Charwei Tsai and Mandy Barker, Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Manchester
These two exhibitions at the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art seem perfectly timed, coming hot on the heels of the news that the planet is facing ‘climate change catastrophe’. Charwei Tsai’s first solo exhibition in the UK includes installation, film, photography and watercolour and addresses the impact of external environmental and social factors on indigenous communities in Taiwan. Meanwhile, photographer Mandy Barker’s work is the result of a project involving the collection of waste debris from over 30 beaches in Hong Kong between 2012 and 2015. She separated the plastic she found into different categories relating to the traditions of Hong Kong, creating photos by overlaying images of the waste materials that were collected.
Until 20 January 2019. www.cfcca.org.uk
Inside the Art Collection, UH Art Gallery, Hatfield
This exhibition showcases works from the University of Hertfordshire’s art collection that are not often on public display and features a wide variety of different pieces from various time periods. Highlights include a certificate from Katie Paterson’s Future Library project, which has involved a forest being planted in Norway which will supply paper for an anthology of books to be printed in 100 years time. There are a number of smaller pieces on display, including Peter Howson’s painting entitled Necropolis, plus several large sculptures.
Until 24 November 2018. www.uharts.co.uk
The Lore of the Land, Horniman Museum, London
This show is the first in the Horniman Museum’s new exhibition space, The Studio, and explores our relationship with the natural world. It features an immersive, multi-sensory installation produced by artist Serena Korda with a collective of local community members. Ceramic artworks dispense scents inspired by the Horniman Gardens, whilst a soundscape references the chemical processes that occur in plants and trees. Also on show are 100 objects from the Horniman’s anthropology collection.
Until 28 April 2019. www.horniman.ac.uk
Elizabeth Magill, The New Art Gallery, Walsall
Elizabeth Magill makes paintings that mix abstract and figurative elements, with the London-based artist drawing on a sense of place, and in particular her early life in Northern Ireland. Magill describes her work as “a kind of deposit of thoughts and observations within the framework of a personal and painting practice”, and there is an ethereal quality to her imagery with an ambiguity that invites the viewer to create their own narratives.
Until 20 January 2019. www.thenewartgallerywalsall.org.uk
Jamie Reid XXXXX: Fifty Years of Subversion and the Spirit, Humber Street Gallery, Hull
Artist and anarchist Jamie Reid is well known for his collaboration on the Suburban Press in the early 1970s, and perhaps most notably his iconic artwork for the Sex Pistols. This exhibition is his first major retrospective in the UK, and includes collage work, drawings, paintings, prints, poster editions and photographs, spanning the last four decades.
Until 6 January 2019. www.humberstreetgallery.co.uk
Images:
1. Mandy Barker, Birds Nest from Hong Kong Soup:1826. Courtesy: the artist
2. Katie Paterson, Future Library Certificates, 2014-2114. Photo: © Blaise Adilon, 2015. Exhibition view Frac Franche-Comté. Future Library is commissioned and produced by Bjørvika Utvikling, managed by the Future Library Trust. Supported by the City of Oslo, Agency for Cultural Affairs and Agency for Urban Environment
3. Lantern Slide. Courtesy: Horniman Museum
4. Elizabeth Magill, Divide, 2016-17, oil on canvas, 22.5 x 31.5cm. Photography by Hugo Glendinning
5. Jamie Reid, Moons, collage, 1990. Courtesy: the artist and Humber Street Gallery, Hull
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