There are two new exhibitions at Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery that are well worth visiting.
The first of these is ‘Tale-pieces’, an exhibition (the first, in fact) of the work of Thomas Bewick, who was an artist, engraver and naturalist born in 1753.
The ‘tale-pieces’ are 150 prints of woodcuts, measuring no more than a few centimetres, which are rich in details of countryside characters, wildlife and events. Often humorous, these ‘vignettes’ were used to illustrate natural history books from the beginning of the 19th century, examples of which are also displayed in the gallery.
Given that the scenes are tiny (indeed, the gallery provides magnifying glasses which enhance the viewing experience) I was surprised by how moved I was by the natural beauty of the countryside depicted. I was left feeling nostalgic for a time when life was simpler, and the countryside remained unspoilt. That said, the images include a scene of drunkenness and even suicide; a reminder, perhaps, that humanity hasn’t changed that much at all.
The second exhibition – ‘Some words. Some more words.’ – showcases the work of John Wood and Paul Harrison who, according to the exhibition guide, “are best known for screen-based works that often involve the manipulation of familiar objects”.
I’ll admit that having read the guide before the exhibition, I wasn’t expecting to like the work on display. ‘100 boxes’, for example, consists of 100 pictures of cardboard boxes that have been crushed in different and unique ways. While I can see the point being made, I just don’t think it is a worthwhile endeavour by the artists. Unlike some of their other works, it has no humour, and there is no aesthetic quality in the resulting images that is out of the ordinary. They could quite easily be uploaded to iStock.
That said, there were two screen-based works that I thoroughly enjoyed. The first consisted of a TV-screen showing a loudspeaker positioned on the floor. In front of the TV, a pair of headphones hung from the ceiling. When I first put the headphones on, there was no sound. Then, an alarmingly loud ’swooping’ sound coincided with the appearance of a microphone swinging in front of the loudspeaker on the TV screen. This microphone proceeded to swing backwards and forwards in front of the loudspeaker, providing a burst of feedback on each pass. This continued until the swinging stopped, and a constant feedback tone resulted through the headphones. The subtle changes in the sounds were fascinating – such a simple idea, but brilliantly executed.
The second piece was ‘Night and Day’, which was a video that made use of light and dark to manipulate scenes depicting an ever-changing series of objects. It’s very difficult to describe – the exhibition guide says it best: “..light and dark play significant roles within individual events, as if they were protagonists moving from one scene to another. Consecutive exchanges with everyday things, some play with illusion and the transformation of space, some suggest a fragmentary narrative, while others imply a wryly comic touch.”
The Ikon Gallery is open 11am-6pm Tuesday-Sunday and admission is free.
