Although i'm currently based in Birmingham, i am actually from somewhere quite near to Liverpool with a large portion of my family being Liverpudlians, so it's somewhere i have visited quite a few times. I often overlook it as a place to visit to wander around exhibitions (my visits generally have one purpose-shopping!), however, my recent visit has reminded me just how much there is to see in this city.
As well as visiting the Tate (see previous post), i also visited The Walker Art Gallery, which is just across the road from Liverpool Lime Street Station. As well as the gallery's permanent 20th century and contemporary collection, i also saw the New Works At The Walker exhibition, which brings together new pieces that the Walker has acquired over recent years.
A very varied collection of works were exhibited; including costume, paintings and video... An exhibition that would most definitely be classed as contemporary, including a very memorable piece by Marcus Coates, which i found quite strange but as it was so different it stuck with me. Journey To The Lower World (2004) is a video installation which shows Coates dressed in a deer skin performing a ritual to interact with the spirit world to answer a question put to him by residents of a block of flats awaiting demolition; "do we have a protector for this site? What is it?" As he 'interacts' with the spirit world he begins making animalistic noises and acting as though he may be possessed by a spirit... A very bizarre piece of work but it does have impact!
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| 'Super Star F****r Andy Warhol Text Painting', Peter Davies, 2002-20th Century & Contemporary Collection |
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| 'A Glass Of Water', Michael Craig-Martin, 1984-20th Century & Contemporary Collection |
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| 'Belonging' Patrick Murphy |
This installation was outside of the Walker Art Gallery and is a response to the suggestion that pigeons are a nuisance and are 'uninvited guests' but the bright colours of the birds that are 'decorating' the gallery are difficult to avoid!
