Internationally renowned and Turner Prize-shortlisted artist Nathan Coley unveils a major new sculpture this spring, ‘I Dont Have Another Land’. Aglow with illuminated lightbulbs, the text sculpture stands tall in the grounds of Charleston, evoking a sense of fairground fun and theatreland drama.
This exciting new contemporary art commission is part of ‘Tentative Words Change Everything’, an exhibition that brings together six of the artist’s sculptures across the landscape in and around the Lewes district.
Coley creates these monumental sculptures using existing phrases that come from overheard conversations, song lyrics, news report, books or any found text. ‘I Dont Have Another Land’ was a piece of graffiti found on a wall in Jerusalem in the early 2000s.
The phrases used in Coley’s artwork take on new meaning in each place they’re exhibited. The bold proclamation in the sculpture at Charleston could be interpreted as a reference to the climate emergency or the current refugee crisis. Perhaps it will encourage visitors to reflect on Charleston as a haven – a place of refuge for queer artist Duncan Grant and his friends, at a time when their identities and lifestyles were criminalised.
