Jerusalem Project's Traveling Residency Explores Architecture and Hidden Histories Across Southeast Britain

The Jerusalem project organized a two-day traveling residency across southeast Britain in Summer 2013, involving three artists and curators visiting sites of architectural significance. Artists Simon Martin, Ursula Mayer, and Becky Beasley participated alongside curators Claire Feeley and Ciara Moloney. The journey included St Leonards-on-Sea, where Beasley arranged a tour with local historian Edward Preston to explore hidden waterways and subterranean histories. The group visited Sea Lane House in East Preston, West Sussex, a privately owned villa designed by Bauhaus-trained architect Marcel Breuer, which particularly interested Mayer due to its Modernist elements and a serendipitous Helmut Newton photograph. Martin's research focused on peripheral architectural elements for his ongoing work UR Feeling. The final stop was Knole in Sevenoaks, Kent, the ancestral home of the Sackville-West family since 1603, where the group reflected on the inert nature of historical portraits. This was the third such roadtrip organized by Feeley and Moloney, following previous journeys along Britain's east coast and north to Sheffield. The experiences aimed to gather material that might inform future artistic work, though outcomes remained uncertain.