The Art Trail 2006

THE ART TRAIL is one of The Big Chill’s greatest attractions, to find out who’s appearing this year read on….

Walk uphill away from The Castle Stage stage and after a short burst of a climb, you’ll land at The Enchanted Garden where the annual night time art trail awaits to absorb you. This year the trail will feature installations and entertaining uses of Nature’s trees and foliage, by a superb collection of international artists.

The night-time setting has given the artists a unique opportunity to respond to the Big Chill environment in its natural - and unnatural - settings. This year, several pieces are also worth checking out during the day. You may have already read about Brian Eno’s ‘77 Million Paintings’ in the nationals (if not, see below). Nestled among the woods and leafy pathways alongside the special, spectacular, UK debut of his gallery, will also be works including single screen projection by Rachel Lowe, audiovisual installation by Thor McIntyre-Burnie and Toby Jarvis, light installation by Martin Richman, Brian Eno’s unending painting, graphic installation by Tod Hanson and sculptural work by Dré Wapenaar.

Ever so enchanting, ever so deliciously eerie. Get lost in a world of light and sound!

The artists have responded to particular aspects of the place, situating works that connect to the transient nature of the festival and the immediate landscape; an ancient arboretum of exotic trees planted in the second half of the 19th century at the height of the Victorian passion for plant collecting. The works are tracked through their illuminated presence, drawing attention to microscopic natural details through to wider issues of environmental protests, conservation, heritage and romanticism.

Read up on the artists here, and make plans for a visit. The art trail will be open 10am-3am Friday-Sunday.

Art Trail artist: Brian Eno

Title: 77 Million Paintings - Triptych video installation

Brian Eno’s 77 Million Paintings in the form of a triptych video installation, offers the viewer a unique experience of a constantly evolving painting. No two views are the same. Brian Eno is a highly acclaimed musician, theorist, producer and visual artist. He has worked with generative light compositions in the same way that he has worked with generative music on classic albums such as Music For Airports (1978) and Neroli (1993). Eno’s artwork has been shown at scores of galleries, arts festivals and biennales across the globe. As well releasing many albums, both solo and collaboratively he has produced artists such as Talking Heads, James, U2, Paul Simon. Info: www.enoshop.co.uk

77 Million Paintings The painting is generated from hand-made slides that are randomly combined by the computer using specially developed software. The software processes the music that accompanies the paintings in a similar way so the selection of elements and their duration in the piece are arbitrarily chosen, forming a virtually infinite number of variations. The result is that having created the seed of the work it becomes unpredictable even to the artist himself - and every viewer also has a unique experience of the painting.

Art Trail artist: Dré Wapenaar
Title: 'treetent (boomtenten)'
Dré Wapenaar has an installation treetent (boomtenten) sculpture originally inspired and created for the English Road Alert group. The idea was for the tree protesters to be able to stay close to the treetops, swaying in the wind, out of reach of the law and protecting the trees from being cut down. Born 1961, lives and works in Rotterdam, Dré Wapenaar has shown extensively internationally, creating organic structures including ‘FOURGRANDPIANOPAVILION’ designed specifically for their performance and a unique birthing tent on stilts. His tents and pavilions are “social sculptures” which are free from the contingencies that generally place restrictions on architecture. Other recent exhibitions and manifestations include: Live and Die, Dré wapenaar retrospective Chabot Museum Rotterdam, 2006, Metropolitaniscape, Palazzo Cavour, Torino, Italy, 2006, Less, alternative living strategies, PAC Museum, Milano, Italy, 2006, Cycle to the madness of life, lumberjackspavilion and pavilion of emptiness (small version), and Recital - Pavilion. NSG (high school ) Nijmegen, the Netherlands, 2005. Info: www.drewapenaar.nl

Tree Tent sculptures were originally inspired and created for the English Road Alert group. The idea was for the Tree protestors to be able to stay close to the treetops, swaying in the wind, out of reach of the law and protecting the trees from being cut down.

Art Trail artist: Martin Richman

A kaleidoscopic light installation in the lower canopy of a giant Oak made out of radiant light film.

Martin Richman’s work addresses issues concerning light and space in the private and public realms. The spaces are often physically unattainable yet imaginatively inhabitable. Martin Richman has had many solo and group shows in England and abroad and created many public art works. Recent exhibitions include Frazzle Limbo Arts Limited, Substation Project Space, Margate, Paranormal Aeroplastics Contemporary, Belgium, 2004, Underdesign JOUSSE ENTERPRISE, Paris, 2003. Commissions include; Light work for façade of BBC broadcasting house redevelopment in Collaboration with artist Tony Cooper. He is Lead artist for new Pathology and Pharmacy Building in collaboration with Percy Thomas Partnership (architects) at Barts and The London NHS Trust, London. Info: www.martinrichman.com

Art Trail artist: Thor McIntyre-Burnie and Toby Jarvis

Audio Installation.

Thor McIntyre’s work includes public and site-specific art, exploring the spatial potential of multi-channel sound to reawaken public spaces and architecture, as well as sound design for theatre and Son et Lumier shows. Projects range from an octophonic bandstand on Brighton’s seafront, to Sweden's Naktvaken lighthouse installation; from Beirut’s Samaha House to Orchitecture in London’s Chiswick House; from London’s Walton’s Music Hall to sonic snow sculptures in Ontario. Toby Jarvis has worked for the past ten years building three-dimensional works that offer solutions to problems and create beautiful environments, combining both form and function. His career to date has involved model making, site and production carpentry, cabinet making, production management, historic restoration and renovation, prop making and set building for theatre and film, and snow sculpting amongst others. Thor McIntyre-Burnie and Toby Jarvis collaborate as aswarm

Audio Installation - An aswarm collaboration, based on ideas drawn from research in Japan and its traditional love of insects, in particular Hotaru (fire flies or lost souls), Sémi (Cicada the emblem of re-birth), Pokomon and Bot comic fiction. Two trees; one alive and green the other struck by lightning. Striking on the hour. A gathering of entities, awaiting departure, inhabits one tree. The other tree builds enough energy to discharge up into the night sky. Info: www.aswarm.com

Art Trail artist: Rachel Lowe

Title: Satellite

Rachel Lowe’s single screen projection, a nineteenth century statue in a park in Bucharest, produces an apparently still image, reminiscent of a romantic painting. Born 1968, lives and works in London, Rachel Lowe has become known as a "video artist." but is better described as a site-specific multimedia projectionist. Whether utilizing slide projections, Super 8 film, video or just light from a bulb, the significance of Lowe's work is generated through a complex interaction of space, projection, imagery and viewer. Rachel Lowe has exhibited this year in Turkey in Strangers with Angelic faces at the Akbank Centre, Istanbul and in If it didn't exist you'd have to invent it: a partial Showroom history’ at The Showroom, London. She has shown widely in Europe, was selected for ‘Becks Futures 2002,’ at the I.C.A, London and the touring ‘The British Art Show 5’ in 2001. Lowe was awarded a Delfina Studio Award in 2002 and was the joint winner of the Olay Vision Award for Women Artists in 2001.

Single screen projection, super 8 transferred onto DVD - A nineteenth century statue in a park in Bucharest is framed by trees. A fixed camera silently records the scene, producing an apparently still image, reminiscent of a romantic painting. Witnessing the devotional woman attending to a male bust, the viewer longs for her to move. Accentuated by the wind stirring the leaves on the trees, the apparent stillness broken, the desire to reverse the permanence of death and breathe life into the statue almost triumphs. Photo credit Rachel Lowe. Still from Super 8 film.

Art Trail artist: Tod Hanson

Tod Hanson’s graphic installation pushes the sight of litter in trees to new heights of ruined festivity, decoration and destruction. Born 1963, lives in London. A graphic installation artist, Tod Hanson is concerned with the visual razzamataz of a globalising culture, the delirium of excessive production and waste. His work falls into two distinct and related categories, paintings of places, generally urban locations and installations. Recent exhibitions include ‘Coalesce - the remix 2005’ Wall painting in group show. Model Arts and Niland Gallery, Sligo , Ireland. ‘Caution uneven surfaces’, group show at Temporary contemporary, London, ‘Fast Track Detour 2004’, Temporary installation in the main pool Victoria Baths, Manchester and ‘Tectonic Dish’, historical composite painting of the village of Allenheads, Allenheads visitor centre, Northumberland. Info: www.todhanson.com

Tree installation - Freezes a moment of wind from an unknown source, pushing the sight of litter in trees to new heights of ruined festivity, decoration and destruction from a world over-amplified and speeding up.

This years Art Trail is co coordinated by Alice Sharp and Tanya Skillen. Alice is a freelance curator and has previously worked on the art trail for the Big Chill. She was curator for Parklight a night time site-specific project in Clissold Park.

Production by GaiaNova www.gaianova.co.uk

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Written: 13th Jul, 06
Read: 5652 times

The Art Trail 2006

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