‘Dawn After Night, Spring After Winter’ is a new work encompassing two free game trail walks by artists' David Blandy and Daniel Locke for Nature Calling and Surrey Hills National Landscape. Walk into a fantasy adventure on Hutchinson’s Bank in Croydon and become an observer from another world on Box Hill.
“We visited Hutchinson’s Bank with children from Rowdown School. It was the first time many of them had visited, and it was so good to see them revel in the space, this oasis of lush green countryside tucked away down a small alley beside a recycling centre in suburbia. Everyone deserves access to that joy.” David Blandy and Daniel Locke.
Artist, writer and game-maker David Blandy, with graphic novelist and artist Daniel Locke, have been working with the communities of New Addington to create free inspirational adventure games for exploring their local landscapes. Responding to the Surrey Hills landscape of Box Hill and Hutchinson's Bank in Croydon, ‘Dawn After Night, Spring After Winter’ links the community’s lived experience with the sylvan world around them. Lyrics inspired by this landscape, written by Still Shadey, a MOBO award winning rapper from New Addington are woven throughout the game, framing each scene.
The game trails encourage seeing and experiencing the natural world with fresh eyes, inviting people to enter into the adventures as they walk the trails. ‘Dawn After Night, Spring After Winter’ can be played at home or while walking through the landscape, offering new and unusual ways to reflect on nature and landscape. With poetry, writing, drawing and game design, they have devised an intricate map, an immersive audio-tour and an evocative game publication of local mythologies discovered during the artist's research.
You can pick up hard copies of the trails from New Addington Library, Croydon and Box Hill, Tadworth.
'Dawn After Night, Spring After Winter' was produced by Surrey Hill Arts with support from Surrey County Council, the National Trust, Croydon Council and London Wildlife Trust.
