The secluded beauty spot hosted two installations exploring the connection between humans and nature. The two-day event, entitled Nature Speaks, was part of the Greenwich+Docklands International Festival.
Thamesmead residents, including pupils from Hawksmoor Primary School and Windrush Primary School, were among 500 people who worked with artist Lorna Rees to share stories, sounds and music for her work Canopy.
"We worked with people in Thamesmead to ask them what their ideas are about trees and what they love about this really special site, Tump 53,” explained Lorna, who also got ecologists, tree experts, singers, writers and artists to contribute to the piece.
A trail of sonic seed pods – giant upturned bowls – were suspended around the nature reserve. Residents and visitors followed the trail, putting their heads inside pods to hear various sounds.
The artist was impressed with the location, a former Royal Arsenal munitions store that has become a haven for wildlife.
“It's an incredibly special site. When you walk into this secret garden, it's like you're having a hug in nature,” she said.
Thamesmead photographer and yoga coach Amanda Eatwell was among those who contributed.
“I’m in one of the seed pods,” she said. “It was a really great mystical tour where you walked between pathways and discovered pods hanging from trees.”
The second installation, I Have No Name by El Conde de Torrefiel, saw residents gather to watch messages from nature displayed on a giant LED screen tucked away within the nature reserve.
Over the two days, hundreds of visitors from the town and further afield came to Tump 53 to enjoy the pair of artworks.
“It was really magical,” said local mum Kate Laboda. “We were listening to the children from the schools in the seed pods to see if we could hear anyone we know.”
“I think it’s fantastic and I just loved exploring through the wood,” said resident Priscilla. “It was a bit hard in the sense that it was nature telling us, ‘I’ve been here before you, and mankind has messed up the Earth’.”
“It was quite striking and the sounds were very immersive,” said Tyrone James, who attended with his two children. “I cycle past Tump 53 a lot and I’ve never really looked into what it is, but it’s a really nice resource.”
Thamesmead has hosted part of the Greenwich+Docklands International Festival every year since 2017. The event was supported by Peabody, the Royal Borough of Greenwich and other partners.
