Your Invitation to the Noah’s Ark Sculpture Inauguration

Venue: Barking Abbey Grounds
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023
01:00 PM
Address: Abbey Green, Abbey Road, Barking, IG11 8DD
Location: London
Organiser: Laura I. Art Gallery CIC

Laura I. Art Gallery CIC cordially invites you to the very special inauguration of our Noah’s Ark sculpture at 1pm, on 4th March, in Abbey Park, Barking; the culmination of an entire community’s efforts, a symbol of the incredible eco-conscious shift Barking has seen and a vibrant spectacle that has brought such advancement to Barking and Dagenham’s art/culture scene!

As part of our sculpture’s grand reveal, we will have the pleasure of receiving some special guests – our superb partner organisations and companies, as well as renowned local leaders and councillors, who will be delivering a number of inspiring speeches to officially recognise the efforts of our ARKtivists.

Through every single step of the process, participants from our beloved borough spent their time and artistic efforts to sculpt a piece of art that is truly invaluable. The 3,000 plastic bottles that embellish our boat have been individually litter-picked from local open spaces, washed, and personally designed at unique weekly painting workshops by Barking residents from September 2022 to February 2023, with tools and materials so generously donated by local organisations and companies over this period – even the build of the sculpture was a volunteer effort! The heart and soul that went into our sculpture sets it apart from any standard sculpture in the art scene right now – it practically bursts through the bottles!

We believe that the visual impact of this prestigious piece of work is so evident simply because it is so real, but don’t just take our word for it, be a part of the action by getting your FREE ticket at our Eventbrite page and/or reaching out to us via email for more information: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/grand-reveal-of-noahs-ark-tickets-532401696807

Laura Iosifescu

Laura is a professional artist and the founder of Laura I.Art Gallery.She currently lives and works in London. She developed her basic skills in traditional art during her time at the Fine Art High school in Romania but found herself reaching her full potential as a student in the Department of Fine Art at the University of East London. From there she went on to open her own local gallery where she is currently curating a series of exhibitions. As an artist, Laura is best known for her re-interpretation of the medium of paint as an aesthetic vehicle. Utilising self-designed machines and other unconventional techniques as tools to manipulate paint, she challenges the viewer by re-examining how paint can be transformed in her collection of wall mounted “living paintings” - flowerscapes with depth and colour introduced by her signature style.. The flower motifs are intended to represent and investigate an accumulation of life experiences and ideals to do with freedom and courage, life and death, identity and belief, which are channelled into her art through her three dimensional forms and colours. Eventually dissatisfaction with the format of wall mounted paintings, a feeling that the medium was imprisoned by the canvas, led to a series of experiments culminating in Laura’s revolutionary Blossom Escape, which transformed her flowerscapes into the real world in the form of a floral dress made entirely of paint. It has been recognized and highly praised by the press, and by well established professionals in the art world and was shown in an exhibition at Saatchi Gallery alongside work shown by artists such as Tracey Emin ,Marc Quinn, Gavin Turk, Idris Khan and Xavier Mascaro. She has displayed her work throughout the UK and in France and Portugal and in New Orleans and Los Angeles in the USA. Her work has been published in Landscape Art Review, La Dolce Vita magazine, HESA Inprint magazine, and in The State of Art vol 2 published by Bare Hill and there has been press coverage in the Financial Times, the Guardian and in the local press and on the web. Sixty per cent of Laura’s work is now in private collections around the world which makes her work a great investment. In 2016 Laura opened the first contemporary art gallery in Barking, Essex, an area which is now at the forefront of regeneration in East London. The gallery was inaugurated by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London and Darren Rodwell, the leader of the local Council. She is currently curating a series of exhibitions in her own space at the Gallery, including the highly successful Blessings of Life and Codes of Faith, and is embarking upon a series of art workshops. Laura Iosifescu is an idealistic young artist who believes in a world where beliefs and cultures no longer separate people but can be shared and celebrated. Her aim is to break down barriers, including those between artist and audience, and foster a collaborative and creative community in this part of London. With highly successful curatorial exhibitions and painting workshops in The Laura I. Gallery in Barking, Laura is truly inspired towards making this world a better place through art.