My beloved fake flowers, in their vintage floral vases, have been demoted to my desk – from their prime position on the wooden storage cabinet in the foyer. I am not, however, too distraught – as the reason they’ve been moved is to make space for the Blue II exhibition, which is being hung – and arranged – whilst I blog.
I arrived this morning and Carolyn Griffiths, one of the artists and organisers of the Somerset Art Weeks exhibition at Rook Lane, was waiting patiently at the door with an array of plinths and white cabinets, rolls of material and boxes. Eager to get into the space, Carolyn had arrived half an hour early and so I let her in and then observed as she stood calmly in the middle of the chapel, contemplating the space.
“It will be interesting to see how the 10 artists arrange themselves here,” Carolyn mused. I asked her if they had arranged who would be hanging where and she told me that one artist had bagged the back wall and another – the far right corner – but that apart from that, they would judge it when they all arrived. I had a brief premonition of mayhem but then realised it was Carolyn at the helm of this operation so of course everything would come together. And come together it has.
All the artists arrived with helpers, shortly after Carolyn, and have been pensively strolling around the gallery, carrying their artwork to the space that will become home for the next fortnight. The ladder has done quite a few rounds of the chapel – being selflessly shared amongst the exhibitors – and a cane has come out of the chair cupboard to be used as a rod to shift the (very high) hooks on the j-rail from floor-level. Cunning.
This multi-disciplinary exhibition consists of paintings and cyanotypes (ask Jennie Gillingham – it’s quite a fascinating process), textiles, glasswork and more.
It’s the preview tomorrow evening from 6-9pm. Come and have a glass of wine, or an elderflower presse, and a wander around the exhibition. It’s half-way to being hung and is already pretty amazing…..
