My walk this week looks out at the North Sea from Redcar where I was working to install to of my audio interactive tapestries as part of the Fabric of the North exhibition at Kirkleatham Hall Museum. What a hectic day it was!
The work was successful and the exhibition looks excellent. If you are able to visit you will need to book a time slot via the Kirkleatham Hall Museum website, but if you cannot get there, the exhibition will also be online on the Fabric of the North website.
Once finished at the museum we took a short trip down to Redcar seafront. If the shot above appears slightly out of focus, you can blame the strong wind which is evident in the image.
I admit to staying in the car for most of this brief visit but other local inhabitants braved the weather and walked their dogs along a stretch of the beach I remember well from so many walks taken so many years ago.
No soundscape this week I’m afraid – just a short video clip of the scene to accompany the photos below.
Hello Alastair,
Thanks for these images, and the link to the museum….what a contrast of vibrant colours in the exhibition to the grey scenes at the coast! The exhibition looks amazing – such a shame its so far away and the times so challenging. I hope it’s successful, and am really intrigued by both your works – presumably the triggered audio is a mix of natural sounds/ or maybe a mix of natural/ artificia?. It sounds amazing as a concept and I hope one or both get snapped up by someone who sees how unique they must be. Roll over Banksy is what I say!
best wishes
Julian
Thank you very much Julian. I love working in tapestry weaving and to be able to combine it with sound is even better. You can see some of my work in action on my website at https://alastair-duncan.com/sound-and-weave
Thanks Alastair.. will check it out tomorrow,
best wishes
Julian
Hi Julian, I thought I had replied to your comment but now I am not sure. Things have been so busy. Thank you for your kind words. My tapestry Interconnection uses a looping natural soundscape of a walk I took up one of our local hills. The interactive points in the tapestry trigger short sound clips of a range of mainly man-made sounds – gates, traffic, airplane, etc., urban sounds. The Metamorphosis tapestry works in the same way but uses a shorter sound piece I created myself with short clips that are personal to the theme. I will be producing a short video about this tapestry in due course. With regards to sales, I think that is unlikely with the prices at £20000 & £15000. I am reluctant to sell Metamorphosis anyway. Thanks again and best wishes. Alastair.
Thanks Alastair – you did reply, but this is really interesting extra information. I can quite see that sales would be tricky of any artwork at this level, but then how do you price something that has taken this amount of time and thought and creative effort? Always a huge challenge in today’s world of mass produced goods rustled up and available at the click of a mouse and often delivered to your home within 24 hours… we really have little true sense of value of many things now, though might that change after the pandemic I wonder? Anyway great that you’d prefer to hang onto them, at least for now! Would be really interested to see the video about Metamorphosis in the future, if it becomes available on line…
Best wishes
Julian
Thank you Julian. When in the past I have worked on a tapestry in situ with an exhibition, viewers have easily understood the prices as they can see exactly what goes into making them. The audio and electronic element adds significantly to that time.
Good that you’ve been able to be exhibited, Alastair, especially in these severely straitened times. And I don’t blame you for not venturing far on your ‘walk’, the east coast can be bitter at times…
Thanks Chris. I used to love walking in weather like that there many years ago. But at the end of a hard days work, I wasn’t inclined to do so.
Some amazing tapestries, Alastair.
janet
Glad you enjoyed it Janet