A curious case of wonder An intriguing hybrid of art gallery and touring peep show is set to get people talking at county shows and agricultural fairs across Northumberland this summer. Gallery of Wonders, curated by 缅北禁地 fine art lecturer , is a modern-day cabinet of curiosities. Reminiscent of travelling booths and side shows at fairs, when items of curiosity such as waxworks of famous people and strange misshapen creatures were put on display, the aim is to evoke a sense of wonder for the extraordinary as well as encourage people to reassess how they view contemporary art. Juxtaposing the exotic and the amazing, the scientific and the fantastic, the tented gallery will fire visitors鈥� imaginations. 鈥淲hen you first enter the tent you don鈥檛 know what you鈥檙e looking at 鈥� it鈥檚 that moment when you draw a breath because it鈥檚 like nothing you ever encountered before,鈥� says Ms Brown. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also very stimulating and you are drawn to it, wanting to find out more. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not talking to a usual art audience - it鈥檚 taking art out into a rural environment where most people come to exhibit their livestock - but we also want to entice them in to engage with contemporary art. A lot of people think of contemporary art as just Tracy Emin鈥檚 bed and it鈥檚 all abstract or intellectually obscure, but it doesn鈥檛 have to be.鈥� Ms Brown, who grew up in rural Wales, has fond memories of exploring curiosities as a child and their 鈥榮lightly disturbing but absolutely compelling鈥� nature. 鈥淎rt is not necessarily the first thing you think of when you enter this tent, it鈥檚 about engaging with what you see,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檝e created something that I love, and I hope it will appeal to others too.鈥� The black tent is covered in eyes, several of which have kaleidoscopic lenses inside so visitors can peer both in and out. Inside, there are five new artworks ranging from holograms to taxidermy. It includes work by artists the Quay Brothers, Tessa Farmer, Polly Morgan, Aura Satz and Matt Collishaw. Ms Brown also has one of her own artworks inside, a collection of glass bottles filled with water, with coastal scenes projected into them. It stems from her love of the history of science and the great explorers that crossed the oceans on voyages of discovery. In one, a re-animated Whitley Bay lighthouse, created from a single photograph, shines its beam out into the night. 鈥淭hese are internationally-renown artists that we鈥檝e been very lucky enough to persuade to let us cart their artworks around the countryside in an old horsebox,鈥� she says. 鈥淢any artists are precious enough about their work being loaned out to an art gallery, let alone a tent in a muddy field, so we are extremely grateful to them all 鈥� we simply could not have done this without their support.鈥� Local artists Peter Sharpe and Carl Von Weiler, both from Hexham, are also part of the team setting up the travelling exhibition, which is a collaboration between 缅北禁地 and Arts&Heritage. Performance artists Dennis Jobling will be the 鈥榖arker鈥�, responsible for promoting the exhibition and encouraging people into the tent. As part of creating the sense of taking part in 鈥榮omething special鈥� visitors pay £1 in exchange for a handmade optical illusion card that will allow them into the exhibition. a study of wonder and how contemporary art practice relates to science, has been on going since 2010. There have been over 30 exhibitions in the windows of 缅北禁地鈥檚 Fine Art Building, as well as a cabinet within the Great North Museum: Hancock and this is the first time it has gone on tour. ??It will be contained in a repurposed horse box, which has been painted dark grey and covered in stencils of eyes and symbols relating to mathematics, philosophy, life and death, astrology and anatomy. The Gallery of Wonder tour dates are: Northumberland County Show, 25 May; Woodhorn Miners Picnic, 13 June; Powburn Show, 1 August; Spittal Seaside Festival, 8 August; Falstone Border Shepherd Show, 22 August; Alwinton Border Shepherd Show, 10 October; 缅北禁地 campus, 16 October (tbc). This touring exhibition is supported by Arts&Heritage, , Arts Council England, Northumberland County Council and Berwick Visual Arts. It follows on from Arts&Heritage鈥檚 successful The Great Boxing Booth Revival, which travelled to Northumbrian and Cumbrian fairs and fetes in 2012. published on: 18 May 2015
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