BE / ONE
I've been meaning to post something about our friends at Caught By The River's latest audio release on their Rivertones label for a few days. What's been delaying my post is thinking about a way of explaining just how good it is.
I'm still trying to work that out, but as it seems to be (justifiably) selling extremely quickly (the first vinyl edition has sold out) I wanted to get this posted before it sells out completely.
It's the first long player on the Rivertones label and is the soundtrack to Wolfgang Buttress' award winning pavilion at the 2015 Milan Expo. The Hive is an immersive, multi-sensory experience inspired by groundbreaking UK scientific research into the health of bees and the audio release is a hypnotic conceptualisation of their life, work and living environment. The musicians involved in the project improvised in the key of C, playing along to a live feed of sounds from the a beehive.
A series of live performances are underway. Luke Turner has just reviewed the Nottingham debut of the Be collective's performance...
"It’s a genuinely immersive experience, as cosy as if we are in the hive itself. Indeed, there’s an old-fashioned wicker hive on stage, just in front of the keyboards. Although bees communicate by vibration, amplified recordings of their activities are audible to the human ear, and the sound of tooting queens and their subjects’ waggle-dancing hums in and out of droning melodica, Tibetan singing bowls, accordion, cello, guitar and occasional vocals." Read in full
There's not much more than I say other than do what you can to get a copy of the CD or vinyl release before it's too late.
This summer the installation will come to Kew Gardens. Find out more
Concrete Antenna
Concrete Antenna, our third Random Spectacular project, is now available as a digital download and a deluxe 12” vinyl album package of new music, a set of art prints, a series of short essays and a specially created tide table created by Tommy Perman, Simon Kirby and Rob St. John inspired by their sound installation in the new landmark tower at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, loosely based on the urban history, architecture and ecology of Newhaven in North Edinburgh.
The sound installation is currently set to run until February 2016 (though this may be extended). Keep an eye on the Concrete Antenna website for details.
Concrete Antenna
We recently asked Cameron Duguid to created this animated film that interprets Tommy Perman's designs for the packaging of our latest Random Spectacular project, Concrete Antenna, a 12" vinyl and print set by Rob St. John, Simon Kirby and Tommy Perman. The project is inspired by the trio's sound installation at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop.
Copies of this limited edition release can be found over at our Random Spectacular store - you can also hear what Jarvis Cocker, Stuart Maconie and Gideon Coe had to say about the release.
Baddeley Brothers
The Gentle Author, creator of the Spitalfields Life journal, has just published a book dedicated to the work of specialist printers, Baddeley Brothers.
This book is embellished with fine tipped-in samples illustrating the range of Baddeley Brothers’ print techniques, an anatomy of envelope design, a glossary of printing terminology, typographic designs by David Pearson, drawings by Lucinda Rogers and a fold-out map by Adam Dant.
Find our more about purchasing a copy of this wonderful publication.
Saltmarsh, Morston
I'm pleased to share details of my latest limited edition print, 'Saltmarsh, Morston'.
This screen print is based on sketches made on the North Norfolk coastline on a sunny, breezy day, sitting on the saltmarsh amongst the sea campion and thrift, looking through the grass and flower stems. Across The Pit, a narrow stretch of water, I can see Blakeney Point. Strong yellow discs of cat’s ear flowers (also known as flatweed) stand out against the pale chalky colours of the other vegetation and the bright blue early summer sky.
You can find out more about the print and view a selection of my current editions over at my website.
Posted by Angie Lewin
Alex Malcolmson
We've had the pleasure of exhibiting Alex Malcolmson's work at our former Norfolk gallery and at our 2014 St Jude's In The City exhibition in Spitalfields.
From 5th September until 31st October 2015 Alex will be exhibiting a series of new birds and box works at The Yew Tree Gallery in Cornwall.
Born in Shetland in 1955, Alex studied drawing, painting and printmaking at Edinburgh College of Art. He worked in the Northern Isles for several years teaching, painting and exhibiting and then moved back to Edinburgh to work as curator of the Scottish Crafts Collection, now part of the collection of The National Museum of Scotland.
Having run Harrogate's Godrey & Watt gallery for twenty five years, Alex now exhibits his work at galleries across the UK.
Find out more about Alex Malcolmson's work
Landfall - mixed media box construction
West Coast - mixed media box construction
Pole Star - mixed media box construction
Zephyr - mixed media box construction
Hanging Diver - carved, constructed and painted wood
Navigator - mixed media box construction
Mark Hearld’s ‘The Lumber Room: Unimagined Treasures’
Visitors to the newly reopened York Art Gallery will be able to pick up one of these souvenir broadsheets, created by the artist Mark Hearld as part of his curated exhibition The Lumber Room: Unimagined Treasures.
The Upper North Gallery has been transformed to reflect one artist’s vision of a Lumber Room – a room of miscellaneous stored objects and artefacts.
For the past two years, York-based artist Mark Hearld has been visiting the stores of the Yorkshire Museum and York Castle Museum as well as York Art Gallery researching the objects and artworks to include in the exhibition.
His choices include textiles, costume, oil paintings, works on paper, furniture, and taxidermy, many items of which have not been on public display before.
Alongside these are new works that Mark has created especially for the show which are inspired by the collections. The exhibition is influenced by a short story called The Lumber Room, by Saki, which was read to him in an English class when he was 15.
Mark explains…
“Since I heard Saki’s story I have always been intrigued by the idea of a locked room that contained treasures so wonderful they are beyond what your mind can imagine. In this exhibition I wanted to create the sense of excitement and wonder that you get when you discover the key to the room and see the “forbidden” objects for the first time.”
Visit the exhibition at York Art Gallery, Exhibition Square, York YO1 7EW. Find out more from the York Art Gallery website.
You might also like to view Mark's range of artist design fabrics and wallpapers for St Jude's.
