Immersive garden installation at Now Gallery
NOW Gallery, Greenwich Peninsula’s cultural platform for design, art and fashion exhibitors, is staging an immersive sculptural garden installation by Glaswegian based artists Laura Aldridge and James Rigler from 12th July to 23rd September, 2018.
Indirect Sunlight will transform NOW gallery into a contrast with modern urban surroundings, a space for contemplation away from the hustle and bustle of the capital.
The summer exhibition draws nature inside, inviting visitors to discover and interact with the gallery space like never before.
The gallery will be populated by a series of playful sculptures, arched forms derived from monastery cloisters and clipped topiary, providing a lightweight modular structure from which colourful and patterned printed fabric will hang. These arches will be carefully placed throughout the space and visitors will be encouraged to move freely through the sculptures, causing the fabric to respond to their movement. Small, golden ceramic elements will dot the arched structures like fruits or budding blossom and as visitors venture further, a ceramic water fountain will be revealed.
The dreamlike quality of the fountain will be in opposition to a series of functional benches and work tables installed throughout the exhibition. These will house materials for visitors to evolve the installation – to pot up plants, to sow seeds and to place their seedlings within the landscape of the ‘garden’. The activity of planting will bring a new dimension to the gallery, changing its state through occupation and activity. Light flooding into the space through the glass walls will be harnessed to spur new life, with seedlings breaking through the soil and leaves unfurling. These plants will grow and develop throughout the exhibition, bringing it to life as nature infiltrates the space.
Taking inspiration from the rich history of the Greenwich Peninsula, Aldridge and Rigler have drawn elements from their local surroundings to enrich the contextual narrative of the exhibition. They hope to introduce a sense of wellbeing and discovery by creating both a metaphorical and physical garden that appeals to the senses – the sound of water, the smell of the earth and the rustle of vibrant fabric in the light breeze.
Jemima Burrill Curator of NOW Gallery: “For this art commission we wanted to see the vision of a sculptural garden by contemporary artists James Rigler and Laura Aldridge in the context of NOW Gallery. Using distinct elements from their practices: Laura’s with sculptural structures that play with fabric and James’s ceramic tropes, these artists join forces to define a textural world. The presence of the fountain and the opportunity for visitors to plant their own seed to become a part of this exhibition will capture imaginations this summer. Explore growing, get rooted and experience a colourful interpretation of a garden setting with Glasgow’s two most inspiring artists.”
Indirect Sunlight launches NOW Gallery’s summer art and culture programme.
