My Place
Tatsuo Inagaki 2002
Japanese artist Tatsuo Inagaki came to Grizedale in 2002, determined to get under the skin of the people who live and work in the forest. He created The Grizedale Museum (right), where he filled glass cabinets with various items and knick-knacks donated by the local workforce. He also wandered around the 2002 Ambleside Flower Show, asking people to swap an item in their pocket for an item from his plate which he was carrying around with him.
His main project at Grizedale, however, was 'My Place' (below) - a series of short vignettes from forest workers printed on signs which were put up in various places. Inagaki goes into more detail on his website:
"I interviewed staff at Grizedale Visitor Centre, located at the centre of the Grizedale Forest and collected their memorable stories of life in and around the centre and the forest. I created plaques from these stories, and installed them at places featured in the stories.
Through these plaques, visitors to the forest can obtain a better understanding of the relationship between the local people and the forest, and share in the life in the region and its daily experiences. The plaques have made the forest and Visitor Centre into a 'museum' of the memories of those working in the area."
There's an example on Inagaki's website of one such reminiscence, courtesy of a chap called Jamie, which reads:
"I had been working in the forest most of the day building a platform and I was tired. When I had finished I walked back to my car through the forest and then the fields with the sheep grazing. It was a beautiful evening and I thought how lucky I was that this was my walk home from work."
After the initial hostility from some quarters of the local populace, Inagaki's 'My Place' project could arguably be credited, in part, with helping to repair the relationship between Grizedale Arts and the people of Grizedale, following the change in direction from 1999 onwards.