Giant space invaders are heading for The Lowry
Giant space invaders are heading for The Lowry
Transformations 1:
Giant Psychic Avatars of Salford by Grennan & Sperandio Sat 3 May – Sun 29 June 2008
The magnificent space in question is the Promenade Gallery at The Lowry and the invaders will be huge inflatable artworks created by the winners of The Lowry’s first Transformations commission. Simon Grennan and Chris Sperandio have begun work on their exhibition Giant Psychic Avatars of Salford which will be visible from outside The Lowry building. Inspired by the city and its people the inflatables will represent the spirit of Salford as seen through the artists’ eyes.
International artists team Grennan & Sperandio are creating three giant inflatable ‘avatars’ (a concept from computer gaming where a player creates an iconic representation of the character they control).
Simon Grennan explained: "We're thrilled to have the opportunity provided by the first Transformations commission to take our work in new directions. We've had a long association with Salford. This commission allows us to test our experience of the unique character of Salford and employ all our skill and experience to make these three major visualisations of the soul of a great international city. We're well on the way, and it is with excitement and a little trepidation that we look forward to offering our final ‘Three Giant Psychic Avatars’ to those who know the city best - the people of Salford."
Grennan & Sperandio have worked together since the early 1990s, specialising in making cartoons, installations and video works which focus on the lives of people in the places in which they live. As part of the influential 'Culture in Action' exhibition in 1993, they worked with Chicago chocolate factory workers to design and produce their own chocolate bar. They have previously worked together on projects for the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Hayward Gallery in London, the Aarhus Kunstmuseum in Denmark and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, USA.
The artists were selected by a prestigious judging panel including former Turner Prize-nominee artist Richard Wilson, and independent curator David Thorp, formerly Director of the South London Gallery and Curator of Contemporary Projects at the Henry Moore Foundation.
Richard Wilson and David Thorp concluded, “We felt it was essential that the commission should reflect what is happening now in art and provide the people of Salford and visitors to The Lowry with something that was truly world class while at the same time being accessible enough for people who were coming to contemporary art for the first time to understand and enjoy.”
The Transformations commissions funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation have been set up to create new site-specific work for The Lowry’s Promenade Gallery. Reflecting one of the venue’s programming themes of exploring the unique architecture of The Lowry, an integral part of the Transformation brief was for the artists to work imaginatively with the inspirational qualities of the gallery space and propose ideas with high visual impact.
Posted on Friday, 08 February 2008 under Press Galleries Press