Zoe Snape

Bottled Up, 2021

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Curated by Neville Gabie and Tessa Jackson OBE, East Quay's first gallery exhibition brings together works created by the community of Watchet with artwork from Neville Gabie, itself responding to the responses of Watchet’s residents in what feels like an organic and connected conversation, despite much of his commission being undertaken during lockdown.

The community responded to Neville’s invitation, issued just as lockdown was announced, to ‘bottle the essence of Watchet’, quite literally creating dioramas inside glass vessels of what community means, what defines their sense of place, and their relationships.

The bottles are eclectic, charming, often humorous, and touching. They reveal the complexity of community relations and the interconnectedness of physical attributes and events that bring people together. For the people of Watchet, community is not an abstract concept, but a concrete reality. It gives profoundly meaningful impact in real things and real places and these contribute to the flourishing of human and social life.

Above is the accompanying audio from Zoe Snape's bottle Bottled Up, 2021. As the audio contains references to illegal drug use and alcohol, viewing is restricted to viewers over 18 only.

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