folly! in the water garden at Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal

See the temples and follies of this World Heritage Site garden dramatically re-imagined as places of visual trickery and untold histories with 'folly!'

This year you’ll find two striking new works in the hidden follies of the water garden…

The original designers of the Studley Royal Water Garden, the Aislabie family, created many follies on this vast and beautiful estate to surprise and delight their eighteenth-century guests. These fashionable, whimsical buildings or structures were often used by garden designers to catch the eye or draw attention to a carefully created vista.

Featuring work by artist, Mat Collishaw, one of the UK’s most thought provoking contemporary artists, two new installations have been co-commissioned with London Gallery Blain|Southern to play with your senses and trick your eyes!

Seria Ludo

Step inside the darkened interior of the Banqueting House and be prepared for visual magic of the most extraordinary kind… Imagine an opulent chandelier playing host to a frenzied array of carousing figures, this work will sweep you up in a flight of fancy, a hypnotic dream to colour your imagination with scenes evocative of this garden’s past.

The Pineal Eye

Within the cool stone walls of the Temple of Piety you’ll find something completely different. Still, serene and shimmering like the moon pond outside, this work will appear and disappear before your eyes like a mirage. Reflective and tranquil, with the soothing sounds of the water garden outside, let it take you under its spell for a while…