Wednesday 21 August, 6–8pm, Pay as you feel, all welcome.
The Tetley presents an in conversation between Nika Neelova, Holly Hendry and Dr Helen Pheby, Head of Curatorial Programme at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Join us to explore more about their practices, material processes and sculptural installations which interrogate how materials and architecture influence our sense of time and space.
Nika Neelova
EVER is Nika Neelova's first solo exhibition in a public gallery in the UK, presenting new and existing work by the Russian-born artist. This ambitious sculptural exhibition responds to, and is in dialogue with, the building's unique art deco architecture.
Often utilising reclaimed architectural materials, Neelova is interested in the way materials and architecture influence our sense of time and place. Her sculptures are created by employing tactics of 'reverse archaeology' - considering an alternative reading of human history by examining found objects and architectural debris, and transforming them beyond functionality. In these works the human body and touch remains as a vestigial memory.
Holly Hendry
Cenotaph is a large-scale public artwork by British artist Holly Hendry drawing inspiration from the underground architecture of cities. The artist is interested in the anatomy of our surroundings and the innards and plumbing of the city itself. Drawn to methods and materials that relate to past and future circulatory systems, Hendry describes her sculptures as "open cracks where you see the gooey insides". Tetley's Brewery had an underground system of tunnels connecting the buildings through a hidden network. Over the next few years, the site will be developed by Vastint to create a new city centre park, in the process of which past structures will be uncovered and new systems installed. Cenotaph acknowledges the coming changes and the hidden systems beneath our feet.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Liverpool Biennial touring programme.
Helen Pheby
Helen Pheby is an international curator with the role of Head of Curatorial Programme at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Dr Pheby is Chair of UP Projects, London; curatorial advisor to ArtRole in Iraqi Kurdistan and NIROX in South Africa. She is also a Cultural Fellow of York St John University and was an advisor to the Arts Council Collection Acquisition Committee in 2016-17. Dr Pheby is regularly invited to undertake international lectures and tours including the Contemporary Austin in January 2017 and as the guest of Creative India in 2013. Helen has collaborated with Selfridges since 2018 to curate the Duke Street entrance to their flagship London store.
Dr Pheby's research and practice is rooted in the principle that creativity is central to humanity and has the potential to affect real positive change in the world, particularly in places and with people deemed peripheral. Her PhD thesis considered controversial public sculpture as a means to better understand art’s place in a healthy, antagonistic, democracy.
This event is pay as you feel. As a charity, your support makes great things happen here at The Tetley. All welcome! If you can no longer attend this event, please cancel your booking for someone on the waiting list to enjoy.
Venue:
The Tetley
Hunslet Road Leeds, LS10 1JQ
Dates