Shoeshine

Here is another installation from the windows of the Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, making up part of The Open West contemporary art competition. This piece is the creation of Henny Burnett and is entitled The Shoemaker's Shrine.

Burnett says "This installation is a response to Northamptonshire's shoe industry both past and present. The central piece consists of hanging cast latex shoes suspended in a cluster, each lit by its own pool of light. Entrapped within the translucent casts are various pressed flowers, field grasses and butterflies which make reference to the Victorian "secret Language of Flowers." A memorial to the shoe industry's Victorian heyday."

I liked this piece for its simplicity, though I'm sure it was far from simple to create.

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On The Edge

Its amazing what you find on your way to the library. All these little white plastic men were lined up in the window of the Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum. The background was black so the window perfectly reflected St Matthews Church, opposite the museum. I've added to the art!

The installation is entitled On The Edge and was created by Swedish born artist Charlotte Jonerheim. She is one of 40 artists selected to exhibit in The Open West, a competition for contemporary arts. Submissions include film, painting, drawing and sculpture. Just seven of the entrants were selected to show their work at the Art Gallery & Museum, with all exhibiting at the Pitville Campus of the University of Gloucestershire. Over 2300 works were submitted by 380 UK and international artists. The exhibition runs until the end of the month.

Jonerheim says "Exploring detail is what often begins the process. I am not interested in an object per se, my fascination lies in its multiplication - in tens, hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands! An important aspect of my practice is the way I assemble my work. Grids, patterns and structure play an important role in transforming apparently insignificant objects into an entity in their own right which then attains its own object sense.My work is obsessive and time consuming, however I find a great sense of calm in repetition. My concerns also lie in the surface of my work. This can be manipulated by placing a small object in a specific order thereby creating an unexpected result."
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