By Hannah Bolland and Edward Mortimer
To accompany Opera North’s production of The Adventures of Pinocchio
21 December – 26 January
Press Release 12.11.07
A fantastical multimedia window installation with manipulated toys and carnival themed projections.
For four weeks this winter, the window of 42 New Briggate Gallery will open onto a world of colourfully crafted chaos; a 3D moving tableaux of chromatic festivity.
Toys, texture and technology all vie for space within this opulent and garish carnival. Inspired by the bright lights and style of Italian shopping boulevards, the window scene interrupts reality with rubber plants, colour saturation, speed and chickens.
Commissioned to accompany Opera North’s brand new The Adventures of Pinocchio, Super Fast Chickens is by no means a sweet fairytale; a hint of the dark side noticeably creeps in.
The Adventures of Pinocchio is composed by Jonathan Dove who says “For a long time, I have thought that the tale of Pinocchio would make a marvellous opera, one that appeals to the whole family…Marionette-dances, fairground rides, assassins giving chase; terrifying men and a captivating girl; crime and punishment, remorse and reconciliation”.
Hannah Bolland and Edward Mortimer are West Yorkshire based artists. They both have individual art practices that use found objects, assemblages and installation. Edward describes his work as humorous or sinister, kitsch, ugly, absurd, aesthetically pleasing or just unusual. Hannah’s work focuses on childhood and play, shrines and ritual, seasons, cycles, life and death. In 2005 they received grants from the Arts Council England and Esmée Fairburn Foundation to create a new work, ‘The Magical Realm of Light’ for South Square Gallery in Bradford.
This commission marks a new stage in the development of 42 New Briggate Gallery, which will support artists from the north of England. It is the first work to be made specifically for the gallery in response to an opera.
Listings details: A fantastical multimedia window installation with manipulated toys and carnival themed projections.
Photographs taken by Johnathon Turner
Still taken from film by Hannah Bolland and Edward Mortimer called 'Carnival'
Image courtesy of the artist.
