Rusted steel
St Loyes, Exeter
Approx 2m x 2m x 1.5m high
31 September 2018*
Not far from Land’s End, there is a small south-facing bay comprising St Loy’s Cove and Paynter’s Cove. The SW Coast Path leads down to the beach at St Loy’s Cove, which is mostly large boulders. Not many years ago, storms washed up a large chunk of metal onto the top of the beach. That is what I saw when I walked that section of the Coast Path in 2017.
No-one knows the origin of the flotsam. It could be part of a container ship, or oilrig, or other marine structure. It could be a sculptural piece by say Anish Kapoor or Antony Caro.
Now, it has been resettled to the M5 Services at Junction 30. Part of St Loy is now in St Loyes. Or, because the Latin name for St Loye is St Eligius, the name of the hospital in the TV show St Elsewhere, you could say that part of St Loyes is from Elsewhere. And it is pointing Elsewhere, back south to St Loy.
It can be seen by anyone arriving at or leaving the Services, or on their way to or from Sowton Industrial Estate for work or retail. People travelling, their minds on their destination, or the 101 things they have to think about today. Their minds in another place or another time. Their minds Elsewhere.
* OK OK, this is all a fabrication, and the flotsam is still in St Loy. It is still amazingly sculptural, and worth a visit. So in actuality the work is…
Digital image
1920px x 1080px
The internet is my gallery
Photo taken 12 September 2017, mock-up published 12 November 2018
