Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
East Street Arts, Leeds
9 September – 7 October
Reviewed by: Meriel Herbert
‘Coal, Salt, Tin’ was a project by artist-led organisations PALP (Cornwall), Multiplus (Newcastle) and East Street Arts (Leeds) which took place across three locations in England from May to October 2004. Central to the project was stimulating debate concerning how art contributes to social, economic and environmental change. Earlier this year Roxane Permar created 1100 tin rosebuds at Newlyn Art Gallery with help from the local community, and Stefan Gec piped 1920s big band music into the North tower of the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle.
‘CST’ culminated in a series of events in Patrick Works (Leeds), a social club which has recently been converted by East Street Arts into an arts centre. The building’s former stage is now a project space, where Les Biggs presented his commentary on cultural values through a vast collection of objects, prints and paintings from the Wunderkammer Foundation. Rejecting traditional modes of classification in his fictional museum, he chose to display a selection of tools that had been modified by their owners. Downstairs, the foyer was dominated by Matthew Shelton’s video loop Pits, Weeds, Leeds Collieries 1640-1992. This acted as a visual list of collieries closed during this period, with each single frame showing a different site. The effect was dizzying: the viewer was unable to retain any one image as it sped by, quickly becoming overwhelmed by the number of scarred landscapes. Shelton also produced a newspaper questioning the responsibility of government to those having worked, and continuing to work, in heavy industry.
My visit ended on a lighter note at Leeds Central Library, where the Caravan Gallery’s 3000-mile journey across Britain was documented in a series of humorous photographs. This and all the ‘CST’ commissions were successful as the artists were encouraged to respond individually to locations which are undergoing transformation, rather than tying them to a fixed theme.
Writer detail:
Meriel Herbert is an artist based in the north of England.
meriel.herbert@blueyonder.co.uk |
www.merielherbert.com
Venue detail:
East Street Arts
Patrick Studios, St Mary's Lane, Leeds LS9 7EH
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