When a major arts festival is commissioned, the interaction between artists, residents and art is a vital element in the town's enrichment. Veronica Simpson checks out the behind-the-scenes action for the Folkestone Triennial

摘要

On a scorching hot morning in July, a group of friendly drunks has gathered around a new piece of 'art' that just landed on Folkestone's harbourfront. It's called Steve and was made by artist Sarah Staton out of Corten steel, perforated with perfect holes, like slices of Jarlsberg, and placed around a pink concrete 'pouffe'. The name Steve was chosen 'because it's the kind of name you wouldn't normally give to a statue,' says Staton. 'It's like a plinth, so when you are sitting in it, you become part of the statue.' The town's drinker inhabitants have clearly seized on this aspect, and are taking turns to pose on the pouffe, enthroned within Steve's wonky walls, inviting passers-by to do the same. Around its base are rhomboid rips in the Tarmac, planted with edible seaside vegetation. For Staton, Steve and his planting evoke the grand follies once constructed by the rich and aristocratic for their rolling acres, though here they offer shelter and vistas for a much broader demographic.