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Oxton
Art Fair
THE Williamson Art Gallery & Museum on Corner of Slatey Road and
Balls Road, Birkenhead / Oxton is to hold a Exhibition and sale by
local artists on Saturday 12 November 10am to 5pm and Sunday 13
November 10pm to 5pm.
The exhibition and sale holds all types of work by by local artists
ranging from painting, jewellery, wearable art, photography,
animation, sculpture, drawing, collage, illustration.
For more information phone:- 0151 652 4177. Parking at rear. On bus
route:- 92, 191 and 190
Trek
the Sahara Desert for the Mental Health Foundation
THE Mental Health Foundation is hoping that walkers are going to put
their best foot forward and take part in a trek across Morocco's
Sahara Desert in March 2006 to raise money for the charity, which
helps people to survive, recover from and prevent mental health
problems.
On their 7 day trek, walkers will encounter mesmerising landscapes,
sand dunes, nomadic camps and camels. Participants do not need to be
super fit to take part and will receive a training plan to help them
get into shape prior to the trek. The charity will also be on hand
to provide hints and tips on how to raise the required funds.
Andrew Moffatt, Director of Fundraising at the Mental Health
Foundation said:- "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to
see an exciting and exotic part of the world, and it's for a very
good cause. The work of the Mental Health Foundation makes a big
difference to the 1 in 4 people who experience mental health
problems each year, and their family and friends. We need to raise
money to ensure that this vital work continues."
Trekkers are asked to pay a registration fee of £199 and raise a
minimum of £2000 in sponsorship. Flights, accommodation, camping
equipment, meals, guides and medical support are all included.
Recent research by the charity shows that physical exercise is one
of the best ways to look after and improve your mental health. To
find out more about the Sahara trek, email
events@mhf.org.uk or visit
www.mentalhealth.org.uk/challenges.
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CONRAD SHAWCROSS: THE STEADY STATES
CONTEMPORARY sculpture at the Walker Art Gallery. This winter the
Walker Art Gallery will be presenting a major solo exhibition by
artist Conrad Shawcross. The exhibition, which runs from 26 November
2005 to 26 February 2006 will contain new sculptures, specially
commissioned as a collaborative project with The New Art Gallery
Walsall.
2005 is Einstein Year, a celebration of the scientist who changed
the way we view our world. In Conrad Shawcross: The Steady States
science is fused with art in 3 new pieces that draw upon cosmology,
quantum mechanics and musical theory to form a fascinating sensory
experience.
One of the sculptures, Space Trumpet, was inspired by a trip the
artist made to see the microwave radio telescope in New Jersey,
which in 1963 had inadvertently picked up the microwave “background
noise” coming uniformly from all directions in space and left over
from the birth of the Universe. This was the first time that sound
and radio waves, rather than light, were used to explore and map out
the universe. Its findings gave great credit to the Big Bang theory.
Space Trumpet allows the viewer to climb into what looks like a shed
on stilts at the listening end of a giant ear trumpet. The technical
dexterity needed to construct on such scale is obvious and quite
breathtaking. We are dwarfed by the construction, which invites us
to consider the infinite scale of outer space and our tiny and
futile position within it.
Another piece, called Loop System Quintet, is a line of 5
interconnected oak machines. Each of the 5 mechanisms produces a 3
dimensional harmonic loop of light. Conrad says:- “This system
has been born out of a marriage between quantum mechanics and
musical theory. A hybrid of romance and empiricism, the machine is
all folly and with no product, as a machine, it is tragic”. The
loops of light formed, similar to those made by sparklers on Guy
Fawkes night, are hypnotising- as are the sounds of the smooth and
rapid motion of the seemingly cumbersome machines. The final
sculpture is a reconstruction of a harmonograph, a popular Victorian
device that created patterned drawings by means of a pendulum.
Harmonic Tower is a tall and dramatic contraption, which despite its
size creates delicate images. The large-scale drawings produced by
this six-metre high tower are displayed alongside it and work as a
visual interpretation of harmony."
Ann Bukantas, curator of fine art at the Walker Art Gallery, says:-
“Conrad is one of the most exciting and innovative of a new
generation of sculptors, so it is thrilling to show his work within
the context of the Walker Art Gallery's historic sculpture
collections. His work is intellectually rigorous and challenging in
its inspirations. The end result is visually stunning and dramatic,
combining light, sound and motion. To create this exhibition we have
worked in partnership with The New Art Gallery Walsall, enabling
Conrad to make a large body of new work that, together, we can bring
to a much wider audience”.
A publication, including essays by Jenny Uglow and Andrea Bellini
will be available to accompany this exhibition. This project has
been supported by the Arts Council England, The New Art Gallery
Walsall, Henry Moore Foundation and the Arts Council National
Touring Fund. Conrad Shawcross is represented by Victoria Miro
Gallery, London.
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