In this work Dion takes the Thames River, the heart and vein of London as his starting point in his quest to take on the role of excavator and explorer to discover a deeper understanding of the river, the city and it's inhabitants.
The finds of the excavation are meticulously cleaned, by a group of volunteers in tents outside of the Tate Britain in Millbank, then put on display in a large display cabinet which has echoes the Wunderkammer of the Victorian era in it's design and mode of display.
Alongside sherds of deft pottery sits a Pret a Manger soy sauce bottle. Assorted nails confirm the presence of London's first ship yards whilst a fossilised sea urchin hints at an earlier time and the farther reaches of the river and it's estuaries. Dion shows no reverence for any particular artefact he puts on display. All are of equal significance in building the greater picture of mankind. Like digging a pit in the sand, the present penetrates the past, creating layers of meaning that all go some way towards creating a fuller picture of the whole.
CMcA
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