"A hundred thousand leaves beckoned them across the city. The Berlin summer heat only heightened the weariness of the journey. As they gathered in the shade, together breathing a long held sigh, taking in their surroundings.
The Garden.
As each seedling burst forth into the morning sunshine, a new energy summoned the group. At last a home.
Without words they set to work, the collective vision drawing a dream amongst the leaves.
A smile danced.
They gazed at each other's faces in the dappled shade of the trees. The picture painted, brought to life.
A camp. A little village in the clearing, an oasis of a kind. The palette lay around them, the brushes poised in their minds. A pile of wood to the side, coloured fabrics tied to a line.
Soon little structures clung to the trees, little houses teetered in the leaves.
A home for each of them.
By nightfall the picture was complete, the last stroke splashed across the scene as the electric lights sparkled into the sky.
As the guests made their way through the trees, the smell of the roast beckoned in the breeze, the dance began.
The rhythmic sounds heightened his movements, the golden thread of his fabric flashed in the firelight.
It bellowed around him, higher and higher, he span through the crowd. Intoxicating them.
A mesmerising whirlwind of colour, life and beauty.
After dinner, by moonlight a couple made love in a little house in a tree. A lady sang a song to a distant land.
Collectively they shared the beauty. The utopian dream swirling into the night sky, a tornado of magic dust sprinkled across the city".
The idea of the garden still remains my favourite piece of work. It was closest to the essence of what I was trying to experiment with at the time. We were to find a space in Berlin and build a little village, with a small little house made for everyone. Cristobal and Ralf had been looking for spaces but nothing had come up as yet.
The van was driving over and I arrived and went straight to a contact we'd found, an urban garden in the centre of Kreuzberg.
The location was perfect and they had an amazing little space for us next to the beehive. I'd been rather nervous, 8 people had pencilled two months of their time but at the last minute everything had worked out. Just believe had paid off again.
Ralf and Ricardo shared the van, the first day we built a tent from the few materials we'd brought from London. I slept in a sort of goat shed we made from some pallets. The next day Tina and Ralf toured the city for materials, coming back every few hours with another load. First came Cristobal's house. The next day came Sebastian's. The city literally gave us everything we needed.
The weather was wonderful and within 10 days everyone had a little house that we cherished. The opening night the weather changed and the rains came. We had to cancel the first day. It rained for weeks really and life was a constant struggle to keep dry.
It was a lot of hard work and I felt responsible for the team. Days when the sun shone were magic and I have wonderful memories. Berlin loved it and we ran for 7 weeks.