York Curiouser
Date uploaded: June 4, 2014
York Curiouser is placing new site-specific artworks in lesser-known parts of the city from the 14th of June to the 7th of July 2014. It comprises new works from leading artists from around the UK who have been inspired by the rich history of York.
York Curiouser was initiated and is being curated by Co-Artistic Directors Hazel Colquhoun, an independent public art commissioning curator, and Lara Goodband, an independent visual art curator, who say:
“We wanted to bring a range of unique, high-quality, new art to a city that’s more often associated with tradition and history than with the contemporary. We’ve matched artists to sites and specialists to artists, and made use of the generosity and knowledge of many partners in the city, such as the two universities, and the friends of York Walls and of the River Foss. We’ve asked our artists to fully exploit the possibilities created by York’s unique atmosphere, complex medieval street pattern and hidden architectural gems.
“York Curiouser is going to be full of surprises, such as Janet Hodgson’s film The Postern, being screened in the Fishergate Postern Tower; Heinrich & Palmer’s visually perplexing Red Tower installation; and John Wedgwood Clarke’s poetry temporarily inscribed on ancient walls, and Karen Thompson’s ceramic sandwiches left for people to discover – tiny things to stumble upon in a big city landscape.”
The York Curiouser artists:
Poet John Wedgwood Clarke often works on public art commissions. His new sequence of poems, In Between, is about the snickets, passages and yards of York, and can be found in the places that inspired them, and in the King’s Manor in a new sound piece created with Damian Murphy.
Susanne Davies works with embroidery threads, exploring repetitive labour and female workspaces. Her new installation can be seen in the grounds of the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall.
Textile designer Sally Greaves-Lord’s work is in public collections in the UK, Europe, the States and Japan. She has created a series of banners, inspired by motifs from the mediaeval banners of the Guilds of York, which will be displayed on the city walls in St Anthony’s Gardens, behind the Quilt Museum.
Matt Hawthorn explores relationships between people and landscapes in his playful works. Look out for his miniature sailing and flying umbrellas in a one-off event, Everything There is to Be Known, on the River Foss on 28 June.
Heinrich & Palmer are well-known for site-specific artworks ranging from large-scale projections to bespoke kaleidoscopes. They will use lights, mirrors and water to create an illusory space in the Red Tower.
Nationally and internationally known, Janet Hodgson explores multiple histories by working across disciplines, often collaboratively. For the Fishergate Postern Tower, she’s created The Workshop of Historical Correction: fictional artefacts and film combined in a unique installation.
Damian Murphy’s recordings of sounds from the snickets, passages and yards of York capture the acoustics of the City’s ‘in between’ spaces. His collaboration with John Wedgwood Clarke brings these spaces, rich in a history of danger and desire, into the orderly courtyard of the King’s Manor.
Jacques Nimki is well-known for creating artworks from wild flowers and weeds. His installation of handbags and weeds will be in the gardens at the National Centre for Early Music.
Ceramicist Karen Thompson creates multiples – look out for her porcelain white-sliced-bread sandwiches in various locations around York, including the Museum Gardens.
York Curiouser is supported by a series of artists’ talks, workshops, family events and walking tours. Click here for more information.
The final weekend of the project coincides with the start of the Tour de France Grand Départ in York, and is part of the 100-day Yorkshire Festival accompanying the tour. It is also part of the University of York’s annual Festival of Ideas.
