Caroline Street: The absence of something…revisited
by Neil Armstrong and Dave Edwards
In the mid-70s we shared an upstairs Tyneside flat in the Benwell area of Newcastle upon Tyne along with two others. Students studying fine art at Newcastle Polytechnic, we parachuted ourselves – from West Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire respectively – into a community we had no obvious connection to.
This 70s student flat in Caroline Street is our shared object – an object which contained many other objects; one that we jointly, and singularly, re-imagine as it is now, despite its demolition.
Backgrounds:
Neil is an artist, designer and film maker, having been a pioneer of video art, working across arts and commerce throughout his career. His work has been shown in major galleries (Tate, Serpentine…Hartlepool Town!) and he has received a Royal Television Society Award.
Neil Armstrong’s website
After graduating, Dave trained as an Art Therapist at Goldsmiths’ College and later gained an MA in Psychoanalytic Studies from University of Sheffield. His career as a psychotherapist has encompassed working in the NHS, higher education, the voluntary sector and private practice. His book Art Therapy (second edition) is published by Sage.
Dave Edward’s website
Further Reading:
re:Posession an essay on Caroline Street by Neil Armstrong.
A conversation between Neil and Dave on the Caroline Street project.