Kate Garcia - Press Releases

Tuesday, 20 March 2012

This project came about thanks to my participation in 'Ten @ The Grand' where my work 'In-Situ' was being displayed as part of a collaborative effort in November of 2010.
John Cotter had been invited to the private viewing and was attracted to the central panel of my work, due to his being in the process of organising the 'Inferential Grin - Triennial Fringe, for which he was looking out for local artists to display work in various locations around Folkestones' Artists' Quarter.

This, he decided, was the perfect opportunity to link Londoners with South East Kent, in particular Folkestone, and the rest as they say, is history...

In-Situ II

Ticket to Life (2011) Press Release (unedited version)

Kate Garcia, 34, is a practicing artist based in Kent.

Her work ‘Ticket to Life’ is inspired by what it means to travel.

Whether for business or pleasure, travel can mean many things to all people. It transcends all walks of life, cultures and beliefs on many levels. It is, by its very nature, at the core of who and what we are about. Because of this, great art, books, films and plays have all dealt with this intriguing subject.

The travel ticket is a familiar shape that is associated with a freedom to move from one place to another. It holds the key to many experiences and influences our daily lives.

The act of travelling in itself opens a gateway to another world where the individual can be whatever they want to be and at the pace they desire, whether to take in all the scenery or kick back and retreat into a cocoon of blissful reverie.

For others it is the sheer rush of hurtling through many towns and cities at pace; a glimpse of many worlds, while others crawl along in their own kingdoms.

Ticket to Life responds to the sublime nature of a station concourse where fellow would-be passengers, commuters and staff all cross each other’s path, weaving an intricate web of stories as they go, all different yet all as one in the quest for a destination.

Finally, Ticket to Life is about those people who make the stations and trains buzz with life as they go about their everyday business.

The work itself has been created using a series of photos, along with names and ticket-sized excerpts of how passengers feel and why and where they are travelling. Included in the display will be photography of the passing scenery and stations. The piece uses real travel tickets, some blanked out, and others with just a glimpse, to respond to the notion of time and the sheer volume of destinations that can be visited simply by alighting a train.

Ticket to Life is in association with Johnny Cotter Gallery and Folkestone Triennial Fringe – Inferential Grin.