George Charman's Artichoke House and art in historic buildings
Current Artist-in-Residence at West Dean College, George Charman, is working towards the realisation of Artichoke House, a sculptural installation based on an unrealised project conceived by Edward James and designed by Christopher Nicholson. Charman's project rethinks visual associations with James's ideas, and ask questions about how his patronage of the Surrealist movement, as well as his own surreal life, can be considered in a contemporary context. It also positions West Dean College amongst a number of high-profile historic properties that have been host to innovative and ambitious contemporary art projects. Such projects provide unique settings for contemporary practitioners, offering enormous opportunities for enriching a site's history, engaging audiences that may be unfamiliar with contemporary art, and building new relationships.
