Wood and Harrison
John Wood and Paul Harrison
something and something and something else
Sat 26 April - Sun 21 September 2008
something and something and something else brings together three new works by John Wood and Paul Harrison. The exhibition is the second in the series Inspired by Lowry, in which contemporary artists have been commissioned to create new work in response to the LS Lowry Collection.
John Wood and Paul Harrison are especially interested in Lowry’s seascapes. Often devoid of anything more than a lone passing ship these works draw the eye to a hazy horizon line where the sea ends and the sky begins. It is a point not precisely defined at which representation and abstraction converge.
Lowry said of the sea: “I have been fond of the sea all my life, how wonderful it is, yet how terrible it is. But I often think… what if it suddenly changed its mind and didn’t turn the tide? And came straight on? If it didn’t stop and came on and on and on and on…that would be the end of it all.”
‘Shelf’ one of the new commissioned works, explores this fascination with the horizon line and events which might unfold along it. In this 27 minute long video on continuous loop, the camera tracks past a series of objects and models some of which refer, directly or indirectly, to Lowry’s work – a toy boat, etiolated figures, a desert island, a viaduct.
“Our work always starts with drawings. In ‘Shelf’ we were looking for very simple elements to use and the seascapes provided a basic geometric structure. What we wanted was to make the video like a very long drawing where we’re thinking about the whole picture but the viewer can only see a small section at any one time.” (Paul Harrison)
In the exhibition, ‘Shelf’ and two additional commissioned works, will be accompanied by existing work by John Wood and Paul Harrison, looking at themes of architecture, drawing, sculpture and performance.
John Wood and Paul Harrison have collaborated for fifteen years, since studying together at Bath College of Higher Education. Their practice operates across the realms of performance, sculpture, installation and dance, and simultaneously alludes to the worlds of the comic and the cartoon, a pluralistic approach that is particularly apt for exhibition at The Lowry, a multi-arts venue.
They have exhibited extensively overseas – including MOMA, New York; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh and Gagosian gallery, New York – as well as in the UK – including British Art Show 5, Tate Britain, Kettle’s Yard, Whitworth Gallery and Chisenhale gallery.
The aim of the Inspired by Lowry series is to encourage visitors to take a different look at LS Lowry as well as enhance their experience and enjoyment of contemporary art.
This exhibition is supported by the Henry Moore Foundation.
Posted on Monday, 10 March 2008 under Press Galleries Press