The Wireworks Project is delighted to announce the launch of its new project space with an exhibition called ‘Place’ which features the work of artists Ivan Smith and Anthony Shepherd. The opening will also feature two works by renowned Indian artist Chintan Upadhyay.
The Wireworks Project opens its doors for the first time to the public to showcase ts facilities, exhibition and new programme of residencies, projects and future exhibitions.
‘Place’ explores the location of the new studio, which divides, like a fault line two opposing environments. On one side you have the historical Johnson & Nephew wireworks established in 1870 and on the other, you have one of Britain’s most beautiful ancients woods.
New sculptures and installations have been devloped specifically for the exhibition, which respond to the place they find themselves, maybe brokering a new conversation beteen these two opposing environments.
Anthony Shepherd
Born and raised on a dairy and pig farm, I’ve worked as a landscape gardener, mechanic, builder and read for a PhD in environmental science…an unconventional artist route.
My practice involves re-appropriating these learned skills, breaking them down and relooking from a completely different view of points. I want to question the things we take for granted and accept, understand different ways of thinking and consider the roll we have in human evolution.
My work asks questions of the viewer regarding the political and economical situation, how we live our lives and our consideration for the planet and each other. Ultimately I aim to provide the viewer with an interactive experience of the way we work and live.
Ivan Smith
I am a visual artist with a socially engaged practice and have worked internationally and throughout the UK for 30 years, as a solo artist, participant in, and initiator of residency projects (www.ivanpatricksmith.com).
The work produced earlier in my career with the artist-led visual arts group Fine Rats International is crucial in respect to my ongoing concerns for the site-specific. Exploring space whether in the urban or rural landscapes or fixed within the walls of interior spaces the investigation centre’s around the space and the audience.
Direct action between artwork and audience drives a clear desire to confront contemporary issues, social order and the transparent borders within which societies exist.
Anthony Shepherd & Ivan Smith 2021.
Ivan Smith 