IB18: Williamson Art Gallery: Detours and dislocations, Cian Quayle
Venue: Williamson Art Gallery & Museum
Date(s): 14.7.18 - 26.8.18
Time(s): 10:00 - 17:00
Williamson Art Gallery: Detours and dislocations, Cian Quayle – Liverpool/Isle of Man/Vancouver: in the footsteps of Malcolm Lowry will be on show from
7th of July until the 26th of August 2018
Photographs by Cian Quayle: Detours and Dislocations – Liverpool / Isle of Man / Vancouver: In the footsteps of Malcolm Lowry at the Williamson Art Gallery from the 7th of July until 26th of August 2018.
This summer, the Williamson Art Gallery & Museum in Slatey Road, Birkenhead will host two photographic exhibitions from renowned photographers – Tom Wood and Cian Quayle – as part of the gallery’s ongoing programme reflecting the faces and places of Wirral. The exhibitions open to the public on the 7th of July.
Cian Quayle’s project traces the significance of journeys, exile cultures and altered relationships with place, which take their cue from the life and writing of acclaimed author Malcolm Lowry, who was born in New Brighton in 1909. New photographic artworks present a reconfiguration of place and sites significant for Lowry’s writing in Liverpool, Vancouver and the Isle of Man.
Lowry’s journeys are retraced as we switch between Liverpoool, Vancouver and the Isle of Man. Several of the Steam Packet ferries that sailed from Liverpool to the Isle of Man upon which Lowry travelled as a child were built at the Cammell Laird. Malcolm Lowry boarded the Blue Funnel ship Pyrrhus at the age of eighteen – taking to sea – in order to gain first-hand experience, which formed the basis for his first novel Ultramarine (1932).
In 2013 Cian Quayle curated two consecutive exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Space Chester (CASC), which formed part of the ‘Parallel Programme’ for Look 13 Liverpool International Photography Festival: Tom Wood – the DPA Work. This led Wood to invite Quayle to co-edit and design a book, which has developed into a three volume publication of the same title by Steidl co-published with the University of Chester. Quayle was funded by Research and Knowledge Transfer funding in 2015 – 2017.
The exhibitions at the Williamson Art Gallery extend the work of Quayle and Wood in their ongoing collaboration, which will also incorporate the book launch for The DPA Work. The exhibitions will form part of the Independents Biennial and both projects have social, cultural and historical significance for the region. The cultural memory of places defined by shipbuilding, and literary inspiration drawn from the city and the sea.
Entrance is free to the Williamson Art Gallery & Museum and the building is open to the public from Wednesday to Sunday from 10 am until 5pm. To find out more, download the latest newsletter. for information about about forthcoming exhibitions and events.