Written by Stephen Turner with contributions by Caroline collier and Sue Clifford
Published by theartistsagency on 15 February 2023
ISBN: 978-1-9164325-8-1
Distribution: www.artdata.co.uk184 pages, casebound, 220mm x 750mm
Stephen Turner’s new book is a fully illustrated meditation on the life and times of his Exbury Egg on its journey around England between 2012 and 2022. Its diary format is a meditation on the interconnection of life in an age of spiritual, cultural and environmental anxiety, drawing on the artists encounters during a year-long residence in the Egg on the Beaulieu River hosted by the Exbury Estate (2013-2014), followed by a tour, and further residencies in Burnley for Super Slow Way, Trinity Buoy Wharf in London, the Grand Union Canal in Milton Keynes, Gunwharf Quays and ASPEX in Portsmouth and a seafront location next to Hastings Contemporary, with associated exhibitions at each venue (2016-2017). It also embraces the artist’s time on the island of Giudecca creating egg related work for an exhibition at the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa during La Biennale di Venezia in 2019 and a final appearance of the Egg on Southmere Lake in Thamesmead, London for Bow Arts (2020-2022).
There are personal insights into the Egg’s inception and production when he collaborated with the architects PAD studio, boatbuilder Paul Baker and EDP Civil Engineering in the original project for an off-grid residency for artists in the New Forest conceived and led by SPUD. The book includes an introduction by Caroline Collier and an afterword by Sue Clifford, ex founder director of the arts and environmental charity Common Ground.
The project has been supported by a range of people, businesses and funders including Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Canal and River Trust, Trinity Buoy Wharf, Milton Keynes City Council and funding through the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Stephen would particularly like to thank Nick and Caroline de Rothschild for their continuing support.