Have you one favourite place, come rain or shine, that the whole family likes to visit? With no dragging of feet, moans or whines?, no ‘I can’t be bothered’s, ‘do I have to’s or ‘no way’s?
Ours, for over 20 years now, is The Yorkshire Sculpture Park; or to those of us who considered it our very own: YSP. Located just 10 minutes from my parent’s home (but for the rest of you - 7 miles outside Wakefield and 20 miles south of Leeds in West Yorkshire) it’s a given ‘must’ on all visits home. And that’s where we headed this Easter break.
There’s 500 acreas to explore but given the rather inclement weather we just visited the main indoor galleries this time;although we were glad of our wellies as we trekked across the field to the Chapel!
Ours, for over 20 years now, is The Yorkshire Sculpture Park; or to those of us who considered it our very own: YSP. Located just 10 minutes from my parent’s home (but for the rest of you - 7 miles outside Wakefield and 20 miles south of Leeds in West Yorkshire) it’s a given ‘must’ on all visits home. And that’s where we headed this Easter break.
There’s 500 acreas to explore but given the rather inclement weather we just visited the main indoor galleries this time;although we were glad of our wellies as we trekked across the field to the Chapel!
Outside the C18 Chapel stands the huge Iron Tree by Ai Weiwei
but inside is something completely different...
Chiharu Shiota, an acclaimed installation and performance artist, is known for her large-scale works made from elaborately entangled threads and found objects.
For this installation at YSP, Shiota’s work ‘responds to and activates the unique architecture and heritage of the eighteenth century chapel, interlacing the physical with the conceptual to create a new visual plane - as if painting in mid-air.’
As you come into the Chapel you walk into the centre of the work which flows over and around you. You can’t help but be in awe of the vastness and complexity of this seemingly fragile thread structure.
Shiota includes found objects in her tangled webs and in this installation it is copies of music, poetry and records from the Chapel's history - 'making poignant allusion to the bells that were rung, the songs that were sung, and the lives that revolved around it, from cradle to grave'.
I love going to the YSP with my family, it’s a very special place. I also like asking my Dad what he thinks of what he sees there; he’s a quiet man and he’s not an artist, but as a Yorkshireman he’s always got something to say, so I wondered, what was his take on Chiharu Shiota: Beyond Time? I’d loved the sheer vastness and fragility of the work, the way it occupied the space and became at one with it. Also, there are no barriers: you can walk through, under and if you go onto the choir balcony, peer over the work. You feel as though you’ve become part of it.
And what did my Dad say? He said “ well, I wouldn’t call it art, but it is tremendous”. Classic Dad.
If you’ve never been then click here: The Yorkshire Sculpture Park to explore what’s on offer and there’s also a video on how Chiharu Shiota made the Chapel installation.
If you see the exhibition why now let us know what you thought of it?
Until next week,
Hazel & Terry
And what did my Dad say? He said “ well, I wouldn’t call it art, but it is tremendous”. Classic Dad.
If you’ve never been then click here: The Yorkshire Sculpture Park to explore what’s on offer and there’s also a video on how Chiharu Shiota made the Chapel installation.
If you see the exhibition why now let us know what you thought of it?
Until next week,
Hazel & Terry
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