Drawn A Blank

Been to Earlswood Lakes again this morning.  Just like last week we walked there and then got a taxi back.  It was raining when we set out about 8.30 this morning but by 9 it had stopped and the sun had come out.  There was a fairly strong wind which helped dry us out.

The reason we chose to do it again was because last week, although we didn't now it at the time, a Night Heron had been spotted.  A rare migrant bird that was still present up until last night. 

The lakes seemed quiet compared to last week. No boats on the water and less anglers.  There were more birders though.  We saw two groups of men in camouflage whilst out walking. I asked the second group if they had seen the Heron but they were not of the friendly type and all I got was a no. 

We hadn't been at there that long when we did spot a Heron flying over the smallest of the lakes.  It didn't look like a Grey Heron but I couldn't say that it was definitely the Night Heron.  If it was then it was our only sighting.  We did see a juvenile Cormorant and other birds including Arctic Tern, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Black Headed Gull, Nuthatch, Chaffinch and Blue Tit.

A quick drink at The Reservoir and then a taxi back home in readiness for the football.  The last game of the season and as I write all eyes are on the bottom of the League.  With West Ham already relegated there are two relegation spots left and 5 clubs trying not to be in that position.  Wolves, Wigan, Blackpool, Blackburn and Birmingham could possibly go down today. Obviously I'm hoping Birmingham can survive but it's a tall order as they are away at Tottenham who are currently in fifth spot and playing to keep Liverpool from taking it.

They walk around the lakes is in stark contrast to yesterday's trip to Birmingham.  It was very busy in town but we managed to find a bit of peace and quiet at Ikon. 

We wandered around the exhibitions.  First up was Tadasu Takamine's Too Far To See.  A collection of videos that we were warned contained sexual imagery.  I have to say I never really got it but the 2 that stood out were Inertia (1998) involves the uneasy combination of a young woman and a bullet train. She is shown close-up and feet first on top of a carriage while the rest of the world flashes past. A powerful electric hum dramatises her fruitless attempts to push her dress down over her legs against the force of the wind.  I'm not sure of the title of the other film but it involves a naked girl swimming.  The images projected through a fish tank onto the front of the glass. 

The next exhibition was by John Salt.  His paintings are basically of dumped American cars or run down trailer homes.  Despite it being very American I like his work.  1986's Trailer House being my favourite. It really drew me in.

Finally we saw Kristoffer Myskja's Machine That Uses A Thousand Years To Shut Down. It is a machine that runs for no reason except that, after one thousand years, it will turn itself off. Powered by light, a sequence of geared wheels rotate increasingly slowly, so that the movement of the last one is imperceptible.  It's an odd little thing but I was fascinated by it.

Afterwards we spent some time shopping and I popped to Swordfish and bought a couple of CDs (Sergeant Buzfuz, Barth & Flamingoes) before catching the train home.

A quick update with the football.  Half time and Blues are still 0-0 with Spurs. Elsewhere Wolves are losing at Blackburn and Wigan are drawing with Stoke meaning that both Wigan and Wolves are in the dropzone but as we are all on 40 points, along with Blackpool, it is only goal difference that seperates us. One goal changes everything. Fingers crossed no one scores in the second half!  We will know in just under an hours time.

Wolverhampton Art Gallery

Saturday started well, bright, sunny and mild. Clare and I walked into Solihull where I collected my winnings at the bookies.  A 50 pence each way bet netted me 11 pounds! Thanks to Boston's Angel that came in at 16-1 at Cheltenham the other day.

After the bookies we jumped on the train to Wolverhampton.  Clare wanted to have a look at the 60s exhibition.  Before we had a wander around the gallery we stopped at the cafe and had a coffee.  I like this place.  The cafe is on two levels with the bulk of the seating up in the roof space.  We sat and looked out the window at the daffodils in St Peter's churchyard next door.

Whilst upstairs we popped into a gallery which had an exhibition called Animals.  Most of the exhibition was by Robert Davies and consisted of pencil drawings on large pieces of paper.  The animals he has drawn are a combination of rescued farm animals and famous racehorses.  The idea behind the drawings is to explore our relationship with the animals, the personalities we project on the racehorses and the anonymity of the farm animals. 

The drawings are stunning and the detail is amazing.  Even up close they could be mistaken for photographs. To me it felt like the artist had even managed to capture some of the personality of the farm animals. In contrast, the racehorses seemed to have less of a personality.  I wondered how much of that was deliberate.

In a side room there was a film showing Robert at work as he drew a racehorse.  The film, sped up, shows him in his studio with a blank piece of paper and a picture of a racehorse.  It is fantastic to watch as the horse takes shape.  There is also a black cat that makes a cameo appearance which seemed to go down well with all who watched.

Apparently his main profession was as a photographer but there is no doubt that this man has a true talent.  You really should see this exhibition!  I have put links to the gallery and to Robert's website below.

Having spent ten minutes chatting to the curator we left the gallery and took a look at the other exhibitions.  The Pop Art exhibition was quite enjoyable and I particularly liked Cinema No 6 by Colin Self.  A study of art deco cinemas.  King Kong and Martians by Nicholas Monro were other highlights.

The Bostin 60s exhibition wasn't what I imagined and although it was nice to look at the period bits it didn't really do much for me.

Leaving the gallery we hit the shops and then headed for City Bar on King Street. We'd eaten there last time we were in Wolverhampton and enjoyed both the food and the atmosphere.  We had a drink and some food and listened to the bloke at the end of the bar.  He seemed to have an opinion on everything. Having no interest in anyone else he was quite happy to talk, loudly, at anyone unfortunate to end up at his end of the bar.  It made for great entertainment.

We headed home and as it was such a nice evening took a detour through the park where we watched the rabbits feeding in the fading sunshine. It was a really nice way to end the day.

Later we watched the Supemoon rising.  If you don't know what that is, here is a quote from NASA's website.

'On March 19th, a full Moon of rare size and beauty will rise in the east at sunset. It's a super "perigee moon"--the biggest in almost 20 years.'

It was a clear evening and the moon did seem bigger and brighter than usual, casting it's lights across the sky and illuminating the odd cloud that happened to pass.  A nice way to end the day.
http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/wolves/exhibitions/004564.html

http://www.robertdavies.uk.com/index.html

Street Art - Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry

Popped along to the Street Art exhibition at Coventry's Herbert Gallery today.  They have some really good exhibitions and this was no exception. The exhibition features prints by Banksy, Jamie Hewlett, Pure Evil and Shepard Fairey amongst others.

Highlights for me included SPQR's Super Soft, Nemo by Graeme Nimmo, Nous Somme Tous En Situation Irreguliere by Miss Tic and Banksy's Americans Working Overhead Sticker.

Another highlight was Pahni's Nowhere Near Here, a stop motion animation (set to Royksopp's What Else Is There?) that uses a combination of light with stencils and long exposure photography to tell the story of a dog running around the city at night, doing whatever a dog does. Filmed in Bristol it took over 300 hours to make.


Nowhere Near Here from Pahnl on Vimeo.

Next up was Mohammed Ali, a local graffiti artist who uses arabic script in his work. His art seems quite political but among the pieces highlighting the problems in Palestine were a couple that focused on the Blitz.  I took a photo on my phone and the spotlight was perfectly positioned to make it look like light coming through the window.  I was quite taken with it.

The exhibition ends tomorrow. If you're free you really should make the effort!

A Site Of No Special Interest - A Brief History Of The Rea Garden

Yesterday I popped into Solihull to meet a couple of mates for a few drinks.  As I'd got there early I decided to pop along to Solihull Library to check out A Site Of No Special Interest. It's a small exhibition which shows a derelict space in Digbeth being transformed by a goup of artists. I had picked up invitations for the opening night but couldn't make it.

Situated adjacent to the River Rea and close to the Custard Factory, the previously burnt out factory space had been sealed off for more than 15 years and nature had turned it into an overgrown wilderness.

However, in autumn 2007 the site was re-entered and developed by artist group Behind Closed Doors for their inaugural project The Secret Garden.

The site was subsequently renamed The Rea Garden and has since hosted a varied Artist in Residence program, both supported by Arts Council England and National Lottery.

This exhibition is part archive and visual history of the changes to the site over the past three years, and part a document of the creative process and the art work it has hosted - some of which will be on display in the gallery.

It's not a large exhibition but it has some great pieces.  My favourite being by Graham Dunning (the current Artist in Residence).  Consisting of 3 turntables, each with a revolving record.  You are invited to play the records either individually or all together.

Although small I found I lost about 30 minutes. Next time I'm in Digbeth I will be checking out The Rea Garden.

The exhibition at Solihull runs until 9th October.