The process of looking again at this familiar city, my home, has for me and the other artists from Stoke-on-Trent caused a shift in perception. We are not looking at the city for the first time - we see it every day - but negotiating the city with others, walking the city with those that do not know it intimately; and following someone else’s route maps has caused us to see our city with fresh eyes. Buildings we have never seen before reveal themselves, streets we never walk down are taken and the city appears to be on its best behaviour. Both the people of the city and the physical geology seem to stand up a little straighter than usual.This experience of a shifting of the familiar has been surreal and has caused a certain level of re-evaluation. While parts of the city show themselves to be working well, it has meant that I can also see the damp patches - where the beetles and worms wriggle and munch at the fabric of the city. It becomes clear which areas need desperate attention and which areas are looking after themselves.
Looking Out
When I first knew that I was to move to Stoke-on-Trent, I imagined a dusty, polluted, post-industrial city. The skyline was filled with ugly black chimneys and rows and rows of coronation street style houses.
The truth of the place is still unfolding ten years later. This is a place that shows itself slowly, taking its time to reveal its hidden depths and unconventional beauty. If you stand on the island in the middle of Parliament Square and look straight down Charles Street you can see all the way past Fenton to the hills which surround Stoke-on-Trent. It is an awkward spot and not one which lends itself as a space for quiet contemplation, or encourages the walker to linger and enjoy the view. Similarly, if you stand on top of the Potteries Centre multistorey car park you have the best 360 degree views of the city and its environs. To stand there and quietly take it in provides a similar sensation as that experienced by the lone walker standing on top of the cliff, looking out to sea.
As with most regeneration programmes, one of the initiatives cited for Stoke-on-Trent is an emphasis on increasing the green spaces within the city centre. The usual way of doing this is to bring in planters full of pansies and hanging baskets, as well as planting trees. This practice may not be suitable for the city centre. Through the Longhouse walkabouts it was noted by many of us that to plant trees would obscure the views out to the hills further. I propose to set up a series of reframing opportunities around the city that will aim to bring the green spaces which already exist into the centre.
A series of looking-out-posts will be set up in suitable locations around the heart of the city. These will consist of telescopes, like those found on the cliff top for looking out to sea. The city becomes linked to the land around it; the people of the city are not disengaged and severed from the beauty of the surrounding countryside.
Looking In: Camera Obscura
The other reframing device consists of a camera obscura, possibly located in Fountain Square which feels like the natural heart of the city centre but, at the moment, lacks a tangible focal point. The temporary camera obscura can be built very simply and made to look like a circus tent to encourage the public to enter. It can then be used as a tool for finding out what the people of the city want. Whilst they are viewing the amazing sights provided by the camera obscura it will be possible to set up a consultation opportunity to talk to people about whether they would like a permanent camera obscura housed in Fountain Square and, if so, what shape they feel it should be. In this way, the temporary intervention and resulting consultation become a way of finally finding out if the people of the city like the bottle oven shape which is constantly used to represent Stoke-on-Trent and whether they feel it is appropriate. The camera obscura causes a reframing of the city but is also a great tool for community interaction. It can be built to accommodate up to 10 people - which means that strangers can interact over the viewing of the city.
Birdsong
Finally, walking in the city centre a few Saturdays ago I notice that I am looking again with fresh eyes - not just seeing, but hearing. There is a real bustle going on outside the public toilets, there are people milling about, eating burgers, laughing, hurrying and then there is the deafening sound of birds singing. I am not sure if this is usual, or if it’s just because I am suddenly aware, but it really is very loud. I look up at the tree outside the bank and it is teaming with birds, adding to the Market Day noise.
Where there are birds there is life and, here in the city centre, life is being lived. I propose to record those bird sounds and put them in spaces within the centre where there are no trees to accommodate the birds, to increase the feeling of life that is provided by the birdsong. It is important that councils and architects give attention to more than just the way something looks when city planning. The smell, sound and feel of a place can be just as influential in effecting how the space is used as the way that it looks. The existing plant holders dotted about in the centre do provide added green interest but the birds are not fooled by the metal trees. By adding the birdsong it may be possible to provide an atmosphere of health and life within the centre.
