Words and images by Natasha Cowie

Since January, Grace and Lilian from our Locks to Legacies project have been working on a podcast in collaboration with Left Bank, IVE and Sable Radio.

This has initially been a response to the exhibition Monster by Giles Walker, which was installed at Left Bank for two weeks back in January. The massive animatronic sculpture was made up of various parts including three enormous wooden rats, talking mannequins in different outfits, books and shoes. There were different showings where the mannequins came to life with voice clips taken from a variety of recordings discussing domestic abuse, the monarchy and the refugee crisis – in short, it was a piece aiming to spark discussion about modern Britain. Set against the backdrop of Left Bank’s old church interior, it made for spooky viewing.

Led by Asher Jael, the participants brainstormed different responses to the work, finally settling on a podcast which will be available via QR codes at Left Bank. They had the opportunity to interview Giles Walker, asking insightful questions on topics such as sexism, blasphemy and the representation of youth. They also interviewed various members of the public on their opinions regarding the installation.

They then got to work at Sable Radio, discussing the meaning of art, the appeal of art to younger generations, and the importance of representation and marginalised voices in the art world. With the help of the equipment at the Sable studios they were then able to start recording and the podcast ‘Pina and Coco’ was born!

Grace and Lilian shared their thoughts on the exhibition and  reacted to various excerpts of the interview with Giles Walker. We discussed that in the future this could become a series that focuses on art that they felt reflected them and their interests more and even turn it into a club organising visits to exhibitions for other young people. Exciting things ahead!