folly! 2015

In the eighteenth century it was very fashionable to have follies in your garden. These whimsical buildings or structures were often used by garden designers to catch the eye or draw attention to a carefully created vista.The designers of Studley Royal water garden created many follies to surprise their guests and in 2015 for the first time, four of them were transformed by some of the country's most inventive artists and designers to astonish modern day visitors to the garden. 

Visitors to the Octagon Tower, Temple of Piety, Banqueting House and the Temple of Fame discovered intriguing installations inspired by the history of the gardens and the opulence of the eighteenth century.

Opera set designer Gary McCann explored the relationship between man and nature with his fantastical creation ‘Scavenger’ in the Banqueting House, and ‘Lost Property’ in the Temple of Fame. 

Irene Brown’s work ‘Hall of Mirrors’ transformed the inside of the Octagon Tower into a world of shifting perspectives and infinite views, using mirrors to turn the idea of a viewpoint on its head.
Simon Costin delved into an imagined history of the garden in the Temple of Piety where bizarre secrets were revealed and a strange series of events told in this ‘ancient place of worship now in ruin’.