ALIGNMENT
Natalia Kasprzycka
Installed at Burslem Port: Oct 2021
Etruria marl clay, dogwood
Built from materials collected around the site, this clay stone path is the artist’s attempt to capture and temporarily shape the essence of Burslem Port. Made of industrial waste, clay exposed by recent fires and nearby roadworks, textured with plants and remains of human activity on the site - bricks, bottles, pieces of rope and net - they represent the quiet life of the park which Burslem Port has become since the canal branch closure in the 1960s. Because clay, unless fired, undergoes a continuous cycle of accumulation and erosion, the destiny of these temporary rocks is to disintegrate and for its components to return to the site they came from - a process which will begin on the day they are installed.
Referring to megalithic stone alignments or rows, a ceremonial way of route-making and one of the earliest forms of human intervention into landscapes, they naturally form a conversation with the existing concrete poles on the site, which represent a much more hostile method of defining paths - fencing. In contrast, Alignment's purpose is to open up this wild space, to invite and guide visitors towards the natural beauty of Burslem Port.
Artist Support: Joanne Mills, Sandra Aydin & Glen Stoker
