The central courtyard / piazza of Halifax Piece Hall is a massive space of 66,000 sq ft, ideal for events, concerts, markets and exhibitions. They are currently displaying a large sculpture: The Blanket, by David Murphy, their first visual arts commission, in partnership with Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Its steel tubes create a magnified weave of overlapping warp and weft. The intersecting lines (and the strong shadows on the day I was there) give the impression of a large picnic blanket. It is intended to reference the Piece Hall's history of woven cloth - an effect more obvious when viewed from one of the higher levels of the building.
I'm not sure whether I really liked it but it's an intricate and fascinating piece. It was hard to know how best to photograph it. I tried lots of angles and different points of view, trying to work with its shadows to incorporate them in a pleasing way. It would look different again on a dull day.
There's a gallery of related sketches and drawings too. It looked interesting through the window, though it wasn't open when I was there. The sculpture is on display until April 7th.
I suppose it's part of the point of sculpture, that it needs to be seen from all different angles to appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteThe interweaving of elements, the metal, the air (negative space if you will) and the shadows...it definitely says fabric in another medium, at another scale. To me anyway. But whether I like it or not, mmmm, not sure either.
ReplyDeleteI like it.
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