Nirvair Singh Rai and Janhavi Sharma, New Art Exchange, Nottingham
This exhibition is the result of a research project by photographer and filmmaker Nirvair Singh Rai and visual artist Janhavi Sharma. It features an installation, combining photography and digitally manipulated painting, that explores the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919 which saw British Indian Army troops fire on unarmed Indian civilians who were assembled for a peaceful protest and to honour the Sikh festival of Baisakhi. The results offer an intriguing take on surviving grief through the memory of place – with the land being the only witness to the act 100 years later.
Until 31 December 2019. www.nae.org.uk
Elisabetta Benassi: EMPIRE, Mostyn, Llandudno
This installation by Rome-based artist Elisabetta Benassi features a number of terracotta bricks, hand-crafted in the UK from clay ranging in colour from red to black. The site-specific work explores the relationship between ‘ancient spaces, archaeological heritage and the contemporary museum’, with Benassi questioning the cultural, political and artistic legacy of modernity.
Until 27 October 2019. www.mostyn.org
Ian Kirkpatrick: Mythomania, 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe
Leeds-based Canadian artist and graphic designer Ian Kirkpatrick has previously created work for the 2012 Olympics, The Tour de France and the Oxford Museum of Natural History. His latest show, entitled ‘Mythomania’, explores humanity’s fascination with ancient and modern mythology. The various objects on display reference ancient, block-like stone-carvings, but with surface images that riff on current social and political themes, mass consumerism and information overload in the digital age.
Until 5 October 2019. www.2021visualartscentre.co.uk
Reflection: British Art in an Age of Change, Ferens Art Gallery, Hull
This large-scale exhibition features 120 artworks, drawn jointly from the Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art – one of the largest private collections of modern British art in the UK – and the Ferens collection. It offers an exploration of British art over the last 150 years through painting, drawing, sculpture, print, collage, photography and video. Included in the exhibition are works by artists such as Graham Dean, Elisabeth Frink, Barbara Hepworth, David Hockney, Henry Moore, Bridget Riley, Eric Ravilious, Victoria Sin, and Gillian Wearing.
Until 5 January 2020. www.hcandl.co.uk
Mandy Barker: Our Plastic Ocean, Impressions Gallery, Bradford
Award-winning photographer Mandy Barker’s latest show explores the current global crisis of marine plastic pollution. Her images are made using debris collected from shorelines across the world, which at first glance appear to be beautiful sea creatures and corals. However, closer inspection reveals objects such as fishing nets, cotton-buds, footballs and coffee-cup lids. With around eight million tonnes of plastic ending up in the world’s oceans every year, this is a timely call to action.
Until 21 September 2019. www.impressions-gallery.com
Images:
1.Nirvair Singh Rai, Memory of Land. Courtesy: Nirvair Singh Rai
2. Elisabetta Benassi, EMPIRE, 2018/19. Photo: Ollie Hammick
3. Ian Kirkpatrick, ‘Mythomania’
4. Mandy Barker, Bird’s Nest, from the series Soup
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