Fit for Heroes’ is the work of architect and artist Rex Henry and sculptor Graham Seaton. The exhibition might be seen as a dream for a well ordered city or simply the re-functioned remnants of serial production - or does it hint at a lost history when failed promises of homes made to returning war weary troops sparked a revolt - a regiment of model homes occupying the gallery as the soldiers once occupied the town?”

The exhibition is inspired by the 1919 ‘Folkestone Mutinies’, which sparked revolt through the army, that spread through the country. After years of fighting in the filthy bloodbath trenches of World War I, the troops had been promised that they would be returning to a ‘land fit for heroes’. Instead Winston Churchill (soon to become the Secretary of State for War) expected British soldiers to fight a new war against the newly formed Workers State in Russia.

‘On January 3rd 1919, 2 000 soldiers ordered to embark for service abroad at Folkestone refused and marched in perfect, unarmed formation to the Town Hall. They were promised a rapid programme of demobilisation but the next day orders arrived summoning them to embark. Again they refused and this time they marched to the Harbour. Incoming troops on their way to France swelled their ranks. 4 000 troops demonstrated at Dover. By Saturday 10 000 soldiers had marched through the town from the Harbour Station. Reportedly everywhere the townspeople showed their support.’

Graham Seaton a finalist for the 2007 Jerwood Sculpture Prize, graduated in 2000 with a MA in site specific sculpture from Wimbledon School of Art. His work is concerned with transformations of space and materials, and pursues a long established interest in found objects

Rex Henry is an artist and maker, architect and urbanist, is interested in the urban insert and montage construction, the subject of a practice based Phd at the London Metropolitan University where he teaches. He is a founding partner of the interdisciplinary art and architecture practice architecture and…

Homes Fit for Heroes runs until Wednesday 29th September, the gallery is at the top of the Folkestone’s Old High Street, CT20 1RL. It is open from 11am - 5pm, Monday to Saturday and admission is free.

pauly :: 2010 :: Comment / reply