Installation

At Small World - reGeneration: The Unconventional Plant Shop Installation (complete with tea/coffee bar leading into the artist Alison Marchant’s garden) was open to the public over 4 weekends in September 2008. The launch was visited by over 200 people from Newham and from across London. It was featured in Time Out, on BBC Radio, and in local press. The artist's former studio had became a gallery, wallpapered with images showing the reGeneration project development. The making of and seasonal changes of the surrounding front of house gardens was documented by the artist throughout Spring and Summer 2008. The intense collection of tiny front gardens by each Stratford Village household represented a diverse an imaginative use of so little space. The papered installation walls at Small World represented a visual cluster of images enabling visitors to compare and develop existing ideas. As with the concept for Small World the installation became a conceptual swap shop for the exchange of ideas.

The air in Small World was filled with the perfume of flowers and visitors chatted in the tea/coffee bar where artist Alison Marchant was the hostess wearing lavender oil and clothing which reflected the French café atmosphere. Visitors left with the Small World project maps, enabling them to wonder around Stratford Village viewing both the actual front gardens and the Flower Power windows. The flowers in nearby Lavender Street were also included in the walks. Some walks were lead by the artist.