The journey of Every Step of the Way, an exhibition currently open at The Arc, Winchester, strides strikingly through the South Downs Way. Alongside the display, several walks of the Way have taken place that were organised by the Ramblers and attended by artists who feature in this show.
This article follows a walk of the Way arranged by the Winchester Ramblers in association with Every Step of the Way (ESOW).
I joined a group made up of art enthusiasts, ramblers and artist Melanie Rose, who co-curated and featured in ESOW, as the light began to wane towards the top of Old Winchester Hill.
First stop, a trusty information board from Natural England. Upon arriving at the site, we soon congregate around this sign. The graphics provide useful information and plenty of pointers on features and flora and fauna to look out for.
Walk leader Harry Mycock then leads us onwards up the hill. The land ahead appears untouched by recent inclement weather as it awaits our arrival. Soon, the summit comes into focus alongside vast vistas of farmland.
We continue to walk and talk. Flanked by yew woods and flower-filled bushes, Melanie Rose recalls numerous full moon visits to the hill. The peaks provide an unbelievable vantage point. She further describes several occasions of synergy between the moods of the downs and current affairs. Torrential rain foretelling turbulence.
After some discussion of ancient yew trees and downland developments, we ascend to the summit. Here, panoramic views stretch as far as the Isle of Wight. Harry points out the distant island to us. Beneath our feet, the terrain is lumpy and bumpy, and the top is covered in ant hills and huge tumuli.
Overhead hovers a skylark and beyond swoop red kites. The former is a declining species and the latter is a conservation success story. Twittering intertwines with gusting winds to provide an audio backdrop for an incredulous scene. The sun, part-sheathed in semi-translucent silken clouds, drifts gently and warmly down, led by red-tinged rays. Farmland, chalk grasses, bodies and burials are twilit. This vast collaboration of human and natural agencies tells a compelling story.
Melanie proceeds to tell us about her South Downs engaged projects. Her PhD had brought her through the Downs, painting by painting. She has used chalk extensively, the same material as lay beneath our feet, as a ground upon which she would paint with medieval materials such as egg tempera. Through material, pictorial, archival and esoteric means, Melanie has explored the whole South Downs Way, blending the accessible and the inaccessible, the human and the natural, in poignantly revealing ways. Seeing the Downs through her eyes is truly transformative.
We then head to the cars, taking a minor detour through the ancient yews. On departing Old Winchester Hill, I resolve to relook at the South Downs and the Winchester exhibition with my perspective now enriched by experience.
A view of Winchester Hill taken by Jay Sadotra, who also attended the walk, and Stargazer by Jonathan Thompson from the gallery side by side.
The dialogue between artist and place is never-ending and Every Step of the Way is evidence of this. Ways of comprehending, being with, supporting, feeling and appreciating everything that makes the South Downs National Park so spectacular exist in the gallery.
The last organised walk takes place on Friday 20 June.
The exhibition Every Step of the Way runs until Wednesday 16 July. Find out more and book tickets here.
