RACHEL BELLE

Beat the winter blues with an indoor beach at Seattle’s Hedreen Gallery

Feb 4, 2015, 6:32 PM | Updated: 6:55 pm

Artists Graham Downing (left) and Max Kraushaar inside New Beach, the beach-in-a-box they conceptualized and built. (Photo by Bruce Clayton Tom, courtesy of Hedreen Gallery)

(left)

On a gray, drizzly day like today, wouldn’t you like to be relaxing on a warm beach? An art exhibit at Seattle University’s Hedreen Gallery, called “New Beach,” intends to give you the chilled out feeling a beach can provide.

“The concept came from, me and my collaborator spent the summer exploring a lot of ideas of boredom and how hard it is to not do anything,” says New Beach artist, Graham Downey. “So we wanted to build a place to invite people to try and do that. Putting a beach in a box seemed like a good idea because it’s relaxing, it’s quiet, it’s private.”

Yes, they built a beach in a box inside the gallery.

“It’s a 10×10 box with a hand-laid stone grout floor with in-floor heating and a spray painted plastic sky, that’s actually surprisingly effective for just being spray paint and a tarp. The walls are just this any-color-gray and it’s warm in here.”

Truth be told, you really have to use your imagination if you want to believe you’re really at the beach. To start, there’s no sand…

“Because sand would just get everywhere! Some people are really angry that we didn’t put sand in here.”

There’s no actual water, only the sound of waves crashing through the speakers. But there are seagulls.

“Which is actually just me and [my collaborator], in a closet, making seagull sounds for five minutes.”

But the point is not to build a perfect replication of a beach, the point is to find some peace and quiet. Beach bums are to go into the box alone, and they can reserve the space anywhere from five minutes to an hour. When their time is up, the birds will tell them so.

“So, eventually the birds get more aggressive and they start to go, ‘Get out! Your time is up! Time to get out!'” Graham is squawk talking like a seagull. “That’s the one joke in the piece, which is nice.”

The idea is that you’ll be such a meditative state that you won’t have any idea of how much time passed.

“People are constantly looking for distraction and stimulation. The enemy is boredom and that’s what all of our culture tells us. The promise of never being bored again: you have your phone, which will constantly entertain you, you’ll go home and have your Smart TV. In the car you have radio. Constantly taking stuff in. So to invite people somewhere where they’re encouraged to not engage with any of that. To let it all go has been really nice, and I hope therapeutic for people.”

But since the idea is to go in alone, Graham has no idea what people actually do inside.

“I’ve heard stories of people bringing towels, people bringing beach chairs, bikinis, definitely, swim trunks. Sometimes none of that at all, which is nice. Maybe a margarita, I heard a rumor of that.”

New Beach is open through February 14th, but every single spot has already been reserved.

Rachel Belle

Rachel Belle...

Rachel Belle

Belle: This isn’t goodbye, it’s see you later

After 20 years in news radio, I'm leaving my post at KIRO Newsradio to focus on making my podcast "Your Last Meal" full-time!

1 year ago

emily post etiquette...

Rachel Belle

Emily Post’s “Etiquette” goes modern: Advice on pronouns, hugging

In 1922, Emily Post published her very first etiquette book. Since then, 18 editions have been published by five generations of Posts.

1 year ago

Friluftsliv...

Rachel Belle

Combat winter blues with friluftsliv, the Nordic tradition of being outside

Friluftsliv is part of the culture in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Denmark, places that are darker and colder than Seattle in winter.

1 year ago

small talk...

Rachel Belle

Most Americans hate small talk, but Seattleites continue talking about weather

Out of 1,000 people surveyed, 71% said they prefer silence to small talk and 89% of Gen Z use their phones to avoid making small talk.

1 year ago

(Igordoon Primus/Unsplash)...

Rachel Belle

Seattle sperm bank in desperate need of Black donors

Only 2% of American sperm donors are Black men, which is causing a lot of heartache for women specifically looking for a Black donor. 

1 year ago

Photo courtesy of Rosie Grant...

Rachel Belle

Woman cooking recipes engraved on gravestones says they’re all ‘to die for’

You know that recipe your family requests at every holiday, potluck and birthday party? What if you had it engraved on your tombstone?

1 year ago

Beat the winter blues with an indoor beach at Seattle’s Hedreen Gallery