I met artist Bruce Munro via Skype from his studio in England and, even though we were many miles apart, I was struck by his warmth and good humor, as well as his excitement about his upcoming exhibition in Brookgreen Gardens. Talking to this brilliant, world renowned artist had me a bit star struck, but Bruce immediately put me at ease with a laugh, saying, “If you do something long enough, people take notice, I’m just incredibly fortunate to be doing this work.” British artist, Bruce Munro is best known for immersive large-scale light-based installations inspired largely by his interest in shared human experience. For 40 years, he’s recorded his ideas and images in sketchbooks, and his delight in the world around him provides continuous inspiration. Brookgreen Gardens will host an exhibition of his work beginning next month. Versions of the mixed-media installation have popped up around the world since its debut at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2004, everywhere from Uluru, Australia, South Korea, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, to Houston, Nashville, and Columbus, Ohio. “Brookgreen Gardens got in touch with us,” Bruce began when I asked him why Brookgreen was chosen as the only East Coast exhibition of his work. “It was a great honor to be asked. I love gardens, and when I first visited Brookgreen, I was struck by the way the art is presented. It’s a good place that puts people at ease – I particularly like it when people can enjoy art without being scrutinized.” I was curious about the process of creating the installation, and Bruce explained, saying, “I’m very responsive to space, and every space is unique – with a different climate, different flora
Photographer Mark Pickthall. © 2019 Bruce Munro Ltd. and fauna, etc. It’s always very easy for me to find inspiration.” As someone who loves Brookgreen Gardens and spends a fair amount of time there, I felt this artist really captured the feeling of the space as he continued, saying, “In Brookgreen I feel like I am in a series of outdoor rooms – not all gardens have this feeling. It’s rather like going to a museum.” Most readers will recognize the artist’s Field of Light installation, and I asked Bruce to talk a bit about this spectacular artwork. “It’s a very important piece of work for me; it was the start of me working as an adult. I was living with my girlfriend (now wife) in Australia when the idea first landed in my sketch book – it was something I felt I needed to do, and it took me 12 years to complete.” Visitors to Brookgreen will experience Field of Light as 11,700 stems of light in softly moving colors covering the Arboretum. “After the experience of creating Field of Light, it kept nagging at me that I needed to do other things,” Bruce
continued, talking about the evolution of his work, and his incredible catalogue of light creations. “My work is very instinctive. The older I get the more I look at the world like I did as a child – not that my work is childish, but I am more in touch with the feeling behind the art. It is about shared human experience and connection.” I asked Bruce to talk a bit about the Okonjima Choral Society installation, consisting of 2,000 “frogs” singing in unison behind the garden wall at the Rosen Carolina Terrace, accented by the pulses and rhythms of their illuminated “eyes.” “When I was walking around Brookgreen, I came to this wall – beyond it was wild territory – I liked the feeling of this area and the beautiful trees hanging with moss. There was a feeling of being on the edge of the wild.” He continued, telling me the story behind the piece. “My family and I took a holiday in Namibia, Africa, and I heard these frogs singing near a waterhole. The sound was mesmerizing. At first I thought I should maybe write a choral Sasee.com :: March 2020 :: 23