Press release. Art in the Park at Compton Verney 2015 Faye Claridge: Kern Baby Saturday 14 March Sunday 13 December 2015

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Press release. Art in the Park at Compton Verney 2015 Faye Claridge: Kern Baby Saturday 14 March Sunday 13 December 2015"

Dulcie Grace Bennett
5 years ago
Views:

1 Art in the Park at Compton Verney 2015 Faye Claridge: Kern Baby Saturday 14 March Sunday 13 December 2015 Warwickshire based artist Faye Claridge will be creating an enigmatic new commission for the Park at Compton Verney Art Gallery, which will take on the striking form of a 5-meter high corn dolly entitled Kern Baby. This extraordinary sculpture will also be the centrepiece for a new photographic commission by Claridge inspired by the work of historic Birmingham based photographer Sir Benjamin Stone. Faye s work explores identity, photography and history, often using archives to look at how personal and national identity are based on ideas of tradition, customs, folklore or past events. Kern Baby has been inspired by photographic work of nineteenth century photographer Sir Benjamin Stone, who travelled throughout Britain recording unusual festivals and customs. Faye was drawn to his photograph that depicts a Kern Baby from a festival called The Harvest Home in Northumberland in This festival was about the local community celebrating the corn (wheat) harvest, using the last corn that was gathered to create a human shape, dressed in fine clothes and called the Kern Baby or Harvest Queen. The image has prompted Faye s Kern Baby, which is her biggest commission to date, and which she hopes will stand at Compton Verney as an exaggerated sculptural emblem of folklore, resonating with the extensive British Folk Art collection housed at the gallery. The second part of the commission has been inspired by another of Stone s photographs that shows the children of Whalton Northumberland standing around the Baal fire (a bonfire that was lit in midsummer on St Johns Eve). This haunting image has led Faye to create an extraordinary new photograph involving local school children from Hampton Lucy C of E Primary School and Welcombe Hills School. Using the Kern Baby at Compton Verney s as a prop for the children to encircle. This new photograph will be the centrepiece of a display inside the gallery. Claridge says, Compton Verney is the ideal location to show Kern Baby, as her historic, agricultural and folk roots all have strong connections there. She will stand tall in the park, weathering gently through the seasons, and will hopefully make everyone who sees her think about impressions of the past and the relevance of tradition in our present and future global lives. Creating her has been a fascinating journey into archives, photography and craft and I m looking forward to seeing visitors being drawn to her giant, uncanny form in the landscape. She is the largest example to date of my theatrically orchestrated way of producing photographs and I hope she confronts expectation about what work with archive or documentary photography can be. She is a great example of how disguised or faceless figures raise awareness of our most common and unconscious form of interaction and judgement-making and make us question how we relate to others (in the past and present). For public information call +44 (0) , visit comptonverney.org.uk, #KernBaby Kern Baby is a Compton Verney commission in partnership with GRAIN and the Library of Birmingham, supported by Arts Council England. Continues 1 For press information contact

2 Related events and activities: Tuesday 16 June, 1.30pm Talk, Tour and Tea: Faye Claridge and the Kern Baby Artist Faye Claridge will talking about how her new commission Kern Baby came about; her research with the Sir Benjamin Stone archive, the technical and practical issues of creating a 5-metrehigh outdoor corn dolly and working with children. Faye will also present examples of how Kern Baby relates to her previous work, exploring the ethics of photography and the draw of enigmatic folk traditions with stories of ducking stools, bed wetting cures and harvest demons to capture the imagination. Saturday 2 May Monday 4 May Family activity: Bank Holiday Corn Dollies Celebrate May Day by making a corn dolly. Choose a traditional style or get creative and make your own. Notes to editors Compton Verney - Compton Verney s 2015 season is Saturday 14 March Sunday 13 December The Gallery is open Tuesday Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays, 11am 5pm - Admission to see Kern Baby is 8.00 Adults, 7.20 Concessions, 3.00 Children, Family (2 adults and up to 4 children). Under 5s are free. Admission also includes entry to the six permanent collections and 120 acres of parkland at Compton Verney. [These prices include a Gift Aid donation] - For tickets and information see or call Faye Claridge - Faye Claridge has an MA Fine Art distinction from BCU and has had 13 solo shows. Her numerous commissions and awards include work for the Photographers Gallery and the New Art Gallery Walsall in addition to being shortlisted for the Helen Chadwick Fellowship with the British School in Rome - She has also worked internationally with exhibitions in Greece and France and a residency in the Czech Republic. Her most recent residency was with the Sir Benjamin Stone collection. - Claridge s photographic works have been printed in numerous publications, including The Guardian, The Big Issue, Source and a-n. Additionally, Claridge is a visiting lecturer in Photography & Fine Art and a web producer for the BBC. - In 2011, Claridge became a mother for the second time in her new home of Warwickshire. 2 For press information contact

3 - At the same time as Kern Baby is on display at Compton Verney, related photographs will be exhibited at the Library of Birmingham (which will also host the Kern Baby in 2016). These have also been nominated for the MACK First Book Award, to be judged in early Spring. 3 For press information contact

4 Image information For high resolution copies of any of the following images, please All credit lines are correct in accordance to agreements with lending institutions and copyright holders and must be used in full. All images are supplied at 300 dpi, approx. 3-4 MB and approx. 10/11cm in height or width. Please contact us if you require a larger image. In agreement with copyright holders all images may not be cropped, flipped or have text laid over them without prior permission. 4 For press information contact

Image sheet Art in the Park at Compton Verney: Faye Claridge: Kern Baby

Northumberland Baal Fires: St. John's Eve. The prepared faggots.

Sir Benjamin Stone, The Harvest Home Kern Baby of 1901.

Faye Claridge visualisation of new photography commission amalgamating

5 Image sheet Art in the Park at Compton Verney: Faye Claridge: Kern Baby Saturday 14 March Sunday 13 December 2015 Sir Benjamin Stone, Northumberland Baal Fires: St. John's Eve. The prepared faggots. July 4th Benjamin Stone Photographic Collection. Sir Benjamin Stone, The Harvest Home Kern Baby of Whalton Northumberland. (1902) Benjamin Stone Photographic Collection. Faye Claridge visualisation of new photography commission amalgamating Benjamin Stones Kern Baby of 1901 and The Northumberland Baal Fires 1903 Benjamin Stone Photographic Collection. Corn Dolly Technical Drawing Front View 2 Artist Faye Claridge with Kern Baby framework Artist Faye Claridge with corn samples for Kern Baby 5 For press information contact

drawing preparation for Kern Baby Artist Faye

6 Image sheet Art in the Park at Compton Verney: Faye Claridge: Kern Baby Saturday 14 March Sunday 13 December 2015 Artist Faye Claridge with corn samples 2 for Kern Baby Artist Faye Claridge drawing preparation for Kern Baby Artist Faye Claridge with colour swatch for Kern Baby 6 For press information contact

What s on? January April Togas and Tunics. Knitting and Crochet. Family Events Workshops Tours Talks. Roman Baths

What s on? January April Togas and Tunics. Knitting and Crochet. Family Events Workshops Tours Talks. Roman Baths What s on? January April 2018 Togas and Tunics Roman Baths British Science Week at the Roman Baths Knitting and Crochet Fashion Museum Hats off to Bath Victoria Art Gallery Workshops Tours Talks TheRomanBaths