It’s the craziest crazy golf course ever – and it could be heading to York
York is hoping to land a hands-on art exhibit that is definitely not par for the course.
Doug Fishbone’s Leisure Land Golf is part crazy golf course, part artwork. And with your help it could be coming to the garden behind York Art Gallery this summer.
The exhibit is a fully playable mini golf course with each hole designed by a contemporary artist.
The seven holes include one where you play the ball up a ramp into the mouth of a squatting figure. Another sees you putt past a stricken cruise ship – see below for a hole-by-hole guide.
First shown at the Venice Biennale in 2015 it aims to provide fun for all the family – while connecting players with important cultural topics, including migration, global warming and globalisation.
Go on – chip in
To bring the golf course to the Artists Garden this summer, York Art Gallery needs to raise £10,000 through the Art Fund’s crowdfunding platform Art Happens – by March 23.
To donate to the cause head to the Art Fund fundraising page
Artist Doug Fishbone said: “The Artists Garden is a beautiful and unique space that would provide a fantastic backdrop to the artworks.
“I really hope the campaign is successful and that the course becomes a fun, interesting and thought-provoking addition to the Gardens over the summer months.”
Senior curator of art at the gallery Laura Turner described Leisure Land Golf as an “interesting and innovative artwork which we would love to bring to York”.
She said: “The crazy golf course offers an accessible and interactive way of engaging with contemporary works of art by highly respected international artists.
“We think it would be a very popular and fun installation for the Artists Garden this summer.”
There are a range of rewards for those who give to the crowdfunding campaign – see below for more details.
Hole-by-hole guide
Doug Fishbone depicts stricken cruise ship the Costa Concordia. Golfers must putt past a ship which embodies the leisure industry’s class divisions and indifference to its workers
John Akomfrah’s work centres on unarmed African Americans shot by police in the United States in recent years. Knock the ball through the legs of the hoodie-wearing youth
Hetain Patel’s squatting figure represents the working class in India and is a comment on ‘industrial cultural exchange’. Get the ball into its mouth… and see where it emerges
Ellie Harrison’s work is based on the idea that Britain will experience a massive influx of ‘climate refugees’ – represented by chipping your ball onto our island
Yinka Shonibare’s football pitch symbolises the African struggle for survival. You must navigate a mushroom cloud of African-styled footballs
Eyal and Ines Weizman present a scale model of the famed mathematical conundrum, the Seven Bridges of Konigsberg. Can you play the ball across each bridge once only, a seemingly impossible task?
In contrast to most miniature golf obstacles, the sculptures on Reactor’s green are crudely scaled-up, turning unassuming and everyday objects into hazards for players to overcome
Crowdfunding rewards
There are a range of rewards for those who donate to the campaign to bring the golf course to York.
These include exclusive totes bags, prints, an invite to an exclusive evening private view and a round of crazy golf with the artist himself.
To play the course will cost £3, but most rewards include a free round of golf.
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