‘Haven’ is a celebration of the scrubby edgelands in and around Lowestoft, and the nourishing potential these transitory every-spaces provide. Overlooked, messy and unmanaged, these areas might be the banks of train tracks, corners of gardens, brownfield building sites, or the brambly edges of woodlands. They embody neglect and difficulty, with nettle stings and thorns and littered rubble to traverse. But because of this wildness they become sanctuaries for wildlife, providing habitats for butterflies, invertebrates, mammals and birds (spanning wrens, yellowhammer, dunnock and turtle doves). Likewise, they create refuge for people; for young adults to meet and children to explore, with a distinct lack of rules or ownership. 

 

This installation champions scrubland’s multiplicity and vigour. Constructed almost entirely from scrap materials found in and around the town, locals have donated items from boat yards, schools, gardens, building sites and beaches. Weedy plants grow throughout the mass, including nettles, buddleias, bindweed, herb robert, wild geraniums and thistles - all known for their tenacious ability to consume neglected land. Lastly, brambles and hawthorn bind the heap together in an impenetrable, protective embrace.

 

Valuing these spaces is vital for the wildlife and people that rely upon them, and ‘Haven’ encourages viewers to look differently at such messy, indistinct patches around Lowestoft. Seeing them as places of play, diversity and fluidity opens up conversations around tolerance in other areas of our lives, and shows us why they need to be protected.

​

 

Scrap wood and metal, netting, rope, sails, tyres, life jackets, compost, timber, buddleias, nettles, bindweed, thistles, mint, buttercup, herb robert, cranesbill, hawthorn, brambles.

​

July - August 2025​