Saturday 6 July 2019

The Stranger Atom




The Stranger Atom,  at Warwickshire Open Studios, 2019 - 6

This was by far the most thrilling, interesting, all-encompassing experience of Open Studios this year. The private residence of a conceptual artist was turned into a huge installation space that included ceramics, collage, drawing, mixed media, painting, printmaking, sculpture, all around the theme of The Stranger Atom: which means that when metals are mixed together to make alloys, they become stronger.  The house was so packed with objects and it was impossible to tell what was installation and what was part of the everyday life of the house. From the moment go, we entered an enchanted space.






This work is based on extensive, two-year research the artist undertook on massacres




as are the paintings on this wall.




The sitting room










by the door as we entered the artist's studio




the studio



the hallway leading to the breakfast room and kitchen
















the breakfast room




Memory, work for sale
















We then proceeded to the garden







we turned a corner




and came upon The Tower




a permanent feature of the garden




and nothing like I had ever seen before




the product of years of hard work








we had a look at the pond





before proceeding inside The Tower, which is an elaborate tree house with three rooms




lots of art work inside,










including these tiny ceramic sculptures




which I found fascinating




The whole place is quite Gaudiesque







We left The Tower and took one of the many winding paths




had a look at the back of The Tower




and arrived at the green house




which was also full of art







another winding path leads




to the chickens




and more views of The Tower




back the way we came,




and down the cellar




where a whole room was taken over by Catching Spirits, an installation inspired by a childhood memory of a trip to Jaipur, and a tour of Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors): a dark room, the lights from candles reflected in tiny pieces of mirrors. A highly appropriate way to end the visit to this amazing place.



2 comments:

  1. Mary is the most amazing woman. She once did an exhibition in the Pump Room Gardens. A gaggle of boys in BMX bikes were causing a nuisance in the park every evening so Mary took down huge number of bags of flour. She rounded up the boys and asked them if they would help her with her art work. She spread the flour out on the edge of the grass. Their task was to ride through the flour and out across the park, weaving about and making patterns on the grass. They spent hours apparently and at the end photographed them and their patterns which became the final exhibition.
    So glad you fitted in her amazing house into your tour. A xx

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    1. She is an amazing woman, indeed, Avril. We also found out that Ken knew her husband. It's a small world.

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