A HOLE IN THE WATER

A Hole in the Water was a sculptural installation photographed at St Mary Magdalene Church in Eton Wick on 13th May 2024. The piece comprised of a vintage tool chest, that once belonged to my grandfather, amended with gesso, mahogany parquet, a gold rimmed void in the centre of the base and gold foiled details. Also, slip cast porcelain vessels (to capture the souls) and several ceramic figures (chickens, goat, oxen) to encourage the passage of the dead out of hell.

The piece was inspired by a 1901 inquest report on the suicide of John Janes, my great grandfather. I converted the report into a three act play, which I made into a case-bound book with accompanying photographs. The thing about Eton Wick is that it on the grounds of Eton college, and so has been absented from the continual development and change that is prevalent elsewhere in the world. You walk round there and it could be 1901, apart from the odd car.

It seemed to me unfair that my great grandfather would be placed in hell due to the mental imbalance that lead to him taking his own life (by drowning in the Thames). He wasn't well and was dead, that was bad enough, but eternal damnation and unimaginable torture seemed excessive. I sought to open a portal into hell and invite him to leave and find a better place to reside for all eternity. You'd have to read the play to find out how that went.

In the text, I quoted from Cormac McCarthy's last book, Stella Maris, relating to drowning. Later, in July 2024, I happened to be in Lake Tahoe, when I realised the description of the drowning was set there. It occurred to me that perhaps the abyss inside the chest lead to the bottom of Lake Tahoe. So let's say that's where it goes.

I found the process of making this piece very depressing at the time. However, looking back at it now, am proud of its strange story.