Margaret Adams

The prints I made for my section of the wall turned out to be the colour of summer – the warm, sunny day that Brian and I went down to the river in the North Tyne Valley.

Section 27-29 crosses the North Tyne river, the mile castles are gone but the remains of the abutment where a bridge once stood that linked the wall with Chester’s fort were surrounded by golden wheat fields and beautiful, peaceful countryside. The site of the abutment is a tranquil, quiet place with very few visitors. Many of the stones have been set out for preservation like a limestone pavement: but there are some that have remained there since the day they were laid – precision cut, chevron shaped, foundation stones. I felt a tenderness thinking about the people that made and set them. However, the access to the site is surrounded by barbed wire and guided by a walkway that prohibited access to any of the surrounding fields. Restricted, fenced off land.

Despite an initial sense of freedom, I began to consider the controlled way we were able to visit the place. The word territory came to mind and I began to question: are we any more free than the people who were controlled by the building of a wall nearly 2000 years ago? The resulting prints, including the one in this exhibition, are a combination of mono prints and dry point which reflect my interest in experimental mark making and drawing.