The Ship Swallower
Archive Café transformed into an eerie underwater sandbank
Mysterious treasure buried at the heart of the sandbank
The Ship Swallower installation is evoking “drowning on dry land”, a reference to the Goodwin Sands and their ability to scupper and suck anything into this notorious shipwrecking sandbank. The Archive café space was transformed into a “sandbank” using drapes of hessian falling from the blue lit lighting system, which fell into a floor filled with sand. Playing in the background is the Morse code soundtrack for Worse Things Happen at Sea listing some of the names of the vessels lost on the Goodwins. The original soundtrack listed over a thousand.
In the centre of the “sandbank” sits a small cap. This was donated to Mooch by a beachcomber who found it on Long Rock at Swalecliff and then contacted Counterpoints Arts to see if an artist could include it in their work, Counterpoints then passed this contact to Mooch.
The beachcomber’s first thought when finding it may have belonged to a child trying to cross the Channel in one of the migrant boats seeking refuge. There is, of course, little chance of confirming it’s origin but that reaction from the beachcomber alone gives the cap a resonance worth marking and contemplating.
“It may have belonged to a child trying to cross the Channel in one of the migrant boats seeking refuge.”
Mooch was listed as part of the Platforma 5 arts festival exploring the arts and refugees. The Ship Swallower was one of their featured events.
This is part of the continued exploration of the phenomena of the Goodwin Sands by Mooch. Previous works have included PERFUGIUM MISERIS, a Latin motto displayed on the Ramsgate harbour arm, Worse Things Happen at Sea, a Morse code sound installation in Ramsgate’s lighthouse in collaboration with composer Nick de Carlo.
