Here be Monsters

Following on from yesterday's blogpost about my artistic influences, here's the story of how they all came together to create The Monster Zoo. 

It was Christmas 2020 and another Covid lockdown was looming. People were pretty down. I overheard some of my neighbours bemoaning the fact that all of their children's regular activities (including schools) would be shutting down. And, due to a ban on unnecessary travel, they couldn't go anywhere else. They wouldn't even be able to meet with their friends. 

Lockdown had an enormous impact on everybody's lives. It affected our jobs, our social lives and our mental health. It was also a really tough time for kids. So I began to wonder if I could do something for them (and maybe help out their homeschooling parents too). I had an idea ... 

Could I create a local attraction that would engage kids and get them out of the house and into the fresh air? 

I know a fair bit about running public art projects. And I have a pretty good understanding of how kids work too, having brought up three of my own and having two grandkids. I knew that kids like finding things - the joy of discovery is why books like Where's Wally/Waldo? sell so well. It's also why kids (and adults) love Pokémon Go. 

I also knew that kids are often completists - they like to collect everything in a 'set'. What I could do was create something for them to find. And then, maybe, get them to add to the collection of objects. 

But what to create? 

I'd seen some truly excellent trails made using scarecrows, or fairy doors attached to trees, or painted pebbles. None of those were quite right, I felt. I wanted this project to be all-inclusive regardless of gender, artistic ability, age, disability etc. I also wanted something that didn't require expensive art materials as many families don't have them, or the money to buy them. 

So I decided to make some monsters because the best thing about monsters is that no one can tell a child that their creation is 'wrong'. 

Drawing on my various influences - folk festivals, Outsider Art, traditional masks and costumes, and making art from recycled materials - I grabbed a pile of household junk and a few natural materials and threw together a small gang of six. I then hid them in a wooded trail on some local common land between the village where I live - Hazlemere - and the neighbouring village of Widmer End. This space, known as Widmer Fields, consists of meadows and wooded walks and is popular with local families and dog walkers. 

Then I waited ...

Photos: By me and Chris Rowan 

It wasn't long before the first sightings popped up on the local area's Facebook page. Within a week of the first discovery, social media was buzzing and, every time I walked past the area, all I could hear was the sound of excited children. More and more photos started to appear online. The local newspaper ran a story on it, calling the anonymous creator 'Widmer Banksy'. 

It was at this point that I suggested that maybe kids should add their own creations to the 'monster trail' and, very soon, new monsters began to appear. Lots of new monsters.

Within a fortnight a staggering 101 monsters were on display.

Children's imaginations had run riot and the monsters were all fantastic! However ...

While the monster numbers had increased, so had footfall. Hundreds of people were visiting the trail, which had churned up the wet, muddy ground. The woods had become a quagmire. And to avoid walking through it, people were straying off the path into the undergrowth and damaging shrubs (they were also doing this to create space, of course, as social distancing rules still applied). Of more concern was the fact that areas where wildflowers would emerge in the Spring were also being torn up - including a 1000 year old bluebell glade.

It was then that the trustees who manage this piece of land put out feelers to locate the mysterious 'Widmer Banksy' and I had to put my hands up. The trail had to be removed - for all of the right reasons. So, with a heavy heart, I asked people to collect their monsters and take them home. 

However, I was then bombarded with messages from people telling me what a difference the trail had made. 'We couldn't get our kids off their screens but now they're dragging us off the sofa to go monster hunting!' they said. Parents and teachers told me how it had helped them cope with the pressures of home schooling. In terms of people's mental health, the trail had been a tonic. 'Couldn't you find a new location?' they asked.

So, I started a new Facebook group called Widmer Monsters (link here) and encouraged people to sign up if they were interested in me finding a new site. 500 families signed up on the first day. It quickly grew to over 1400 in a week, which seemed to be a resounding 'yes'.

So I started to look around. And, to my delight, local farmers Andy and Melanie James said that they had a suitable space on their property. And it was just 10 minutes walk from the original site. 

The space was perfect and I was suddenly reminded of the fact that, around 100 years ago, there was a kind of zoo very near by. It was in fact the holding area and 'showroom' for a big game hunter called Robert Leadbetter who caught animals all over the world for rich clients. There were lions, tigers, even elephants here in Hazlemere next to the Widmer Fields site and locals would visit the 'zoo' to see all of the strange beasts (I tell the story of the zoo here). 

The idea of a Monster Zoo was born!

Art boards by Dan Wilson

New monsters arrived almost daily. The Zoo soon had 150 monsters. Then 200. then 300 ... 

Visitor numbers were pretty solid at around 50-60 per day and sometimes up to 300 at weekends - but all socially distanced in a large open air space and in family groups of 3-6 that came in at different times throughout the day. It got so busy that we opened a tuck shop and a coffee/cold drinks stall and the profits went to animal charities. 

Grange Farm, where the Zoo was based, was set up as a community farm and staff were happy to show children around. The regular litters of new piglets were always a bonus treat. In addition, Andy and Mel were able to sell fresh farm produce direct to local customers - organic, natural and no packaging or air miles involved.

It was a very busy and productive summer.

Farmer Andy and chum

Every day I was getting messages from parents telling me how good the Zoo had been for their families. When schools reopened, a few began using the space as a resource to run lessons on art, recycling and where our food comes from. 

And then the Zoo was picked up and featured on series 2 of Channel 4's Grayson's Art Club (watch the episode here) It was a real joy to chat to Grayson and to see that all of the children's hard work had received national recognition. And what an honour to be featured in the same show as Banksy and land artist Andy Goldsworthy - two big heroes of mine.

Some of the monsters that I made then went on show - along with a rolling projected slideshow of EVERY monster made for the zoo - at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery from December 2021 to September 2022 as part of the Grayson's Art Club season 2 exhibition. I popped down for the grand opening and was delighted to see the Zoo featured in the accompanying book too.

But still, the ball rolled along ...

I've since advised several people on how to set up similar installations where they live in the UK, and I've run a community monster making days. Here are some photos from the first one that I ran at the Arts Centre in nearby High Wycombe.

Oh, by the way, the amazing part-finished mural behind me is by Dan Wilson - the guy who created our Monster Zoo entrance boards. and my fantastic monster hat was created by the very clever Juliet Hamilton.

Once lockdown ended, the Zoo was no longer needed as kids had other things to do. And the farm has since closed down too as the financial strain of surviving the pandemic sadly became too much.

But the Monster Zoo achieved much. 

At its peak, it boasted nearly 400 monsters. And, while it lasted, it was a wonderful way to showcase children's creativity, it was a safe open air meeting place for parents and children, and something that put smiles on people's faces during some trying and scary times. 

And it cost nothing. Not a penny.

All it took was an idea, a bit of time, and some good old-fashioned community spirit.