Keith Barratt
Drinkfield Marsh Nature Reserve, Darlington
Land Lines consists of two fantastic elements, a 30-metre wall and a clay jetty. The striking wall runs down the southern bank of Drinkfield Marsh Nature Reserve sloping back into the ground towards its far end at the top of the bank, tapering from the base to its top surface. The surface is dry stonewalling and the interior is a complex honeycomb of caverns and passages, designed to become a rich habitat for birds, small mammals and amphibians. The wall is capped by a surface of heavy timbers creating a contrast in light and dark between the smooth reflective surface of the timber facing the sky, and the heavily textured surface of the wall in shadow. The intention of this is to form a sharply defined line emphasising the contour and fall of the bank. At its lower end close to the lakeside, the top structure divides, with one side dropping to form a long bench overlooking the lake.
The second element, the clay jetty is positioned a few degrees beyond a right angle to the far end of the Wall, stretching out 30m into the water. It lies along the longest axis of the lake emphasising distance and space. Aesthetically it functions as a powerful line operating in concert with the wall, to define the focal point of the landscape of Drinkfield Marsh. The jetty provides physical access over the water, enabling people to traverse along the defined axis, and provides a dramatic viewpoint. This work significantly enhances the habitat available along the lakeside, while enabling human access and providing closeness to the water that would normally be unobtainable.
The clay jetty was formed with a stone base, reinforced by an infrastructure of living willow. The lakebed was scraped back to the underlying clay and a series of thick vertical aspen posts were set in four rows along a length of twenty meters. A woven basketwork of willow stems were inserted between the posts and the live willow species were deliberately selected in their character and placement to emphasise space and distance to the viewer. This willow infrastructure was then infilled with a clay and aggregate mix. Over the forthcoming years the live willow will establish itself, growing up on either side of the jetty, and laying down a root system throughout the earthwork, which will then become the supporting infrastructure of the jetty as the original timber supports rot away.
These two elements combine to create a fantastic artwork will continue to change and integrate more and more closely with the original landscape, as the willow grows, and the timber and stone weather.
Images Courtesy of Keith Barratt