Hertfordshire Visual Arts (HVA) - News - Newsletters - December / January 2012

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ART & GIFT FAIR - St. Albans. Visitors to the Art & Gift Fair were delighted by the variety and standard of work on sale. The day also presented a great opportunity for fellow members to get to know each other, and find out more about each others work in between the steady flow of visitors. See our facebook photo album which shows a selection of members stalls www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.301684326521450.69980.100000396553035&type=1&l=399fcfb8f3

Please do not hesitate to contact Linda to be put in contact with any of the exhibitors if you regret not having made a purchase at the time !!

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LUTON HOO WALLED GARDEN OFFER ARTIST MEMBERSHIP CARDS

For the special price of £15, artists can purchase a membership card that allows them entrance to the Walled Garden between 11am and 4pm every Wednesday and Saturday for a year, as well as regular news on Walled Garden events and discounts on selected courses and events. Other times are possible by prior appointment.

For further details please click here.

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' SOFTKILL'

Bizarrely interesting exhibition of artistic taxidermy specimens and military technology amazes crowd at UH Gallery

It was late November and the crowds entering the UH Gallery for the private view of the artist Lyndall Phelps were gathering for a very unusual exhibition: one that mixed military technology with taxidermy specimens of foxes, birds of prey, grey squirrels and magpies.

Named Softkill , the exhibition explored historical and contemporary narratives rooted in Science and presented an unequivocal and unique take on evolution.

The show continued an established strand in Phelps work which investigates relationships between two seemingly disparate areas of enquiry: natural history and the military. The starting point for the artist’s work was her interest in the remarkable aesthetic and poetic qualities of radar countermeasures, which, when deployed, create clouds of false radar echoes in order to protect military aircrafts and naval vessels.
Using this military technology, Phelps presented a surreal tableau which merged the taxidermy animals with bespoke countermeasures (handmade by the artist). In other words, if the military countermeasure weapons were to be deployed, in theory, they could protect the taxidermy animals from being detected by radar. To present her works, Phelps installations also include photography, drawings and Doppler sound recordings of various species moving through a radar beam.

Warfare and morality
Beyond its aesthetic value, the exhibition also posed questions around the morality of weapons development, in addition to having highlighted the fragility of the natural world, as well as the importance of its conservation and preservation of its biodiversity.

Partners
In order to put together all she needed for Softkill, Phelps collaborated with a range of partners which included scientists from the Defence Research Institute at Cranfield University and Chemring Countermeasures Ltd. She worked with these specialists in field-work to explore the potential of new radar technologies in the detection of wildlife. The artists installations also encompass forensic, archaeological and museumlogical practices.

For further information please contact UH Galleries 01707 284290 or uhgalleries@herts.ac.uk

by DENISE BOWSER

Exhibition runs to 28 Jan 2012 at
The University of Hertfordshire Art & Design Gallery
College Lane, Hatfield, AL10 9AB
Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri 9.30-5.30
Sat 9.30-3.30

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' SOFTKILL'

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