Traces and Signs

cambridge-university-botanic-garden-161020remains /ri’maynz/ n pl 1 a remaining part or trace

sign /sien/ n 6a something material or external that stands for or signifies something spiritual

symbol /’simbl/ n 1 something that stands for or suggests something else by reason of relationship, association, convention or accidental resemblance

trace  /trays/ n 1 a mark or line left by something that has passed; also a footprint 2 a sign or evidence of some past thing

 

wimpole-hall-gate-161019The collapsed structure shown in Fenscape 4 is a remainder, a sign, a symbol and a trace.  But of what?  These pictures are examples of the same thing.  A Nissan hut in the historic landscaped grounds of Wimpole Hall.  A functionless gate in the same park.  A tree with a brick filling in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden.  Crumbling, peeling stables at Bottisham Lock.

bottisham-lock-stable-161020They all pose the questions: Who? What? Why? When?  And doubtless there are answers that a bit of diligent research would provide.  We could discover the species of tree that’s bricked up, who did it and when and why and from those answers uncover something of the history of arboriculture practice.

 

wimpole-hall-nissan-hut-161019But it’s as possible signifiers of something else that these traces become intriguing.  What stories might be imagined around them.  The Nissan hut becomes not a remnant of wartime activities, but a sheltered place of assignation away from the prying eyes of the Hall, a place of innocence or scandalous intrigue.   Or: what is behind the door and what comes out at night?  Traces are starting points for the imagination.

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