The ubiquitous yet elusive qualities of light have always been a constant fascination to artists. This exhibition brought together five British artists; Katy Dove, Illustrious Company: Martyn Ware & Pip Rhodes, Martin Richman and Kate Owens who, through working with glass, light, sound, mixed media and animation, continue this legacy in their contemporary practice.
From the dramatic chiaroscuros of early baroque painting; to the Impressionists' obsessive documentation of natural light patterns to Minimalist neon sculptures and projected lightworks, and the experimental Light Shows of 1960s psychedelic gigs.
Katy Dove's kaleidoscopic animations fused film making techniques, music and watercolour painting. Set to a sampled soundtrack, her hypnotic films explored the relationship between perception, light, colour and sound. The illustrious Company developed original music soundscapes to accompany artists' work. Martyn Ware (Heaven 17) and lighting designer Pip Rhodes collaborated with National Glass Centre's studio team and Vanessa Cutler to create Spectrum Persuit Vehicle - The Looking Glass, which combined glass, light and 3D sound to explore the spectral nature of light.
Martin Richman worked with light and space to create transitional spaces for day-dreaming and remembrance. Illucination combined projections, kinetic sculptures, multiple light sources and lo-tech filters, which created an enchanting, sensory, and disarmingly disorientating installation.
Kate Owens' installation, Gates of Ades, transformed natural light as it filtered through an artificially coloured cocktail of Benzoates, Sweeteners and Mixed Carotenes contained in a bank of hundreds of bottles of fizzy juice. Both seductive and repulsive, this magnificent stained glass window was first shown at Collective Gallery, 2005
Curated by UP Projects and Grainne Sweeney and supported by Arts Council England, North East.
