A garden shed, painted white, sat on top of a rocky outcrop above Lake Ullswater in the Lake District for 3 weeks. Leading to the shed were 12 posts and barriers, the sort of queuing system you might find in a post office or airport, and an arrow suggesting the way in.
Walkers on their way to waterfalls nearby take a detour, curious of the shed's random position and appearance. They manoeuvre round the posts, open the door and walk inside where they find information and an exit door. They read instructions, take a ticket and a sticker, and continue through the shed to witness a view of the picturesque landscape beyond.
'View' was a temporary installation that uses the queuing system as a metaphor for modern living. By presenting a seemingly pointless queuing system in semi-wilderness, the visitor was presented with the quandary of queuing for something that already existed, was free to be seen, and 'belonged' to no-one. It raised the question 'Why queue when the view is free?'
'Access controllers' and 'pedestrian barriers' are physical tools used to control and guide flows of people. They can also be interpreted as psychological tools used to control and guide sociological movement and thought.' Kate explains.
'The Lake District and remote areas are places we go to escape, yet we are still subversively directed in our movements, both physically and psychologically through scenic routes and well known view points, tourist guides and brown signs. Society - whether urban or rural - demands that we are directed and signposted.'
'View' asked the random passer by to become 'visitor'; to take a ticket and become an authorised viewer of the landscape. Ultimately it asked the viewer to rediscover what is already there.