Despite great enjoyment at travelling around and experiencing England, it has felt more and more like visiting a favourite theatre, emphasizing my not belonging rather than bridging my cultures and overcoming feelings of being split. I decided to choose one or a number of projects to develop a more active relationship to the culture (better structure my gawping), the first being Dorset architecture, in particular the county’s churches, my aim being not to produce anything for publication but to find the limits of my own knowledge and go beyond them.
On my first visit to Dorset for this project, I’ve visited four churches – Studland (for its consistent Norman architecture), Winterbourne Steepleton (Anglo-Saxon sculpture), Bere Regis (Turberville/Thomas Hardy associations) and Cattistock (fine Victorian additions including stained glass, which are both fields very much worthy of further study).