The Sandy Denny Project: rare treat at Selby Town Hall. Picture: Paul Michael Hughes
SELBY Town Hall’s spring season opens on February 1 with an 8pm performance
by folk-rock supergroup The Sandy Denny Project, paying homage to the late
Fairport Convention folk-rock singer.
“Featuring, among others, Sally Barker, a former finalist on BBC One’s The
Voice, they don’t play a great many gigs together,” says Selby Town Council
arts officer Chris Jones. “This is one of only a couple of shows announced for
2020 – a rare treat.”
In a tragically short career – she died at the age of 31 – Sandy Denny
sealed her place among the most influential and best-loved singer-songwriters of
the past 50 years.
Britain’s pre-eminent folk-rock singer, she began her performing career
with The Strawbs, then joined Fairport Convention, formed Fotheringay and released
four solo albums.
Her song Who Knows Where The Time Goes? has been recorded by Judy
Collins, Eva Cassidy, Nina Simone and Cat Power, while her wider work has been
the subject of numerous reissues, documentaries and high-profile tribute
concerts.
Sally Barker, from The Poozies, and fellow former Fotheringay MkII member
PJ Wright, from The Dylan Project, are joined in The Sandy Denny Project by frequent
Fairport Convention guest Anna Ryder, fast-rising singer, fiddler and guitarist
Marion Fleetwood and a rhythm section of bassist Mat Davies and drummer Mark
Stevens, from the now-defunct folk-rock group Little Johnny England.
Sandy Denny’s writing is approached not in the manner of a tribute band slavishly
copying the records, but as an interpretation of her work by six musicians who
share a folk-rock pedigree.
“Although Sandy died in 1978, her songs remain as fresh, poignant and as
beautiful today as the time that they were penned, and with every year her
reputation as a songwriter and interpreter of traditional material continues to
grow,” says Chris.
“The repertoire of The Sandy Denny Project reflects the amazing legacy
left behind by Sandy, through her work with the early incarnations of Fairport
Convention, the sublime Fotheringay and her incredible solo songs.
“February 1 is a rare chance to see these six fantastic musicians
perform their pitch-perfect tribute. The band really are of the highest
folk-rock calibre and this is an opportunity no folk fan will want to miss.”
Tickets cost £19 on 01757 708449 or at selbytownhall.co.uk or £21 on the door from 7.30pm.
STRICTLY Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice will lead his cast of professional dancers in This Is Me at York Barbican on June 11.
For his fourth year of touring, the 29-year-old
Sicilian will be joined by leading lady Giulia Dotta, a professional dancer
on Dancing With The Stars Ireland, who performed with Pernice on his first
two solo tours and has appeared around the country in shows such as Rip It
Up and Here Come the Boys.
The poster for This Is Me, Giovanni Pernice’s new touring show
In the company too will be Oksana and
Jonathan Platero. Oksana is a former Strictly professional, reaching the
quarter-final with Judge Rinder in 2016. Her husband, Jonathan, is a world
salsa champion and they both dance on the Latin version of So You Think
You Can Dance? on American television.
The line-up of dancers from around the world also will include Larisa
Untila, Valerio La Pietra and Domenico Palmisano.
This Is Me is directed and choreographed by dance power-couple Trent
Whiddon and Gordon Grandosek Whiddon. This duo has performed in such
shows as Burn The Floor and on screen in Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing
With The Stars, as well as creating the musical Le Hotel.
Giovanni Pernice on stage, leading his company of dancers
Pernice’s new show will pay homage to the music and dances that
have inspired a career that has taken him from competition dancer to Strictly
regular on BBC One.
Last
summer, Strictly trio Pernice, Aljaž Škorjanec and Gorka Marquez played Harrogate Convention Centre
on June 25 and Hull Venue on July 17 on their 38-date Here Come The Boys tour.
Tickets for This Is Me’s 7.30pm performance are on sale on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.
Jess Thomas: artist, play worker and comedian , hosting Heroes Of The Imagination
THE world’s first Tourette’s superhero lands in Scarborough Art Gallery this February half-term with a free “interactive, inclusive and incredible” superhero-themed experience.
Heroes Of The Imagination, from 10am to 1pm on Saturday, February 22, invites
disabled and non-disabled children to discover their own powers, create a
superhero identity and use their imagination to change the world.
Touretteshero herself will be there with her team to help children make
masks, create capes, perfect their moves and launch their new superheroes in a
magical photo studio.
Touretteshero was founded by Matthew Pountney and Jess Thom, an artist, play worker and comedian who has Tourette’s syndrome and finds her tics are a source of imaginative creativity. She has never been seen in the same room as Touretteshero, by the way!
Children taking part in a previous Touretteshero event
“Touretteshero needs you!” says Jess. “Bring your ideas, excitement and
energy to celebrate difference and save the world from dullness.”
Scarborough Museums Trust chief executive Andrew Clay says: “We’re excited to host internationally acclaimed company Touretteshero to inspire and energise us in our journey towards becoming more accessible and inclusive.
“We have some way to go but
we’re committed to radically improving access over the next few years,
particularly at Scarborough Art Gallery, including installing a lift.”
Taking place on the ground floor of the gallery, in The Crescent, this celebration of creativity,
imagination and neurodiversity will allow children to choose and move between
activities.
Another Touretteshero event in Scarborough
There will be a chill-out area, quiet and busy spaces and plenty of
staff and helpers on hand, plus a Mobiloo outside the gallery on The Crescent: a
Changing Places accessible loo with an adult-size changing bed and ceiling
hoist.
The fully accessible, multi-sensory drop-in activities for disabled and
non-disabled children and their grown-up sidekicks are free, but places are
limited and booking is essential. The event is recommended
particularly for children aged five to 13.
Further free half-term events being run by Scarborough Museums Trust include:
Fabulous
Fossils, Rotunda Museum, Tuesday, February 18, 10.30am to 12 noon and 1.30pm to
3pm;
Superheroes
of Science, Rotunda Museum, Thursday, February 20, 10am to 12 noon and 1pm to
3pm;
Explorer
Backpacks and Trails, Rotunda Museum, Scarborough Art Gallery and Woodend,
available every day.
To book for Heroes Of The Imagination, and for more information on all the half-term events, call 01723 374753 (Scarborough Art Gallery) or 01723 353665 (Rotunda) or visit scarboroughmuseumstrust.com/whats-on/.
“It just felt like it was time,” says Damien Jurado of recording a solo acoustic album last year
SEATTLE singer-songwriter Damien Jurado will showcase his acoustic album In The Shape Of A Storm in a solo show at Leeds City Varieties Music Hall on February 25.
The 47-year-old American will be playing ten dates on his
European February and March tour after releasing his 14th studio
album on April 12 last year.
Jurado always likes to work fast, but In the Shape Of A Storm
came together with unprecedented speed, even by his standards, being recorded
over the course of two hours one California afternoon.
On his sparsest album to date, gone are the thundering drums and
psychedelic arrangements that defined the trilogy of concept albums he made
with his long-time collaborator and close friend Richard Swift.
Gone too is the atmospheric air that hovered above his early
albums for Sub Pop. Here, instead, there is only Jurado’s voice, acoustic
guitar, and occasional accompaniment from Josh Gordon, playing a high-strung
guitar tuned Nashville style, rendering its sound spooky and celestial.
Although his fans have long requested a solo acoustic album, the
prospect never made sense to Jurado, until one day it simply did. “It just felt
like it was time,” Jurado says.
“There is nothing left to hide,” Jurado sings on the opening Lincoln,
where everything is clear and laid bare, two tone, like the drawing he crafted
for the record’s cover.
Originally written for 2000’s The Ghost Of David, Lincoln was
shelved and forgotten until Jurado rediscovered it on an old cassette tape,
inspiring him to gather up compositions that had never found proper homes. As a
result, In The Shape Of A Storm became an archive of previously abandoned
songs.
Jurado’s discography is filled with songs written as miniature
movies, cinematic vignettes that capture people, the places they are from, and
where they are going. By contrast, In The Shape Of A Storm is his first black
and white picture, both a snapshot of two hours in a California recording
studio and a document spanning 19 years and a life of music.
“I believe songs have their own time and place,” Jurado says.
For these ten, that time has finally come on album number 14.
Tickets for Jurado’s 8pm Leeds gig, when he will be supported by
Dana Gavanski, are on sale on 0113 243 0808 or at cityvarieties.co.uk.
The poster image for Eye Project, the short film for the Castle Gateway project, being shown on Clifford’s Tower, York, on Saturday
EYE Project, a new short film made by four York artists, will be
shown in a free outdoor screening on Clifford’s Tower, Tower Street, York, on
Saturday evening.
Created as part of the Castle Gateway consultation project, the film
recalls the history of the Castle Gateway, where the River Ouse and River Foss
meet, while also celebrating its future possibilities.
Emanating from the site of the former York Castle,
the area covers the length of Piccadilly, the Coppergate shopping centre,
Clifford’s Tower and the Eye of Yorkshire and runs through to St George’s Field
and the Foss Basin.
Artists Rich Corrigan, Jade Blood, Julia Davis Nosko and Mat
Lazenby worked with hundreds of young York people and InkBlot Films to “explore
the ways we can shape and influence the future of Castle Gateway through a
major development of the site”.
Overseen by Kaizen Arts Agency and English Heritage, Eye Projectwill be shown from the Castle car park between 5.30pm and 8.30pm on
Saturday as part of this weekend’s York Residents Festival.
The public will have an opportunity to have a say about the area’s
future during the screening by using #eyeprojectyork.
Andrea Selley, historic properties director at English Heritage,
says: “Any consultation process is interesting but this one has been
particularly so: listening to the views that young people have about that the
Castle Gateway space and seeing the passion and creativity of their ideas has
been fascinating and insightful.
“Clifford’s Tower, centred so prominently in the city centre, is
an apt place to project such a creative community-led project and we’re pleased
that the tower has been part of this.”
The poster for Conflux, one of three Castle Gateway project commissions
Rebecca Carr, Kaizen Arts Agency’s artistic director, says: “We
aim to bring York residents into this conversation who wouldn’t usually engage
in a traditional consultation. This project is presenting different ways to
share ideas; it creates another way to explore the place, while at the same
time activating the site, and beginning to shape it into the place we might
want it to be.
“People sometimes feel as if their voice isn’t heard, or their
opinion is not valued, so we’re really excited to be part of a team that aims
to change that.”
Eye Project is the third in a trio of art commissions to be presented as part of City of York Council’s consultation on Castle Gateway, using art to reference the past while looking to the future of the iconic city-centre site.
Another of the commissions, Conflux, an hour-long audio walk collaboration
between Hannah Davies’s Common Ground Theatre and Hannah Bruce & Company, can
be downloaded
and experienced until December 2020, with more details at cgtheatre.co.uk/portfolio/conflux/.
Councillor Darryl Smalley, City of York Council’s executive member
for culture, leisure and communities,says: “Throughout the My Castle
Gateway project, we’ve looked to innovate and bring fresh ideas to capture
the views of residents, businesses and visitors about how the area can be
regenerated for the next generation.
“It’s fitting that the car park will be closed for the day [Saturday,
January 25] to showcase these ideas from York’s young people, along with local
artists, because one of the key features of the masterplan is to relocate
Castle car park to St George’s Field with a new purpose-built multi-storey car
park.
“I would urge people to come along and see the short film to
discover the heritage behind the Castle Gateway site and the ambitious
opportunities that lie ahead for the area.”
The project is funded through Leeds City Region Business Rates
Pool, a scheme that allows local authorities to retain growth in business rates
for local investment. Public funding comes from the National Lottery
through Arts Council England, with further support from City of
York Council, York Mediale and the University of York music department.
Please note: Castle car park will
be closed on January 25 for the Eye Project event.
Jam packed: Hyde Family Jam cram in the hits in their Burns Night Bonanza
YORK busking kings Hyde Family Jam present a Burns Night Bonanza at the John Cooper Studio, Theatre @41 Monkgate, York, on Saturday at 7.30pm.
“Huzzah!” says frontman and guitarist John Holt-Roberts. “We’re back, playing a gig in York to celebrate Burns Night and help you shake off the January blues. Come and stomp, dance and sing along with us.”
Hyde Family Jam, winners of the Outstanding Busker prize in the 2018 York Culture Awards, are likely to sell out. “So, get your tickets early to avoid disappointment,” urges John. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk.
THE Grand Opera House, York, plays host to two tribute shows this week, first hitting the high notes with The Best Of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons on Friday.
The Simon & Garfunkel Story follows on Saturday in a return visit to the Cumberland Street theatre.
From the creators of The Barricade Boys comes the Frankie Valli show, a high-pitched celebration of the career of four New Jersey boys, who started singing under a streetlamp.
Sherry, My Eyes Adored You, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Walk Like A Man and December 1963 (Oh, What A Night) all feature in a show performed by cast members from Jersey Boys and other West End shows.
The Simon & Garfunkel Story
After a run at London’s Vaudeville Theatre and a worldwide tour, the tribute show to Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel is back on the road with Adam Dickinson’s Simon and Cameron Potts’s Garfunkel.
Using projection
photos and original film footage, the 50th anniversary celebration features a
full band performing Cecilia, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Mrs Robinson et al.
Tickets for the two 7.30pm performances are on sale on 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york.
Annie Donaghy, Big Ian Donaghy, Beth McCarthy, Heather Findlay and Jess Steel at A Night To Remember in 2019 at York Barbican. Picture: Karen Boyes
AS New Year’s resolutions wane and gym memberships become a direct debit, a group of York musicians start their boot camp of rehearsals for A Night To Remember.
Now in its eighth year, the annual fundraising event helps good causes in the city to make a difference.
Organiser and host Big Ian Donaghy brings together “the finest musicians and singers for a gang show like no other” at York Barbican.
“This year’s show is so jam packed with quality that we’ve had to create another day to fit it in: Saturday, February 29, in the leap year of 2020!” says Big Ian.
Heather Findlay performing at last year’s A Night To Remember fundraiser. Picture: David Harrison
Unlike other shows, A Night To Remember has all the singers performing as an ensemble exceeding all of its constituent parts.
“When you have a dream team on the stage, it seems a shame to not use them, so everybody sings on everybody else’s songs,” says Big Ian.
“It’s become a big musical family – and there’s some range on stage! For example, festival superstar Kieran O’Malley, on fiddle, could power the entire night with his energetic performance leading the crowd like a pied piper,” says Big Ian.
A Night To Remember lets singers take on their favourite songs. “In previous years, no song has been off limits. Last year saw the cast rise to the challenge of Bohemian Rhapsody in its entirety, something not even Queen tackled!
Jess Steel: taking on “near-impossible demanding songs” at York Barbican. Picture: David Harrison
“Soulful Jess Steel will take on a Dusty Springfield classic, as well as other near-impossible demanding songs that she’ll deliver in the manner she’s now well known for.
“Heather Findlay, fresh back from a sell-out UK tour, brings her class into the mix, performing two of her favourite songs.
“Overall, you should expect showbiz, expect boundless energy, expect the unexpected.”
The gig’s house band will be led by York music stalwart George Hall, joined by powerhouse duo Rob Wilson and Simon Snaize on guitar duty.
The poster for A Night To Remember 2020
Look out for Beth McCarthy, who made her debut at the Mount School when Big Ian ran a School of Rock concert there. “I still call him ‘Mr D’ as he was my teacher,” says Beth, who will be stepping out of her comfort zone to rock the Barbican foundations.
Graham Hodge will “venture into very different areas as he celebrates his 70th birthday”. Gravel-voiced Boss Caine, alias Dan Lucas, will tackle a country favourite that nobody would ever guess.
Hope & Social’s Gary Stewart will play the congas, as well as singing a Paul Simon rouser.
York singer Jessa Liversidge will bring her fully inclusive Singing For All choir, a group with members aged up to 98.
Beth McCarthy: “Stepping out of her comfort zone to rock the Barbican foundations”
“This choir is all about bringing people together to combat loneliness and celebrate a love of music with rehearsals that are very tea and cake heavy,” says Jessa.
“I love Jessa’s passionate, positive approach to bringing the community together, so it was an obvious fit to raise the choir’s profile and show the city just how fantastic they are,” says Big Ian.
“So much, so we’ll have them singing The New Seekers’ I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing.”
Annie Donaghy will put her spin on a George Michael classic on a night when the set list will feature covers of Dusty Springfield, Shania Twain, Simple Minds, Paul Simon, Michael Buble, Guns N’ Roses, Barbra Streisand, Peter Gabriel, Elton John and Marvin Gaye classics, as well as a few surprises.
Oh, what A Night To Remember as singers and musicians gather at the finale of last year’s fund-raising concert at York Barbican. Picture: Ravage
“This year, the show has a bigger, brassier feel with a 12-piece brass section, made up of Kempy, Pete, Stu and Chalky from my band Huge, being joined by funk horns and brass players from York Music Forum, ranging in age from 13 to 18, led by Ian Chalk,” says Big Ian.
“We’re celebrating the young talent in the city within the brass section and putting them alongside singers up to 98 years old. Music has no age limit. It is for all of us!”
Possibly the most important man on the night will be sound engineer Craig Rothery, who has the unenviable task of mixing this leviathan of a line-up.
“Craigy is a phenomenal sound engineer, who mixed the launch event for the Tour de France at Leeds First Direct Arena that was viewed by millions. Craig is so much more than a safe pair of hands; he’s the cement that holds us together,” says Big Ian.
Graham Hodge in action at last year’s A Night To Remember concert
He also promises “ground-breaking, heart-warming and heart-breaking films” to raise dementia awareness. “Watch out for surprise appearances, as previous years have included messages from Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, The Hairy Bikers, Rick Astley, Nick Knowles, Anton du Beke and Kaiser Chiefs’ Ricky Wilson,” he says.
“But the real reason these musicians come together is to help St Leonard’s Hospice, Dementia Projects in York, Bereaved Children Support York and Accessible Arts & Media.”
Jo Cole, of Bereaved Children Support, says: “As well as helping us fund one-to-one counselling, A Night To Remember has raised our profile, so families who desperately needed us to help now know where we are.”
Working the crowd: A Night To Remember host Ian Donaghy
Emma Johnson, of St Leonard’s Hospice, says: “Big Ian and the team have provided invaluable help for years, making such a difference in the city.”
Big Ian, who speaks all over Europe about dementia care, concludes: “Dementia awareness and the difference we can make by bringing community together is the envy of many cities around the UK.
“We throw everything into this evening. It takes months of hard work and phenomenally talented people working tirelessly. I’m so proud to be part of this team.”
Tickets are available at £17.55 and £15 on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.
The 7.30pm show is being sponsored by Haxby Group and Care Shop.
Singers, musicians and the York Barbican audience pose for a group selfie after last year’s concert
Robert Pickavance as Dr Janusz Korcza in rehearsals for Dr Korczak’s Example. All pictures: Zoe Martin
LEEDS Playhouse regular Robert Pickavance, Gemma Barnett and newcomer Danny Sykes will star in Dr Korczak’s Example, the first 2020 production in the new Bramall Rock Void.
Artistic director James Brining directs David Greig’s powerful
and moving play in a Leeds premiere timed to coincide with Holocaust Memorial
Day on January 27.
Set in the shadows of the Warsaw Jewish ghetto in 1942, Dr Korczak’s Example
examines life in an orphanage where escapism is key to survival, and where the
children’s shared sense of community is the only barrier against the wave of
hatred approaching their haven of solidarity.
Director James Brining at work in the Leeds Playhouse rehearsal rooms
Greig’s play highlights the work of Polish educator and children’s
author Dr Janusz Korczak, who championed the voices of young people and
whose influence led to the creation of the United Nation’s Convention on the
Rights of the Child in 1989.
Director James Brining says: “Dr Janusz Korczak was an incredible
individual whose beliefs and teachings helped to redefine how we think about
the way we bring up our own children and the part we have to play within
society to achieve that.
“I commissioned the play and first directed it in 2001. It’s such a
powerful, moving and timely story and I’m so looking forward to returning to it
in the new Bramall Rock Void and particularly to working with Hebden Bridge
designer Rose Revitt, winner of the Linbury Prize for theatre design.”
Gemma Barnett rehearsing her role as Stephanie in Dr Korczak’s Example
The Bramall Rock Void forms part of the £15.8 million redevelopment of
Leeds Playhouse, completed last autumn. “What we have already discovered about
our new theatre is that its raw intimacy can create a powerful environment for
powerful stories and Rose’s vision for Dr Korczak’s Example does just that,”
says James. ”I’m honoured to be
directing this [play] again with such a brilliant company.”
Brining
commissioned Greig to write the play 20 years ago when he was running
TAG, a children’s theatre company in Glasgow, Scotland. Now looking forward to
introducing it to a new audience in his home city of Leeds, he says:“I’ve
done quite a few things more than once, but I never intended to go back to this
piece again.
“I was
really happy with the original production. Then, a year or so ago, I came
across a statistic that showed quite a high number of people – maybe 18 to 20
per cent – thought the Nazi holocaust was exaggerated, with a slightly smaller
number saying it was completely fabricated. I was really struck and shocked by
that because when I grew up it was a very present thing.”
Leeds actor Robert Pickavance during rehearsals for Dr Korczak’s Example
Brining
continues: “On a very personal level, revisiting the play has made me ask if
I’m the same person I was 20 years ago. Having children has changed the way I
see the play and, perhaps, explains why I was so moved when I read it again.
I’m not saying that having children gives you more of a profound understanding,
but it does give you a different perspective. And I’m just older, so I can now
align myself quite strongly with Korczak.
“I think
that’s the measure of a really great piece of theatre: it speaks to you
differently according to who you are and where you are. Having children, being
older, the world being a slightly different place, even having more distance
from 1942, all of these things affect the way you engage with it. But as I’ve watched
rehearsals, I’ve been really moved. The power of the play is still very
potent.”
The role of Dr Janusz Korczak will be played by Leeds
actor Robert Pickavance, who starred as Ebenezer Scrooge in A
Christmas Carol and Sava in David Greig’s Europe as part of
the Leeds Playhouse Ensemble during its Pop-Up Season.
Newcomer Danny Sykes rehearsing his role as Adzio
He will be joined by Gemma Barnett, fresh from starring as Hermia
in A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Shakespeare In The Squares, as well as
Rory in A Hundred Words For Snow at Trafalgar Studios and Lola
in Lola at The Vaults, both in London.
Danny Sykes will make his first professional stage appearance after
graduating with a BA in Acting from Arts Ed in 2019.
This Playhouse production is supported by the Linbury Prize for Stage
Design, funded by the Linbury Trust. This biennial prize, the most important of
its kind in Britain, brings together the best early
career designers with professional theatre, dance and opera companies.
Joining Brining and Revitt in the creative team are lighting designer Jane Lalljee, sound designer and composer David Shrubsole, movement designerRachel Wise.
Dr Korczak’s Example runs at Bramall Rock Void, Leeds Playhouse, January 25 to February 15. Box office: 0113 213 7700 or at leedsplayhouse.org.uk.
York artist Gerard Hobson with his wren installation beneath the Clock Tower at Beningbrough Hall, near York. Pictures: Sue Jordan
YORK linocut artist Gerard Hobson is exhibiting
for the first time at Beningbrough Hall, Beningbrough, near York.
His Winter Wildlife In Print show at the
National Trust property combines prints for sale in the Hayloft gallery with 14
sculptural
scenes in the outbuildings, gardens, grounds and parkland, inspired by
creatures that make Beningbrough their winter home.
Throughout
winter until March 1, they can be seen only on Saturdays and Sundays, from 11am
to 3.30pm, and additionally during the February half term.
Hedgehog in winter, by Gerard Hobson,
Created out of linoprints, cut out and mounted to make Hobson’s
3D installations, birds are swooping, climbing or nesting among the trees, from
owls and robins to cuckoos, wrens and swifts.
Eyes should
be kept peeled for the naughty magpies with their stolen ring. Do look out,
too, beyond the ha-ha to the parkland to spot a pair of boxing hares, better
seen close-up should anyone be carrying binoculars.
Bang goes the common knowledge, by the way, that boxing hares
are a brace of males scrapping over a female. Apparently, as a sign reveals,
the fights involve a male and a female, not welcoming his persistent attention.
Who knew, the lady hares are effectively saying “Do one” or “Get yourself a
better chat-up line”!
Hare, by Gerard Hobson, one of the linoprints in the Hayloft gallery at Beningbrough Hall
These outdoor
installations are the first time Gerard Hobson has used his work in this way,
and in creating the exhibition, he has made many new pieces especially for the
Beningbrough garden.
Not only birds, but other animals too make an appearance in
unexpected places, searching for food and preparing to hibernate or sleep,
whether bats, mice, stoats or a hedgehog.
Make sure to head upstairs in the stables to
the Hayloft for an indoor exhibition showcasing more of Gerard’s printed work,
all for sale. Visitors also can create a feeder in the bothy and pick up
one of the special colouring-in sheets in the walled garden restaurant, while
in the laurel den a dawn chorus soundscape is a reminder of warmer days to
come.
Here Charles Hutchinson puts the questions on
the art of the matter to artist Gerard Hobson.
You have a background as a zoologist and botanist. What draws you
to depicting nature and wildlife, Gerard?
“One of my earliest recollections was collecting a set of bird cards
given away with PG Tips tea (I would love to do a set for Yorkshire Tea).
“This moved on to sets of animals both native and around the world,
which then grew into a love of nature.
A bird collage by Gerard Hobson
“At the age of about 16, I had a ten-minute chat with a careers adviser,
who asked me what my interests were. I said ‘nature and art’ and he said ‘there’s
no money in art, go down the science route’, hence the zoology.
“My first job after graduating was with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and
this is where my knowledge of plants developed.”
In this age of climate change concern and the extinction of creatures,
your art can make a powerful statement …but at the same time, in the short
film shown in the Beningbrough Hall bothy, you talk of your art being fun.
Discuss…
“People who buy my prints tell me they’re bright and cheerful and have a
sense of fun about them. I’m pleased they get that response but I also hope
that my images might create a greater interest in wildlife.
“I think most people are aware of the loss of habitat and species and
the impact of global warming on our environment, but people feel the problem is
so great that their small contribution isn’t going to make any difference.
“I hope my art may stir people to become more interested in the wildlife
around them, to feed the birds and join their local wildlife trust. To share
this with their children and their children’s children and hopefully
generations of young people will become more interested in the birds and woodlands
around them. Maybe some will go on to be environmental campaigners – who knows!”
Gerard Hobson at work in his York studio
Your past work often has been of individual creatures. How did
you come up with the idea of doing installations and sculptural scenes for
the Beningbrough exhibition?
“When I was asked to do an exhibition at Beningbrough, they told me they
wanted me to do something outdoors but they wanted me to use my linocuts.
However, I knew this was going to create several problems.
“Life-size birds outside would just disappear into the great outdoors,
so I had to do everything twice its normal size.
“I wanted the work to be original because somehow, once you reproduce
art, it seems to lose its essence, but trying to make my paper linocuts
waterproof also proved challenging.
“I felt each installation needed some sort of narrative. So, my
vision for the exhibition was not just about the art but for each one to be
linked with some related fact or folklore.”
How does the impact of a group of birds/hibernating animals/etc
contrast with those past works?
“I think the outdoor display at Beningbrough challenged me artistically
as I have never done an outside exhibition before and I wanted to come up with
something a little bit different and quirky: a seek and find concept.
Pheasant, one of the linoprints by Gerard Hobson, at Beningbrough Hall’s Hayloft gallery
“As an artist you are looking at ways to develop, but not lose your
style. Before the offer at Beningbrough came about, I’d been considering doing
some framed images of my linocuts in naturalistic settings using fake plants,
branches, mosses etc.
“When I was about 12, I started collecting taxidermy and had quite a
large collection, but over the years it has become less fashionable. However,
taxidermy still interests me as an art form, hence the thought of putting my
linocuts in cases.”
What influence did the Beningbrough Hall outbuildings and grounds have
on your work. Furthermore, did the task of creating work for the outdoors present
different challenges?
“When I was asked to do the exhibition, the brief was very broad and
they basically gave me carte blanche on the spaces around the grounds, which
was fantastic!
“I obviously wanted to do something that was on a circuit so I around a few times, identifying my favourite
trees and possible places to put things.
“Many of the themes for the installations came from the spaces
themselves. The stumpery led to the creation of a group of mushrooms and the
tool shed looked like a good setting to put animals and birds for sheltering
away from the cold winter weather.”
A close-up of the wrens, one of 14 sculptural scenes by Gerard Hobson at Beningbrough Hall this winter
What impact did the winter season have on the work?
“The winter weather has created a few problems. When we were installing
the exhibition, it seemed to be constantly raining, which made the installation
a very cold and wet experience!
“Once the exhibition was up, we had a couple of weeks where various pieces
were coming away from their metal dowel. (I’m not sure if it was the persistent
rain or the wrong sort of glue being used.)
“Added to which, very high winds brought down the swallow installation
twice and the boxing hares were blown over. There has also been a problem with
the thrush installation being attacked by what we think is the resident jackdaw
population! “However, through it all, the gardeners and volunteers at
Beningbrough have been fantastic at helping put things right.”
What will happen to the installation pieces after the exhibition ends on
March 1?
“Good question, no idea. Some of the pieces have weathered, which gives
them a look of an old loved toy. I don’t think they’ll last outdoors
permanently. I’m open to suggestions.”
Bird And Mistletoe, a winter linoprint by Gerard Hobson
What do you like most about linocuts as an artform?
“I went on a printmaking course at York College about ten years ago and
I was particularly taken with producing linocuts.
“Carving away on lino has a very therapeutic feel to it, and it was through
this medium that I developed my own style. Prior to this, I’d been quite good
at art technically, but didn’t have a particular look to my art, so this
technique seemed to release me into something I’d been trying to do for years.
“When you produce a piece of art, you can feel quite attached to it, and
it can be quite difficult to part with. With a linocut, because it’s one of a
limited edition, you can always hold one back for yourself or a loved one.”
What are you working on next? York Open Studios 2020 on April 18, 19, 25
and 26, perhaps?
“My exhibition in the Hayloft gallery at Beningbrough is running until
the beginning of March, with the sales from this keeping me quite busy at the
moment, and I want to keep refreshing this part of the show, so that returning
visitors get to see something a little different each time.
“Also, I need to crack on with some new work for York Open Studios,
which I’m very excited about this April.”
Gerard Hobson’s Winter Wildlife In Print exhibition and
installations are on show at Beningbrough Hall, Beningbrough, near York, until
March 1. To plan a visit, go to nationaltrust.org.uk/beningbrough for
more information.
Hare leap: one of Gerard Hobson’s linocut prints at Beningbrough Hall
Did you know?
SINCE childhood, Gerard Hobson has had a love for birds, animals
and art. His fascination with wildlife saw him qualify as a zoologist from
Bangor University in 1984 and he then worked for a couple of years for
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust as a botanist. Later he became an illustrator for the
trust, working on leaflets and sign boards.
After relocating up north, Gerard worked for Yorkshire Wildlife
and continued to develop his work on a freelance basis. In more recent years,
he has turned his hand to woodcarving and these days focuses his attentions on
print making, having studied the art form in York.
