In the mist of polluted fumes churned out from Spaghetti Junction, appeared a trail of yellow balloons innocently floating in the breeze. When seeing the familiar yellow tone of Fierce Festival, we knew we were on the right ‘track’. Our anticipation grew with each footstep we took, by-passing Birmingham’s undetected artwork reflected by the murky canal water. Secluded in our own thoughts, we already felt detached from the normality of our everyday lives.
It was hard to believe that the vibration of the roaring motorway that was resonating in our ears, would lead us to a place of tranquility. There it was behind a high metal fence, the track designed by Graeme Miller. Enabling an individual to undergo a solitary immersive experience, as the landscape is transformed around them. We watched in awe, as each of the guests was carted off on a smooth journey along a hundred meter length of dolly track gazing into the selected beauty from beneath the Spaghetti Junction.
“I want to shift people’s perspective literally a new take on a familiar landscape.” Graeme Miller, BBC News
This installation is unique in the fact that it gives the viewer an opportunity to give what would be deemed beautiful a new definition. Though we criticize so easily the modern landscape that we are surrounded by, Graeme Miller taught us to embrace it through this enchanting journey, based in a location amid the road dust from the concrete highway.
A valuable lesson that can be applied to all aspects in society.
By Simran Kular and Annice Boparai