A couple of non-Biennial things I’ve seen recently.
On Sunday I went to the Beatrix Potter exhibition at Liverpool Museum. It wasn’t easy to get in because they were setting up the stages for the big Christmas light switch on that evening. I love these child-friendly things they have here, even though my back aches from having to stoop down to knee height to have a close look at all the artwork. There’s lots of interactive stuff for the kids but its not all fluffy bunny rabbits, there’s over 40 original paintings and drawings, landscapes, forest scenes, plant studies etc. and they’re 100 years old now.
I’ve also been to the latest exhibition at ArtSpeq in Quiggins, its called ‘Peep Show’ and is curated by Red Dot Exhibitions. There’s work by about 20 North West artists including Colin Serjent (photographs), Sue Milburn (oils and painted cards) and Jo Derbyshire (oils and acrylics). Its a bit cramped for space here and I’m not keen on the display of broken egg shells on the floor, in my experience they could get a bit smelly! At various times until it finishes on Dec 18th, Barbara Jones should be here. You may recall she exhibited fabrics and wallpaper in Lewis’s window early on in the Biennial. What made them unusual was that the design was based on the Smallpox and Anthrax bacteria as seen under a microscope. Now she has paper squares with the same design and is making birds (Cranes) with them. I’d been re-learning my Origami skills so I was able to make one too, she’s aiming to make 24 hours worth.