Synthesis exhibition install
Curator of Synthesis, Tracie Shaylor had visited and seen recent work at Bury Light Night and immediately wanted me in the show. The in-depth colour theory that I employ in all my light works ties in neatly with the exhibition being part of Manchester Science Festival.
I am most excited by site-specific work. If I was to be part of this exhibition I wanted my ideas to be responsive to the space. With that in mind last Thursday I was given a tour of the ground floor exhibition space at Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse. I had been keen to get into the space for some time and didn’t want to waste this opportunity.
Upon entering the exhibition space I was blown away by the possibilities for new work, my mind started racing. Tracie had ear-marked two particular spaces for my work, upon inspection they are not the easiest to work with, but these are the spaces I am excited by the most. I like a challenge.
One of the spaces was in front of a vast window looking on to the main road past the Warehouse. A light-work would defiantly attract passers-by and act as an advertisement for the show. I aim to rework the recent commission I made for Macclesfield’s Barnaby Festival by stacking the light boxes on top of each other instead of presenting them side-by-side. Configured this way it would lend itself to the space and illuminate the nearby white walls.
The second space is within the main exhibition hall. A set of blue railings guard a drop down to the floor below; this was the space I had to respond to! In this site-specific installation conceived specially for Synthesis, I will systematically arrange numerous multicoloured fluorescent stick-lights. The title of work is taken from Josef Albers text ‘Interaction of Colour’, where it is explained that a direct mixture of projected light demonstrates an additive mixture where the sum of all colours in light is white. I am super excited about it and as with most of my installations, you have to see them in the flesh to fully appreciate.
I can’t wait to install these works and perhaps see you at the preview on Thursday evening?
