The commission

The town of Folkestone is based on an Anglo-Saxon heritage of national importance around Eanswythe, granddaughter of Ethelbert, the first English king to convert to Christianity under Augustine. St Eanswythe is said to have founded one of the oldest monastic communities in England (around 630 AD) on Bayle, the historic centre of Folkestone. Over the centuries a rich heritage has developed around the site and its saint, including countless mysteries: a 'miraculous' watercourse, a lost mine and the almost unique survival of relics, probably hidden at the time of the Reformation and rediscovered in the 19th century.

One of the legends of St Eanswythe is the 'miracle' of water rising from the hills of the town. The area of Guildhall Street, which covers the 'miraculous waterway' is cut off from the town centre by a new dual carriageway. A group of residents around Our Lady and St. Joseph's Church and Stella Maris Primary School wanted to design a route along the Holy Stream St.Eanswythe which has shaped the town, in order to reveal the signs that have become invisible and to tell imaginary stories as part of the Folkestone Triennial.

The Folkestone Triennial is an art event that produces permanent or ephemeral works of art that engage with the history of the town of Folkestone, its environment and its people.

The artwork

The work proposed by Patrick Corillon, On the Track of St. Eanswythe’s Waterway is a set of 5 wooden and glass boxes that will be installed along the river.

Each box will contain a game for children. The rules of the game and part of the history of the Saint are written on the outside of the boxes. The games were invented by the artist to refer to the legend of Eanswythe.

The underlying aim of the project is to stimulate children's imagination with street games that will allow them to appropriate their public space.

The artist

Driven by the hope of inventing new reading devices, Patrick Corillon has included his stories in various artistic fields (plastic arts, theatre, publishing, etc.). If these different expressions can each live independently, they are part of one and the same universe. It is a mysterious world that places the questions of our time in the perspective of a long, even legendary time.

Patrick Corillion works between Paris and Liège and is represented by Galerie In Situ - Fbienne Leclerc.