Les Bikes du Bois Rond by Gavin Turk
Bun Voyagi has been produced in partnership between the Town Hall Galleries Ipswich and Commissions East as part of ‘Fleet: Art in the Haven Ports’ and shows a selection of work from the FRAC Nord – Pas de Calais. The exhibition, about language and journeys, takes its title from Gavin Turk’s experience of the travel process during his journey from Dover to Calais.
On checking-in as a foot passenger at Calais Ferry Terminal Turk was issued with a plastic card for the transit. These reusable tokens, the dimensions of a credit card, exist as something to present or redeem at Customs as proof of crossing. Unremarkable, plain red in colour they wish their carriers well on their cross-channel journeys with the French farewell sentiment ‘Bon Voyage’. The card issued on this particular occasion was well travelled with incidental wear and tear to its surface. Some of the black text had rubbed away to reveal a revised statement, ‘BUN VOYAGI’. Nonsensical and unrecognisable yet suggestive of another language, the transition and changed meaning implied some sort of cultural exchange.
Gavin Turk’s selection for Bun Voyagi demonstrates the FRAC’s historical focus on the interaction between art and design together with more recent acquisitions from emerging contemporary artists including works that consider geographical location and borders. Further ideas about identity, language, journeys and transience are implied through artists’ use of (transportable) media, and systematic and coded identification as communicated through text, maps, flags and grids.
Core to the project is Turk’s own contribution to Fleet, Les Bikes du Bois Rond, a series of 20 hand customised bicycles inspired by André Cadere’s transportable, striped wooden staffs, one of which is included in Bun Voyagi. A bike will be exhibited in the gallery as part of the curated exhibition. The others will be used to connect Fleet sites across two bike ride events before being displayed at Key Arts, St Mary’s-at-the-quay.
Les Bikes du Bois Rond by Gavin Turk 22 July to August 28. Thursday to Saturday 11am to 4pm St Mary at the Quay, Key Street, Ipswich
Les Bikes du Bois Rond designed and produced by Gavin Turk in response to the work of Polish artist Andre Cadere are being exhibited at the church. The bicycles were commissioned by Commissions East as part of the Fleet project and are being used for two bicycle rides on the Suffolk and Essex coasts on the 3rd and 17th July
