Based on this story, Hazel and Kate transformed The Old Lookout into a representation of the ship itself going under, with items from the gallery (George's box and chair) being on the verge of tipping over, and hundreds of small pieces of wood exploding from the walls of the gallery, as if they were water pouring through holes. This was also accompanied by images of local beaches and coastline screen-printed onto pieces of wood. I digress, I doubt I have managed to explain the piece as well as it deserves, so here are pictures.
When talking to Kate and Hazel, they said that the public's reactions to their piece were almost all positive, also noting that it encouraged people to remember the event in their own way. I have also read from User questionnaires that people found the way the space had been used in a completely different way fascinating. I feel that referencing an event that made not only the local but national news allows visitors to connect to the exhibition in a stronger way, especially given the gallery's location, being so close to where the event originally happened. It jogs people's memories, and provokes discussion. I was also told that some people that had seen the installation just as it was first being constructed on the Thursday came back later on in the week to see how it had progressed. Some of the limited edition screen-prints were sold too, and with each one being unique this provides something for visitors to take away from the exhibition.
In terms of Hazel and Kate's feedback to me about the gallery itself, they noted that they feel the banner and A-board placed outside gallery has really helped people to notice it, and increased the amount of chance visitors to their exhibition. Much like Tim Long, they also felt that having the chance to discuss their work with visitors was a definite plus.
However, they did also note that, as their exhibition was a growing installation that took a couple of days to be finished, it would have helped them to be in the space a bit earlier. They found that the busiest days were Saturday and Sunday, by which point the exhibition still wasn't entirely finished. This caused some people to be hesitant about coming in for fear of interrupting them at work. However, alongside this they did note that this did only apply to them as their work was so detailed and time consuming to construct.
Overall, from hearing feedback from both the artists in residence and the visitors to the gallery, it seems that this week's exhibition was popular and well received. As it documented a recent event that is fresh in people's minds, I think it is easy to make a connection to what is on display.
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