Katrina Palmer’s excavations of the Isle of Portland, presented with BBC Radio 4

Katrina Palmer’s excavations of the Isle of Portland, presented with BBC Radio 4

Artangel

Katrina Palmer, The Loss Adjusters, 2015. An Artangel and BBC Radio 4 commission.

April 26, 2015

End Matter
26 April–28 June 2015

52 Easton Street 
Portland 
DT5 1BT

www.artangel.org.uk

Since winning a commission from Artangel and BBC Radio 4′s open call for emerging British artists, Katrina Palmer has based herself on the Isle of Portland in south Dorset to create a major new project on land and on air. 

Palmer has created a series of narratives set on Portland for listeners, readers and walkers: The Quarryman’s Daughters, a broadcast on BBC Radio 4; The Loss Adjusters, a site-specific audio walk on Portland; and the book, End Matter.

Portland has been shaped and hollowed out over centuries by convicts and quarrymen to provide stone for some of London’s best-known buildings; one million square feet of Portland stone is said to have been quarried for St Paul’s Cathedral.  Palmer has undertaken her own excavations into this elemental place, marked by unsettling absences, deviant goings-on and a writer who has gone missing.  

The Loss Adjusters begins in an empty office on the high street in Easton, Portland. Equipped with headsets, visitors head out past a cemetery and towards a quarry, where they hear narratives about the primal forces of the island’s geology, a young offender turned gravedigger, and the Horrocks sisters, eccentric daughters of a dead quarryman who live in two huts on the edge of the island. 
 
The Quarryman’s Daughters on BBC Radio 4 starts in the style of an intimate reading enhanced by a special soundtrack. The narration is interwoven with the voices of the Horrocks sisters and field recordings from Portland—the swell of the tide, the banging and cutting of quarry work—conveying an unsettling atmosphere that builds to a surprising conclusion.

A special feature has also been commissioned for Radio 4 to explore the historical riches of this unique place, examining the inspiration for Katrina’s artwork. The listener is transported to Portland to hear key chapters from the island’s past and to find out why it continues to capture the imagination as it does.
 
End Matter, a specially designed book of investigations, documents and stories is published by Artangel and Book Works to coincide with the public launch of the site-specific audio walk The Loss Adjusters on Portland on Sunday 26 April. 

The Quarryman’s Daughters will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 11:15pm on Tuesday, 5 May.

James Lingwood, Co-Director, Artangel says: “Artangel and BBC Radio 4 have challenged artists to explore the potential of place in bold and surprising ways, and Katrina Palmer has done precisely that. Portland is an extraordinary place, and Katrina Palmer has responded with an exceptional project.”
 
Tony Phillips, Commissioning Editor, Radio 4 says: “Katrina Palmer is a rare talent, and I’m delighted to be bringing this new and distinctive voice to Radio 4 listeners. She is the perfect artist to launch the next phase in Radio 4′s collaboration with Artangel.”

Artangel and BBC Radio 4′s collaboration continues in 2015 with new projects by artist and filmmaker Ben Rivers and writer Maria Fusco.

Artangel and BBC Radio 4 present Katrina Palmer’s excavations of the Isle of Portland
Advertisement
RSVP
RSVP for Katrina Palmer’s excavations of the Isle of Portland,…
Artangel
April 26, 2015

Thank you for your RSVP.

Artangel will be in touch.

Subscribe

e-flux announcements are emailed press releases for art exhibitions from all over the world.

Agenda delivers news from galleries, art spaces, and publications, while Criticism publishes reviews of exhibitions and books.

Architecture announcements cover current architecture and design projects, symposia, exhibitions, and publications from all over the world.

Film announcements are newsletters about screenings, film festivals, and exhibitions of moving image.

Education announces academic employment opportunities, calls for applications, symposia, publications, exhibitions, and educational programs.

Sign up to receive information about events organized by e-flux at e-flux Screening Room, Bar Laika, or elsewhere.

I have read e-flux’s privacy policy and agree that e-flux may send me announcements to the email address entered above and that my data will be processed for this purpose in accordance with e-flux’s privacy policy*

Thank you for your interest in e-flux. Check your inbox to confirm your subscription.