Bonfire
For East Hoathly Carnival Society, Keith Pettit’s involvement is far more than a seasonal commitment, it is a defining thread which runs through both his creative life and his sense of identity.
​Born and raised in the village with family roots stretching back generations, Keith speaks about East Hoathly with a deep sense of belonging and pride. The carnival, he explains, is “a brilliant, brilliant undertaking” which offers something rare in his otherwise solitary artistic practice: the chance to work side by side with close friends. Though he describes the process as “hard work and rather all-consuming,” it is also fantastic and a highlight that anchors his year.
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For over two decades, he has led the design and construction of the Society’s extraordinary wooden sculptures - large-scale, intricate structures which take months to plan and build only to be ceremonially set alight. This fleeting nature is part of their power, transforming craftsmanship into spectacle and reinforcing the deeply communal spirit at the heart of Sussex’s bonfire traditions.​​
“It's hard work and all-consuming, but if it wasn’t for the bonfire, I really wouldn’t be an artist.”
Keith’s role in creating these sculptures has also shaped his journey as an artist. What began simply as “a cool thing to do” evolved into something far more meaningful: through the act of building he realised he “saw the world and thought about the world in a very different way,” ultimately coming to terms with his identity as an artist, something he had long resisted. “If it wasn’t for the bonfire,” he reflects, “I really wouldn’t be an artist.” The annual event has also served as a kind of informal platform for his work, quietly expanding awareness of his practice beyond the village without any sense of self-promotion.
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More importantly, he emphasises its social impact: the bonfire brings people together, offering younger generations a positive, creative outlet and a sense of belonging. Keith recalls how, as a young man “a little bit off the rails,” being welcomed into the bonfire community by figures he had long admired, gave him purpose and direction. Now, each year he reinforces that same bond, helping to sustain a tradition that is at once artistic, communal and profoundly personal.