Dr. Samantha Lackey, Curator at The Hepworth Wakefield, will lead a tour Conflict and Collisions: New Contemporary Sculpture – three new solo exhibitions and commissions by artists Alexandra Bircken, Folkert de Jong and Toby Ziegler. Coinciding with this year’s WW1 commemorations, each exhibition considers themes of historical and contemporary combat and of man versus machine, with handmade and hand-finished objects opposing mechanical weaponry, state-of-the art digital technologies and 3D printing.
Four recent works by German artist Alexandra Bircken collectively refer to B-52 Bombers, Mercedes gear-sticks and demolition balls while her site-sensitive installation of draped leather skins connects with the work of Barbara Hepworth.
The Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds was the starting point for a site-specific commission by Folkert De Jong who has used 3D scanning technologies to create bronze casts of Henry VIII’s suits of armour and contemporary hand weapons. The striking installation also features an armada of bronze ships displayed in florescent display cases, as well as casts of a gramophone, an old fashioned camera and telephone.
British artist Toby Ziegler draws on a historic war memorial, No Man’s Land, 1919-20 by Charles Sargeant Jagger and the shocking present-day ‘war porn’ of online trophy images for his new commission. For the first time in 20 years, Jagger’s WW1 frieze from Wakefield’s collection will be back on display, supported within a network of aluminium joists. Ziegler’s three-part sculptural composition also features a three-metre high sculpture of a human foot and a 3D printer that will produce a Newell teapot (a test-card design) within the gallery space each day.
We will also be introduced to new works by Toby Ziegler housed in The Calder, The Hepworth Wakefield’s contemporary art space. Expanded Narcissistic Envelope will incorporate a series of new, aluminium sculptures that often unfold in pairs – one version in fully inflated 3D, the other, deflated or crumpled, lying low on the ground. Ziegler has modified and altered images of human forms and limbs using the latest digital software to create his new, abstract sculptures.
For further information go to: http://www.hepworthwakefield.org/whatson/?future=1
Places are free for Contemporary Art Society Members. To reserve a place, please contact Moira Innes on moira@contemporaryartsociety.org or 07946 604109