Riviera began with the history of the palm trees found across the the Devonshire ward in Eastbourne. The planting of these kinds of exotic trees was to create a sense of travel, of being elsewhere, and reference an otherness or foreignness related to holidays abroad. Many British seaside resorts modelled themselves on the idea of the French and Italian rivieras.

With Mediterranean communities living in the Devonshire Ward today, along with many other people from around the world, what was once alluded to in architectural detail is now part of the everyday cultural life in Devonshire Ward.

In the summer of 2024 I conducted workshops with residents of Eastbourne’s Devonshire Ward to create Riviera: a communal-and-community-designed textile pattern made from stencils relating to the neighbourhood. These 24 stencils relate to the neighbourhood: its history, its population, it’s businesses, its flora and fauna and its location in the town. Together we have developed a Devonshire Ward-specific language of symbols, featuring palm trees, local gelato, a movie camera and the pier. These elements have been brought together to fashion a rich and vibrant textile.

Several awnings were made using the fabric design, and working with local businesses, these were installed alongside Seaside as the most public facing element of Riviera.

But alongside this, 300 metres of lawn cotton and 200 metres of linen were also printed, to be disseminated for free throughout the Devonshire Ward community, so that people could make their own items with it. As a public artwork of monumental scale, I also see the importance of that artwork being disseminated and existing in the public space of the high street as well as being displayed on the body or in the privacy of a domestic environment.

From 27 July – 15 September 2024, VOLT gallery will be a hub for Riviera, an exhibition with a functioning studio that invites residents and visitors to take 2m of fabric each, for free, to then create a variety of items and clothing.

Those who take fabric are encouraged to photograph what they make with it, and upload this to an online archive designed specifically for the project.

https://navinegdossosriviera2024.com/

Riviera is a public art commission led by Towner Eastbourne in collaboration with Devonshire Collective.