York artist Carol Douglas, left, with According To McGee gallery co-director Ails McGee
CAROL Douglas: Hygge and Expressionism part two launches at York gallery According To McGee on Saturday at 12 noon.
Greg and Ails McGee continue their commitment to contemporary painting with the latest collection by the York artist, who last exhibited at the Tower Street art space between lockdowns last year.
“We love Carol’s art,” says gallery co-director Ails. “We showcased her 2020 collection in the autumn and we weren’t surprised at how well they connected. The paintings focus in on the simplest, most humble items of homelife and reassemble them as iconic compositions.
“It’s her style, and you can tell who it is from across the room, which is a litmus test of success in itself.”
Carol’s Hygge and Expressionism part one brought the gallery a new type of discerning client when holding court at According To McGee, notes co-director Greg.
“When a gallery has to constantly rely on a static cohort of collectors to keep the commercial side of things going, that gallery is in trouble,” he says. “We have for 17 years made the point that if you want contemporary cityscapes, we have them. Semi-abstract seascapes? We have them too.
“Plates of pears or simple pots of flowers elevated into iconic emblematic art? We had to give Carol Douglas a ring for that! And she does it with such control, such a mischievous vision, that her work reminds me of William Carlos Williams’s poem This Is Just To Say.
“Those cold plums on the plate were more than just plums! So there’s the heft of something simple beautifully depicted that seems to connect to a whole new type of client that we’re really grateful for.”
Digital artist Nick Walters orchestrating the Hope nocturnal digital display at According To McGee in York
Carol Douglas’s exhibition follows Hope, the three-week nocturnal digital display of artwork by children from all over the world, a project spearheaded by Denmark’s Viborg and guided to York by Chris Edwards, chair of REACH and the York Cultural Education Partnership, and Chris Bailey, clerk of the York Guild of Media Arts.
“If the intention was to remind a slowly returning cultural sector that According To McGee was alive and kicking, it certainly worked,” says Greg. “The response has been humbling. We’ve had families from participating York schools attending, and teenagers we’ve worked with through our charitable arm, New Visuality, sending me photos of the illuminated projections of their artwork.
“It’s been great and just underlines how innovative displays with digital artists Nick Walters and Pritpal Rehal can complement the more traditional thrills of coming to see a beautifully curated exhibition of beautifully composed paintings.”
Now the focus turns to Carol Douglas’s paintings, with the McGees settling on maintaining the title Carol Douglas: Hygge and Expressionism from last year’s campaign. “Honestly, the title says it all, and the nature of the work has not shifted at all since last year,” says Ails.
“The ‘hygge’ is there to suggest the reassuringly domestic nature of the subject matter, and the ‘expressionism’ highlights just how much of the success is down to Carol’s wholly idiosyncratic insistence on depicting simple things with such iconic power. She is a joy to work with and is a real boost to York’s cultural community.”
Carol, 2018 winner of the Adult & Access Award for Art & Design Lifelong Student of the Year, says: “I hope that people who see my work find it both visually exciting and somewhat amusing. The domestic has always been my focus and speaks of my personality and history.”
Carol’s artworks can be viewed at According To McGee every Saturday, 12 noon to 4pm, or by appointment on 07973 653702 on weekdays. Alternatively, they can be discovered online at accordingtomcgee.com/collections/carol-douglas.
All are welcome at Saturday’s midday launch, Covid compliance allowing.
YORKSHIRE artist Susan Brown is exhibiting her architectural paintings of York Minster at Kentmere House Galllery, Scarcroft Hill, York, until July 4.
Her artistic focus is on city life and our relationship with our environment, exploring the rhythm and movement within buildings and interiors, along with creating beautiful abstract paintings, inspired by still-life subjects and landscapes, with an emphasis on texture and pattern.
Susan, who lives in Birdsedge, Huddersfield, exhibits both in Yorkshire nationally. Initially, she studied 3-D Design at Leeds College of Art, since when she has developed her two prime areas of interest, interior design and contemporary painting, in tandem.
The painting side of Susan has involved numerous commissions and several projects where she worked both as designer and artist.
York Minster, window detail, by Susan Brown
She paints theatrical and musical scenes, still life and landscape, but is most associated with her architectural subjects, especially cityscapes. “Her paintings are bold and striking, predominantly worked in watercolour and acrylic,” says Kentmere House Gallery owner Ann Petherick. “Her style is immediately recognisable.
“In recent years, she has focused on architectural studies of a range of European cityscapes, such as Prague, Lille, Paris Venice. Since lockdown, she has enjoyed her return to painting York.”
Susan’s musical interest has incorporated the role of artist-in-residence at the 1994 York Early Music Festival, as part of the series arranged by Kentmere House Gallery.
Her paintings appear in private and public contemporary art collections aplenty, among them Halifax Plc, Allied Domecq, the Sir George Martin Trust, the Universities of York and Sheffield, HBOS and the National Trust.
York Minster, West Front, by Susan Brown
Susan has exhibited at the Royal Academy, Royal Scottish Academy, Royal Watercolour Society and New English Art Club, as well as many independent galleries in London and across the country.
She has received many art prizes and awards, including the Laing Art Competition, Hunting Art Prize (regional winner) and Penrose Purchase Prize, and has published several books of her work. The latest, Landscape, will be published later this year, featuring her more abstract work.
“Susan has been showing at Kentmere House Gallery since 1990 and her new collection of paintings of York Minster is on show through late-May, throughout June and into early July,” says Ann. “The gallery is open anytime by prior arrangement or chance: you can ring or email, or just take pot luck by ringing the bell. Please ring in advance if travelling any distance.”
Kentmere House Gallery’s next open weekend will be on June 5 and 6, 11am to 5pm; the gallery has a weekly late-evening opening on Thursdays to 9pm. Ann can be contacted on 01904 656507 or 07801 810825 or at ann.petherick@kentmerehouse.co.uk.
The Super Cool Drawing Machine T-shirt on sale in the exhibition gift shop
SUPER Cool Drawing Machine, Yuppies Music’s touring exhibition of musicians’ “other” work, will run at The Crescent community venue, York, from Thursday to Sunday.
This celebration of art created by international touring independent musicians is billed as a “much-needed exploration of FUN stuff”, on show each day from 11am to 9pm with Covid-secure measures in place.
Under social distancing restrictions, attendees will have to book in advance, choosing a specific time slot to view the exhibition. Consequently, only a small number of tickets are available at £5 for each time slot at seetickets.com.
“Over the moon” to be supported by Arts Council England, Yuppies Music and York music promoters Please Please You will present works by renowned musicians from alternative, experimental, jazz, folk, rock, soul, ambient, indie backgrounds.
Among them will be trailblazing saxophonist and figurehead of the British jazz scene Shabaka Hutchings; Mercury-nominated Welsh singer/producer Cate Le Bon; experimental folk musician Richard Dawson; African-American experimentalist Lonnie Holley and drummer/composer Seb Rochford, plus members of This Is The Kit, Mammal Hands, Haiku Salut, Snapped Ankles and more besides.
On display from May 27 to 30 will be paintings, photography, drawings, ceramics, digital instillations, recycled arts, sculpture and furniture, adding up to “colourful and interactive arts for the open-minded and curious”, complemented by a gift shop.
The full listing of artists is: Bex Burch, of Vula Viel; Bryony Jarman-Pinto; night flight: Cate Le Bon; H. Hawkline; Tim Presley; Cloudshoes; Daisuke Tanabe; Ed Dowie; Francois & The Atlas Mountains; Haiku Salut; Holysseus Fly; Ichi; Jeffrey Lewis…
…Leafcutter John; Lonnie Holley; Mammal Hands; Peter Broderick; Poppy Ackroyd; Rachael Dadd; Richard Dawson; Rhodri Davies; Rozi Plain; Seb Rochford; Shabaka Hutchings; Snapped Ankles; Tara Clerkin; This Is The Kit; Yama Warashi and Yumi And The Weather.
Dalby, by Peter Heaton, from the Residuum exhibition at The Courtyard, Low Dalby
PETER Heaton’s photographs combine with Peter Maris’s sculptures in the Residuum exhibition on show at The Courtyard, Low Dalby, Dalby Forest, near Pickering, until the end of August.
“All the work pretty much has been made during the lockdown period,” says artist/photographer Heaton. “It’s quite different for me, as I usually work in black and white, but as normal for my work, it’s heavily atmospheric, and this time it’s a collaborative project.”
Inspired by a particular forest environment and how it has formed, flourishes and changes through natural processes and human activity, Heaton and Maris’s “rich and sumptuous” exhibition” presents multi-layered photographs alongside intriguing carved stone sculptures that took the micro-climate and life within the forest’s small glacial valleys as a focal point for examination and creative exploration.
Sculpture, by Peter Maris, from the Residuum exhibition
Residuum is among the outcomes of an artist residency commissioned by Forestry England and supported by Arts Council England, wherein Maris invited Heaton to engage in a collaborative programme.
Heaton’s striking images were all made in a small area of the forest at High Staindale that contains a complex of several short steep valleys known locally as Griffs and Slacks. These features were created by glacial melt water and lie close to the prehistoric Dargate Dikes linear boundary.
“In this most ancient area of the forest, sunlight very rarely penetrates the valleys that seem to exude their own pale, green light,” he says. “They are full of fallen and decaying trees that are passing through continuous transformation as they moulder into the rocky forest floor. In my images these are atmospheric spaces, dominated by mosses, ferns, deep shadows and …silence.”
“Quite different for me, as I usually work in black and white, but as normal for my work, it’s heavily atmospheric,” says photographer Peter Heaton
In The Courtyard gallery, two large panoramic compositions flank either side of the exhibition space, examining and celebrating the rich array of minutiae that makes up the ever-changing forest floor, all photographically woven into complex, layered tapestries that reveal unexpected detail, colour and textures.
In contrast, four images printed onto Light Sheets on the gallery’s main wall alternate between illuminating the space with that “pale green light” and then darkening, shifting to reveal the woodland’s mysterious, primaeval qualities.
“There is constant change at work in these valleys, but it’s imperceptible, a slow decomposition and green rebirth brought about by nature’s agents of change,” says Heaton.
Forest, by Peter Heaton, on display at The Courtyard, Low Dalby
The sculptures are inspired by the same subject matter but, importantly, are also a creative response to the photographic compositional processes. “They are intentionally focused towards a ‘picture-plane’ presentation and deal with the surface issues in sculptural composition,” says Maris.
“These new pieces use the very rugged, textured, natural ‘bed’ surface of the stone as an appropriate visual metaphor in which to explore with a range of mark-making techniques, but that also refer to natural growth forms, decomposition and human activity.”
In this project, Maris has found the opportunity to broaden his sculptural expression beyond the boundaries of conventional stone-carving practice and introduce a greater spontaneity in approach and response.
The Residuum exhibition at The Courtyard, Low Dalby
“In these sculptures, I wanted to develop new creative routes in stone and I felt free to compose and draw with the chisel in a very loose and painterly manner,” says Maris. “Colour has been introduced too, both by chance discovery and by deliberation.”
The natural textures of the stones have given rise to imaginative and creative play in the carving process. “Surface features and shapes are undercut and pierced, revealing apertures in the stone, posing references to the earth’s surface as a fragile membrane that can be broken or eroded through human activity and natural environmental processes.”
Heaton concludes: “With people becoming increasingly appreciative of the benefits of spending more time outdoors, perhaps a visit to the exhibition combined with walk through Dalby Forest would be just the ticket in the coming months.”
WHAT’s up with chatty art podcast duo Chalmers & Hutch? We need to talk about two steps forward, but Step 3 stumble? Deer Shed at Base Camp. LIVE theatre at last! Marc Bolan & T Rex: 21st Century Boy. Street art & what makes a “hero” fit for a mural?
Oh, and yes, Manic Street Preachers…pretentious or what?
Minster Men: The Howl & The Hum to play livestreamed concert at York Minster on Tuesday
THE Indian Variant may be dampening down hopes for June 21, but Charles Hutchinson’s diary is still filled with hope, concerts, festivals, exhibitions and a Minster livestreaming.
Livestreaming of the week ahead: The Howl & The Hum, Live At York Minster, Tuesday, 8pm to 9.30pm
YORK rock band The Howl & The Hum are performing a one-off streamed concert in the Nave of York Minster on Tuesday, with tickets available via Brudenell.ticketco.events/.
The 8.15pm setlist will be built around last year’s debut album, Human Contact, whose prescient title chimed with pandemic times as such contact became more restricted, even barred. New material may well feature too. “I reckon it will,” says frontman Sam Griffiths.
Rachel Croft: York singer-songwriter to perform on Songs Under Skies acoustic double bill with Wounded Bear at the NCEM. Picture: Amy D’Agorne
A fistful of outdoor gigs: Songs Under Skies, National Centre for Early Music, York, in June
SONGS Under Skies will return to the NCEM’s churchyard gardens at St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, next month.
Five outdoor acoustic double bills from 6.30pm to 8.30pm will comprise Wounded Bear and Rachel Croft on June 1; Kell Chambers and Nadedja, June 2; Katie Spencer and Joshua Burnell, June 14; Zak Ford and Alice Simmons, June 15, and Epilogues and Sunflower Thieves, June 16.
As with last September’s debut series, the socially distanced, Covid-safe season two will be presented in association with The Crescent community venue, The Fulford Arms and the Music Venues Alliance. Box office: at tickets.ncem.co.uk.
Hope Is The New Hero, by Jake T, from Rawcliffe and Clifton Without, for the Hope display at the According To McGee gallery in York
Children’s art show of the week in York: Hope projections, According To McGee, York, tonight, tomorrow, then Wednesday to Friday for the next two weeks, 6pm to 9pm nightly
HOPE springs nocturnal in a collaboration between primary school artists from York and around the world at York gallery According To McGee.
Under the title of Hope, the artwork will be on display in light projections in the window of the Tower Street gallery in a creative response to the pandemic.
Digital artists Nick Walters is overseeing evenings featuring projections of 350 artworks selected from 3,000 images from cities in 33 countries.
York artist Sue Clayton, second from right, with NHS York Vaccination Centre site manager Will McEvoy, Nimbuscare director of quality and patient experience Michelle Phillips and Pocklington Arts Centre director Janet Farmer at the unveiling – but not unmasking! – of the 21 exhibition at Askham Bar
Jab in the arm for art: Sue Clayton’s 21 exhibition, NHS York Vaccination Centre, Askham Bar, York, until June 13
WHAT a captive audience for Sue Clayton’s portrait exhibition of children and young adults with Down Syndrome, presented in association with Pocklington Arts Centre (PAC).
As many as 3,000 people a day are attending the Askham Bar vaccination centre to receive a jab in the “Tent Of Hope”, where biodegradable prints of Sue’s paintings are in place.
The theme of 21 symbolises the extra 21st chromosome that people with Down Syndrome have, Sue’s energetic son James among them.
Manic Street Preachers: New tour, new album…oh, and a new single called…Orwellian
Gig announcement of the week in York: Manic Street Preachers, York Barbican, October 4
WELSH rock band Manic Street Preachers’ 14-date autumn itinerary will showcase the September 3 release of their 14th studio album, The Ultra Vivid Lament, on Columbia/Sony.
In a departure from 2018’s Resistance Is Futile, the new record is the first Manics’ studio set to be conceived initially on piano rather than guitar.
James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore last played York Barbican in May 2019. Their support will be The Anchoress, the Welsh-born multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and author Catherine Anne Davies. Tickets sales go live tomorrow (21/5/2021) at 10am at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Mad about the Boy: Boy George and Culture Club perennial members Roy Hay and Mikey Craig are off to the Yorkshire seaside
Gig announcement of the week outside York: Culture Club, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, August 14
EIGHTIES’ icon Boy George and Culture Club are off to the Yorkshire seaside in a new addition to the packed Scarborough Open Air Theatre programme.
Bexleyheath-born frontman and fashion innovator George O’Dowd, who turns 60 on June 14, will perform alongside original band members Roy Hay and Mikey Craig in a “stunning live band”. Tickets go on sale for the 8,000-capacity show via scarboroughopenairtheatre.com tomorrow (21/5/2021) at 9am.
Rachel Podger: The Violinist Speaks concert at York Early Music Festival 2021. Picture: Theresa Pewal
Festival launch of the week: York Early Music Festival 2021, July 12 to 16
PRESENTED by the National Centre of Early Music, the classical York Early Music Festival 2021 will have the theme of Encounters, most vitally between audience and artists after lockdown loosening.
Among the guest artists will be violinist Rachel Podger; lutenist Jacob Heringman; bass Matthew Brook; the Monteverdi String Band; harpsichordist Steven Devine; The Society Of Strange & Ancient Instruments; La Vaghezza and Ensemble Clement Janequin.
Taking part too will be vocal ensemble Stile Antico and Spanish Baroque ensemble L’Apothéose. Tickets are on sale at ncem.co.uk. Upcoming too will be YEMF 21 Online, from July 15 to 18, featuring festival concerts and commissioned highlights.
Bull in a field: York alt.rock band booked for Deer Shed: Base Camp Plus festival
No Deer Shed 11 festival, but here comes Deer Shed: Base Camp Plus, Baldersby Park, Topcliffe, Thirsk, July 30 to August 1
AFTER last summer’s Base Camp, Deer Shed Festival co-directors Oliver Jones and Kate Webster have created Base Camp Plus with a female-headlined main stage, live music, DJ sets, comedy and shows. As with last year’s event, each camping pitch will contain its own Portaloo and washing facilities.
Jane Weaver, Dream Wife and Porridge Radio are the headliners; York bands Bull and New York Brass Band will be playing too; John Shuttleworth, Mark Watson and Angelos Epithemiou lead the comedy.
The organisers will adhere to the Step 3 restrictions in place since Monday, limiting the capacity, with social distancing and face coverings in covered areas. For tickets, go to: deershedfestival.com/basecampplus.
And what about?
Brief encounter: York drag diva Velma Celli in Love Is Love: A Brief History Of Drag at York Theatre Royal
Velma Celli in Love Is Love: A Brief History Of Drag, York Theatre Royal, May 29,8pm
YORK drag diva deluxe Velma Celli’s fabulous contribution to York Theatre Royal’s reopening Love Season will be one of Velma’s regular cabaret shows, re-titled Love Is Love: A Brief Of History Of Drag specially to meet the love brief.
Joining Velma – the creation of York musical actor Ian Stroughair – will be two guest acts, Jordan Fox, Ian’s co-star in Jack And The Beanstalk, and Jessica Steel, together with backing singers Kimberley Ensor and Grace Lancaster, musical director Ben Papworth, drummer Clark Howard and guitarist Al Morrison.
Ian last appeared on the Theatre Royal in Kes at the age of 14, all of 24 years ago.
Mother and daughter: Karen Winship’s self-portrait of her painting her portrait of Kelly, an NHS occupational therapist
YORK artist Karen Winship’s poignant tribute to the selfless work of front-line NHS workers during the Covid-19 pandemic is on display at Hull Waterside & Marina until June 20.
Eleven of Karen’s NHS Heroes portraits were first shown at York Art Gallery in the Our Heroes Welcome thank-you to essential workers from August 1 when Lockdown 1 eased last summer.
Last August too, 13 more made their debut at City Screen, York, where the exhibition included a montage of all 24 that is being gifted to York Hospital by Karen, whose self-portrait of herself painting one of the NHS Heroes completes the collection.
The original paintings have been presented to the sitters, but the 24 portraits have been given a new life, reproduced on biodegradable boards for outdoor display by Pocklington Arts Centre (PAC) at a larger size than the originals.
Karen Winship’s NHS Heroes portraits on the railings at All Saints’ Church, Pocklington
First shown side by side on the railings at All Saints’ Church, Pocklington, from late-November to January, the portrait prints have headed further east to Hull, where they can be viewed for free, thanks to PAC joining forces with the marina managers, Aquavista.
“I’ve had a great response to the portraits so far, so it’s incredible that Pocklington Arts Centre is now taking the exhibition on tour into the wider community,” says Karen, whose work also features in Portraits For NHS Heroes, a fund-raising book for NHS charities.
“It’s been such a challenging time for everyone, especially our NHS front-line workers, and this was my way of recognising everything they do for us, so it’s fantastic that this recognition can be expanded even further. Art doesn’t get much more accessible than an open-air exhibition.
“I’m delighted to see my portraits lining the railings along Hull Marina, which is a landmark in itself, and I hope the public enjoy them too.”
Amanda, by Karen Winship, from her NHS Heroes series of portraits
NHS Heroes is one of two pop-up touring exhibitions being taken into communities across the region by PAC. York artist Sue Clayton’s collection of 21 portraits celebrating children and young adults with Down Syndrome was unveiled last Tuesday at the NHS York Vaccination Centre, at Askham Bar, for browsing by those attending jab appointments in the “Tent of Hope” until June 13. Plans are being put in place for the “21” show to transfer to Hull Marina after Karen’s show closes.
PAC director Janet Farmer says: “Making our exhibitions accessible to the public despite the pandemic has been really important for us, and the feedback has been really positive, so we’re very much looking forward to enabling even more people to see these incredibly poignant portraits created by the talented Karen Winship.
“We think they will make for a striking display along the marina. Our thanks to Aquavista for helping to make this possible.”
York artist Karen Winship with Aquavista manager Graham Richardson and Pocklington Arts Centre director Janet Farmer at Hull Waterside & Marina
Aquavista took over ownership of Hull Waterside & Marina last year and were only too keen to support PAC’s pop-up exhibition plans. Manager Graham Richardson says: “We’re delighted to support this fantastic initiative. The marina is a popular visitor destination, so we hope to see lots of people coming to view the portraits over the next few weeks.”
Karen, artist and educator, had begun her career as a graphic designer, later gaining a teaching degree and subsequently working for 15 years at a maximum-security prison as head of art.
Embarking on her journey as a professional artist in 2012, she is “living the dream” in her words, not least as a community-minded artist who enjoys “giving back” through her involvement in community art projects.
NHS Heroes is her latest public-spirited endeavour, this one inspired by Tom Croft’s #portraitsfornhsheroes project for artists to complete a free portrait in appreciation of the NHS for gifting to the worker depicted.
Karen Winship’s portrait of Samantha, from the NHS Heroes exhibition and Portraits For NHS Heroes fund-raising book for NHS charities
“There was a shout-out on Facebook across the country from Tom Croft, calling for artists to take part, and I was inundated with ten requests. Then I appeared on Look North and got even more,” says Karen.
“Tom Croft has now put together a book of 300 of the portraits, including one of mine, the one of Samantha, when she hasn’t got a mask on, but you can see all the creases on her face from the mask.
“Portraits For NHS Heroes is available in hardback on Amazon with all proceeds going to NHS charities.”
Among Karen’s portraits is one of her daughter, Kelly, who works for the NHS as an occupational therapist, bringing home the challenges faced by frontline workers in the pandemic. “I even had to do her portrait from photographs,” says Karen, to whom most of her subjects were unknown.
Kelly, NHS occupational therapist and daughter of artist Karen Winship, from NHS Heroes
“They were a few people I know from York, but the photographs came from all over. Newcastle, Northern Ireland, Scotland. At first, I thought it might be difficult to work just from a photo, because I’m used to doing portraits from people sitting for me, but because these photographs were taken as they were working, looking into their eyes, you can see the trauma, the sadness, the exhaustion.
“Normally, you can see a sitter’s mouth, but invariably in these photographs the mouth had to be covered with a mask, so the eyes become even more important.”
Karen’s portraits were first “exhibited” informally. “My neighbours in my cul-de-sac [St Thomas Close in Osbaldwick] put them in their windows,” she recalls. “People even came from Beverley and Newcastle to walk down the street, and one told me their back story…and you then carry those stories with you.”
Karen Winship at Monday’s launch of her NHS Heroes exhibition at Hull Waterside & Marina
She found creating the NHS Heroes portraits “so intense”, she eventually had to stop. “I tend to work quickly because I like spontaneity,” says Karen. “Normally with portraits, I work from one sitting and then photos, but what was different with these portraits was that I was totally absorbed just in painting. Normally, we would be chatting at a sitting.
“I was exhausted, doing one after another from photographs. I just kept going until they were done. Afterwards, I immediately went on to do something that was colourful: a couple of autumn paintings, still lifes. I had to do something that was completely contrasting.
“And I’ve also been lucky that since the NHS project, I’ve had various commissions as I had to cut back on my teaching during the lockdowns.”
For more information on PAC’s forthcoming exhibitions, visit: pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Joan, portrait by Karen Winship from the NHS series
Magic trio Elena Skoreyko Wagner, Bethan Ellis and James Cave
THE Love Season will set hearts pulsing at York Theatre Royal, where the Step 3 reopening from tomorrow will make its mark with Love Bites: a love letter to live performance and a toast to the city’s creative talent.
More than 200 artists from a variety of art forms applied for £1,000 love-letter commissions to be staged tomorrow (17/5/2021) – the first day that theatres can reopen after restrictions are lifted – and on Tuesday.
The 22 short pieces selected will be performed each night at 8pm under the overall direction of Theatre Royal creative director Juliet Forster. Each “bite” will take hold for five minutes.
In the sixth in a series of CharlesHutchPress Q&As, papercut artist and illustrator Elena Skoreyko Wagner has five minutes to discuss Magic, her Love Bite collaboration with composer and singer James Cave and writer Bethan Ellis.
How did you hear about Love Bites, Elena?
“My collaborator, James Cave, caught wind of the project and got in touch. We had discussed collaborating before, during one of the intense, hour-long “work” conversations we would have while our daughters took gymnastics together, but I think it was Bethan’s idea to adapt one of my poems.”
What is your connection with York?
“York is our home! I honestly didn’t know if I would ever have a place that felt as much like home as York does. I am Canadian, and my husband, Achim, is German, and our first child was born in Canada; our second in Germany.
“We spent the first few years of our relationship in Toronto and the next five in Bonn, Germany, but really had no idea where we would settle. Achim ended up getting a job here in York, and we moved here knowing nearly nothing of the place. I had only ever been to the UK once, when I visited London for a weekend!
“But we encountered so much warmth and kindness, we feel like we got very lucky to randomly end up here! We intend to stay for a good while.”
“These little things. Thank goodness for these things,” says Elena, as she seeks out magic and meaning in the mundane
What will feature in your Love Bite, Magic, and why?
“Our Love Bite is a miniature musical theatre piece, adapted from a poem I wrote during the first lockdown. The poem starts, ‘If ever you worry that magic is not real, remember how music can make you feel’, and continues with a list of little moments, small experiences of wonder and magic. If you are able to see them, recognise them in that way.
“James has composed a piece of music that he’ll be performing live, while I operate a miniature paper theatre I’ve constructed. The theatre is actually a re-creation of our allotment!
“I think I largely coped with this past year by mining for these small sparkling bits, just catching hold of moments of beauty and connection during a very anxious time. It carried me through in a lot of ways.
“So, this piece is a sort of love letter to that, I suppose. To my allotment, in one sense, but only as a stand-in for that experience anywhere…For the house plant that I was able to propagate after months of trying! For watching my kids develop an entire fantasy world while lying on a hammock together in our tiny backyard for hours upon end…These little things. Thank goodness for these things!”
Your work “seeks to find magic and uncover meaning in the mundane”. What makes York a good place to do that?
“York is a beautiful city, which in many ways makes it easier to find magic. There are snickelways that look straight out of Tolkien, and crumbling walls, climbing with vines, straight from The Secret Garden! But really, York is just as good a place as any.
“I think that’s the discipline of it… It’s an approach to moving through the world. One of the lines in the poem is, ‘how we can have conversations with nothing but glances’. That is magical too, in my mind.
“Just these slow observations; noticing these truly amazing things, allowing ourselves to get caught in them, for just a second even, to help carry us through the rest of life, which can be on the heavier side.”
Elena Skoreyko Wagner will be making her York Open Studios debut at The Drey Studio in July
In lockdown, what have you missed most about theatre?
“I’ve missed that sense of occasion, of all of these people coming together in this perfect storm of creative energy to create something to move and touch others.
“When I go and see a performance, I feel that, and that proximity to people creating, putting this thing out into the world together, it’s inspiring in the most literal sense. I walk away feeling energised to make more, to kind of continue that current of electricity! I have missed that.”
What’s coming next for you?
“After this, I will be illustrating a book about mums’ having feelings! I’m really excited about that. I also have some animated projects and I’m working up to taking part in York Open Studios in July.
“I opened a small studio on Heslington Road, The Drey Studio, in September and we haven’t really been able to properly get it running yet, given the restrictions, so I’m also looking forward to breathing some life into that space as well!”
What would be the best way to spend five minutes if you had a choice?
“It’s possible that, over the past year, my vision for an ideal five minutes has gotten smaller, but maybe that’s not the worst thing in the world. The happiest five minutes I’ve had in recent months was digging in my allotment, sun on my face, to the sound of bird song and my kids laughing their way through some make-believe game about a dragon named Tiny, while they shared the swing we hung up in the apple tree.
“I would like to note, I’m not a good or experienced gardener, but it does not matter. Just being able to find peace and beauty in this small way…I could not have felt happier in that moment.”
Tomorrow’s show has sold out. Tickets for Tuesday cost Pay What You Feel at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk or on 01904 623568.
Hope Is The New Hero, by Jake T, from Rawcliffe and Clifton Without, for the Hope display at the According To McGee gallery in York
HOPE springs nocturnal in a collaboration between young artists from York and around the world at According To McGee from May 19.
Under the title of Hope, the artwork will be on display in light projections in the window of the Tower Street gallery.
Originated by Viborg UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts, the project has been brought to York by Chris Bailey, clerk of York’s Guild of Media Arts, via REACH, the Cultural Education Partnership for the city.
According To McGee co-director Greg McGee, left, and light installation artist Nick Walters
Primary schools jumped at the chance to be involved in a creative response to the pandemic that, mirroring the Coronavirus, has travelled around the world, inspiring thousands of children from China to Mexico.
Chris enthuses: “This project is exactly what York’s UNESCO designation is all about, responding creatively to the challenges we all face, joining forces with other ‘Creative Cities’ and encouraging the next generation of creative leaders.
“I hope that, once this dreadful virus is just a memory, the relationships these young people have built with children in other countries will continue to thrive.”
Anabela Couto’s artwork, from Braga
Gallery co-director Greg McGee says: “Chris e-introduced me to Henrik Holmskov, from Viborg, and the project just sounded so optimistic and creative, just what we all needed at this time. The idea of opening it up to participants from all over York made perfect sense and was instantly met with enthusiasm.
“Our charity, New Visuality, had been wrapping up projects funded by York wards Heworth Without, Dringhouses and Woodthorpe, Guildhall, Rawcliffe and Clifton Without, and for the young people from these areas to now see their artwork projected in a city-centre gallery is a huge boost.”
Here comes the science bit: “The window projections will be based around carefully curated events using the newly released platform ‘SuS’, a smart solution to publishing artwork to a pool of digital screens from anywhere using mobile or desktop devices from SplashBY,” explains Greg.
Chen Sihan, Changsha, for the According To McGee light installation
SplashBY founder Pritpal Rehal chips in: “I’m more than happy to facilitate and play a small part in this global project to promote artistic creativity of Hope for all to see.”
Here comes the Maths part: “The evenings will feature projections of 350 artworks selected from all 3,000 images from cities in 33 countries around the world,” reveals Greg.
Digital artist Nick Walters is delighted to be linking up with the McGee gallery and New Visuality again for Hope after his installations for York Mediale and York Design Week.
Danna Marcela Viverod, Laura Hinestroza, for the upcoming Hope display
“The location of the window is so iconic, directly opposite Clifford’s Tower,” he says. “I like the looser time-frame to this project and I’m looking forward to showing the illuminated artworks, perhaps alternating the transparency of the sheets, tweaking how long the images will flicker on screens.
“It’s a good chance for us to show passers-by what York does well, which is fuse creativity with innovative technology.”
The Hope projections will launch on Wednesday, May 19 and continue on May 20 and 21, then run on Wednesday to Friday for the next two weeks at 6pm to 9pm each night.
Tent Of Hope: Sue Clayton’s commissioned painting of the NHS York Vaccination Centre at Askham Bar, York. Plans are afoot for prints and postcards to be made available to raise funds for a charity. Watch this space.
YORK artist Sue Clayton has unveiled a specially commissioned painting of the “Tent Of Hope” at the NHS York Vaccination Centre at Askham Bar.
Sue has picked out members of the Nimbuscare teams that work there to feature in the pen-and-wash work, joined on the canvas by the cat that makes daily visits to the site.
The work is on show in the tent that has administered 200,000 jabs, one in every 250 in Britain so far, with the full repertoire of Oxford/AstraZeneka, Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines available.
On view too for those attending a vaccine appointment is Sue’s portrait exhibition of children and young adults with Down Syndrome, entitled 21, presented in association with Pocklington Arts Centre (PAC) until Sunday, June 13.
Nimbuscare’s director of quality and patient experience, Michelle Phillips, says: “It’s a huge privilege to have this very special art here at the Vaccination Centre. We’re especially delighted with the unique painting Sue has done for us. Thanks to everyone who has helped make it happen.”
“We wanted to encapsulate the feeling, the atmosphere, the experience, in the Tent of Hope,” says Nimbuscare director of quality and patient experience Michelle Phillips
Standing beside the painting, Michelle adds: “We wanted to encapsulate the feeling, the atmosphere, the experience, in the Tent of Hope, where we try to not make it feel like a factory production line, like a turkey on a conveyor belt, but instead make it very much about everyone playing their part in the community. That’s why we call it ‘the tent of hope’ because the vaccine has been the turning of the tide.
“We wanted to find a local artist to express their interpretation of that experience, and I found Sue through a mutual friend.
“She was immediately excited and even more so when we met to chat about what we wanted from the painting, what the vaccination centre means to us, and what a variety of people work here: from the foundation-year doctors, nurses, retired [medic] returnees and health-care assistants to ambulance staff, security services, volunteers from all walks of life, and the military services at the start. Sue has come up with an amazing piece of art.”
Sue takes up the story: “I believe the recommendation to Michelle came from Big Ian Donaghy – Ian was one of the six York Heroes I painted in 2018 – making a nice full circle celebrating our heroes,” she says.
The commission brief was “quite open”, being left to her interpretation. “I immediately felt it should be a joyous watercolour; I wanted something almost whimsical…a definite celebration piece,” she says.
“It was important to me to try to represent a member from each team that works there: the volunteers, marshals, nurses, doctors, army medics, plus a whole host more.
Artist Sue Clayton, site manager Will McEvoy and Nimbuscare director Michelle Phillips with the Tent Of Hope painting
“It was also important to speak to staff about what they felt about working there and I also spoke to friends about their feelings when visiting the tent.”
Sue enjoys the “quirky side” too. “That’s why the little black-and-white cat who visits the tent site each day is there, as is the much-appreciated tea trolley for the staff,” she says.
“The finished piece shows the tent, celebratory rainbow-coloured splashes festooning the blue sky, and we see a little vignette of a vaccinator at work and various personnel, all socially distanced, of course! It’s a pen-and-wash piece with the pen purposefully relaxed, almost in a ‘wibbly-wobbly’ fashion to add a sense of fun.”
The accompanying 21 exhibition was presented previously on the railings of All Saints’ Church, Pocklington, from March 19 to April 19 and comes a year after Sue held her studio show, Downright Marvellous At Large, at PAC, giant pair of hand-knitted odd socks and all.
Sue, a portrait artist with a vibrant colour palette and a social purpose, chose the theme of 21, not only to mark World Down Syndrome Day on March 21 but also to symbolise the extra 21st chromosome that people with Down Syndrome have, her energetic son James among them.
“The PAC initiative of holding the outdoor exhibition was just so perfect, Covid-safe, free to access and inclusive, and it was a huge success on its first showing in Pocklington town centre,” says Sue.
Sue Clayton’s portrait of Holly from her 21 exhibition of children and young adults who have Down Syndrome
“There was such a great reaction. I’ve had people sending in photos of themselves by the portraits. It was brilliant to be sent photos of the models themselves, by their portraits.
“I know for many families it became a trip out – it was great that there was an ice-cream parlour at the end of the exhibition! I had a very proud moment with my kids as I heard some lovely comments from passers-by, discussing the portraits with no knowledge that I had painted them.”
PAC director Janet Farmer says: “We always enjoy working with Sue on staging her striking exhibitions at PAC, so it’s been absolutely fantastic to be able to continue sharing her inspirational work with the public in the midst of the pandemic by taking the exhibition outdoors.
“It’s been brilliant to see so many people enjoying the opportunity to engage with art at this time, and we’re looking forward to sharing it with many more people as we bring the exhibition to the NHS York Vaccination Centre.”
The 21 posterboards are all-weather and ideal for transferring to other locations, hence Sue and Pocklington Arts Centre’s shared enthusiasm for touring the exhibition after the reaction to the Pocklington run.
NHS York Vaccination Centre site manager Will McEvoy, Nimbuscare director of quality and patient experience Michelle Phillips, artist Sue Clayton and Pocklington Arts Centre director Janet Farmer at the unveiling of 21
“The idea to bring it to the Vaccination Centre came about just in conversation with Michelle really: a lovely correlation of discussing when I would present the commission piece and me saying I would love to show ’21’ in York, if only I could think of a venue. A lightbulb moment!” says Sue.
“When Sue offered us the 21 exhibition, we jumped at the opportunity,” says Michelle. “There’s so much colour in the portraits, and the way they have transformed the tent is amazing.”
Among the 21 portraits is Andrew, the son of a Nimbuscare vaccinator, lead nurse Theresa Ollerenshaw. “I’ve known Sue since Andrew was a baby and she’s been doing inspiring art ever since I’ve known her,” she says.
“She’s spreading awareness of Down Syndrome, and so many people are going to see these portraits when ordinarily they wouldn’t. I love how they capture young people enjoying life. It’s going to be very strange coming in and seeing Andrew whenever I’m in here!”
“Andrew was one of the new pen and ink portraits I did in lockdown,” says Sue. “With Andrew having beautiful Titian red hair, I just wanted to capture that, and it’s been a joy to be able to sit down and do these portraits, listening to BBC Sounds.”
Nimbuscare vaccinator Theresa Ollerenshaw stands beside Sue Clayton’s portrait of her son Andrew from the 21 exhibition at the NHS York Vaccination Centre
Now, two new options are in the pipeline for 21. “Hopefully, Hull Waterside & Marina and Bradford…so far,” says Sue. “More immediately, a short video of the exhibition is going to be featured in a pop-up art show at Kirkgate Market in Leeds.
“I was absolutely blown away by the positive feedback I received in Pocklington, so I’m really excited about now taking it to other venues so that many more people can browse the portraits and join me in celebrating young people with Down Syndrome at work and play.
“My son James, who’s a huge inspiration for me, turned 18 in lockdown, so this was the perfect time to put this exhibition together and I hope it brings a lot of joy to people after what has been such a challenging time for so many.”
Six questions for York artist Sue Clayton on vaccine jabs, new projects, art classes, lockdown and life after June 21.
Your Tent Of Hope painting features the Vaccination Centre at Askham Bar. Did you have your jab there?
“I’ve now had both jabs as I’m classed as a carer because my son, James, has Down Syndrome. We had ours at the Haxby Group practice, although I did support my mum on both occasions to the Askham Bar site…it was that first sight of the gleaming white domes that stays in my mind.”
Artist Sue Clayton and her son James
Did you find going for the first jab emotional?
“On my own jab, I didn’t feel too emotional, but the first time I took my mum, I did. She was nervous and is hard of hearing, so I was pleased to go in with her for support.
“I felt the same again, supporting James for his jab. He’s had to shield and it really felt like a positive step forward. The feeling of now having both jabs gives us a reassurance we’ve never felt before.”
How are your art projects progressing: when might we see the results?
“Oohhh…I’m on with an exciting new project, which came about from a conversation on a park bench in the Museum Gardens. I was having a chat with Michael Miles, who’s a lifelong York City fan and creates the Y-Front fanzine.
“Although not a follower of football myself, he held me captivated as he talked about his love for his team and what Bootham Crescent meant to him. One of those conversations where someone’s passion for something sparks your own interest to listen to them.
Sue Clayton’s playful self-portrait
“I also learned that York City Football Club celebrates its centenary next year. So, a plan has come together: I’m painting a series of portraits of the fans to be revealed all together next year. The fans are sending me their photos and I’ll be including many through the years. I’m loving it!
“Also, excitedly, I hope to collaborate with Tony Cope. His photography is just exquisite and I’m a huge fan. He captures such a poignancy and feeling in his work. Watch this space.”
How are the art classes you lead online going?
“They’re going well. I love that I now have people tuning in each week from all over the UK and the Netherlands too! It’s interesting that this time last year I panicked about using this new-fangled Zoom ‘whatdoyacallit’ and now I’m reticent to return to face-to-face teaching as it suits me so well.”
If you could sum up your life in Lockdown x 3 in five words, what would they be?
“Lockdown 3 has been the hardest in many ways for me. I was devastated that my relationship ended, and as we came out of lockdown, I lost my lovely dog to cancer – so, not the best of times.
“My five words? Sadness, loss but new beginnings.”
What do you most want to be able to do after “freedom day” on June 21(hopefully!)?
“If it’s safe to do so, I’m looking forward to giving people hugs again. I’m naturally quite tactile and, boy, I’ve missed contact with people. I’m looking forward to seeing live gigs, theatre, cinema, and meals out again too.
Jab in the art: Sue Clayton’s portraits on show for when you take a seat at the NHS York Vaccination Centre at Askham Bar
