Sea Sign

Hallucination date-18th May 2019

In this sleep-induced Imaginarium, I was in the company of a consummate artiste in a nondescript automobile whose primary purpose was the conveyance of sundry goods. The artiste was in charge of ensuring the vehicle’s continued onward advancing momentum. Powered by an internal combustion engine, it proceeded along the bumpy tarmac on its four wheels rotating in a forwards circular motion. Contained within the rear section of the automobile was an exquisite art installation. I was unsure of the exact nature of the art itself, but was sure it would delight anyone who beheld its magnificence.

The artiste powered the automobile along the coastal avenue, parallel to the lapping sea waters against the small rounded rock formations which formed a beach. He chugged along past the metal and wooden boardwalk which jutted out into the twenty six mile channel of English and French seas. The coast was bereft of the usual sights such as the slush puppie, railway, mini golf, nudist beach, and marina. By way of alternative were concrete jetties at uniformly ordered intervals, comparable to the one with the green metal torus-shaped art construction in Brighton. On the left there was a plentiful row of houses fashioned from the wood of felled trees, they were painted gayly in a myriad of bright primary colours, like the beach huts in Hove, but bigger; designed to house entire families, not just picnic tables, trinkets and a collection of seashells.

We drove for an indeterminable and immeasurable passage of time until the advent at our intended destination; a jetty, which to me looked indistinguishable from the others I had witnessed hitherto. It appeared as if darker clouds were a’brewing, but the ominous presence of the even darker Cumulonimbus, which could saturate the beach with a torrent of H2O molecules, fortuitously did not appear.

Upon our arrival, we stationed the automobile on the littoral side of the coastal avenue. Although this was a valid space for the stationing of automobiles, there were none other visible forward or to the rear. We alighted using our respective side egresses. I walked round to the posterior of the automobile, and opened the dual hatchways which revealed the contents therein. The art inside was packaged within aluminium cuboids with removable covers. Using a mechanical lift and trolley apparatus, I proceeded to eject the aforementioned cuboids in couplets, and wheeled them towards the shore. The artiste took up a position where he could survey the payload being assembled. In addition to the couplets, there was a non-ferrous metal sign which I constructed at the end of the jetty. This was to ensure any visitor could be imparted with the knowledge of what the art was concerned with. The sign itself was a white swingboard with black lettering. Unfortunately, the letters were in disarray, and coupled with this, were in the incorrect order to form constructive word patterns; rendering the task of reading it an impossible one.

I then returned to the beach, opened each cuboid to remove its contents, and assembled the components with skill and dexterity which I formerly did not know I possessed. It was as if I had an innate finesse which enabled me to erect the installation with comparative ease. Once effectuated, I carried it using the musculoskeletal frame of my upper body into the fringes of The Channel. The water was frigid and quickly chilled me to my bones. It was also quite inclement, with waves of an amplitude of around one metre.

Although this should have been able to submerge me, no such thing occurred. I carried the artwork to around two metres beyond the end of the jetty, where I punctiliously placed it into the water. At this distance from the shore it was ensured that the actual structure was completely submerged. I returned to the beach, and the artiste, with no flurry, turned the power on via a radar remote control. It evidently required no external power source as there were no cables running hither and thither. When turned on, a white hologram projected from beneath the waves as if by some unbeknownst Physics. When emanating from the sea beneath, it formed a 2-dimensional image - 2 metres wide and 8 metres high - with several words beneath it. However, from the shore I could not make out the image or the words with my naked optics.

For the last part of the installation, I went back to the automobile and carried the last swingboard to 5 metres from the jetty. Rather inexplicably, this was a Walls ice-cream advert with various ice creams: Cornettos, Feasts, Mini Milks, Funny Feet, and my personal favourite, Lemonade Sparkles.

The artiste had already retired to the automobile, where he awaited me.I took the cuboids back, and along with the mechanical lift and trolley apparatus, inserted them through the posterior hatchways. Once I had secured the hatchways, I returned to the passenger seat through the side ingress. The artiste was not wet at all, however I was soaked through. Nonetheless, I felt an emotional satisfaction with the part that I had played. Many empty crisp packets were scattered around the footwells of the automobile. No payment was discussed and none seemed to be on offer, but I did receive one packet of crisps from a multi-pack of six.