Blackwell The Arts & Crafts House
12th March to 30th September 2012
Laura Ellen Bacon was selected as a Jerwood Contemporary Maker 2010. Her work is site-specific and ecologically sound; she creates large scale ‘morphing’ structures, most often woven in willow or other coppiced materials.
At Blackwell, Laura will create an installation of two large-scale works in red willow. These pieces have been developed in direct response to Laura’s knowledge and experience of Blackwell, its landscape environment and the climate within which it exists. She will create two dramatic curvaceous structures, bonded to the building and the retaining wall of one of the garden terraces. The form of these two ‘clinging’ structures, which will span two floors of the external elevation, will emphasise their fragility against the relative permanence of the house.
“My large-scale installations are almost always built on site, allowing me to form the works in a way that truly fits its location. I began making my early works upon dry stone walls and evolved to work within trees, riverbanks and hedges, allowing the chosen structure (be it organic or man-made) to become host. Over a decade into my work, my passions have returned to not only merging with dry stone walls, but to the powerful connections with architecture. My work has to fuse with a building to succeed, both aesthetically and practically. The forms I make have such a closeness with the fabric of the building, their oozing energy spills from gutters, their ‘muscular’ forms nuzzle up to the glass and their gripping weave locks onto the strength of the walls. Whilst the scale and impact varies from striking to subtle (sometimes only visible upon a quizzical double take), I relish the opportunity to let the building ‘feed’ the form, as if some part of the building is exhaling into the work.”
Daytime Talk by Laura Ellen Bacon
Friday 23 March 11.00am – 11.45am
FREE with House admission
Laura Ellen Bacon will talk about her work old and new, including her ambitious Blackwell installation. Over the past ten years, Laura Ellen Bacon has developed a highly individual way of working, creating site-specific installations that are eco-friendly, often dramatic in scale, and always beautiful.
www.lauraellenbacon.com
Supported by – Arts Council England.
Further information
- Open 10.30 am – 5.00pm (4pm Nov-Mar)
- Adult Gift Aid admission £7.95; Adult garden only Gift Aid admission £4.40; Children and Full-time Students Gift Aid admission £4.40; Family Gift Aid admission £19.80
- Location Blackwell, The Arts & Crafts House, Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria LA23 3J
- For more information please call 015394 46139
http://www.blackwell.org.uk
This Lancashire pottery produced ceramics internationally recognized for their quality and beauty, and which were sold through leading retailers such as Liberty of London and Tiffany of New York. The display, consisting of over 40 items, looks at the company’s delicate lustre ware; the decoration of each piece was individually designed and carried out by a small team of exceptional artists. Original material from the Chambers Archive at Lancaster University’s Peter Scott Gallery will be displayed alongside ceramics from Towneley Hall Art Gallery & Museum’s extensive Pilkington’s collection.
