Vanishing Point

Sited works by Stephen Boyd within the Conservation Centre

Saturday 9 October – Sunday 21 November 2004

Vanishing Point is a number of site-specific works created by artist Stephen Boyd as a direct response to the Conservation Centre and the work of its painting conservators.

This challenging mixed media exhibition, created as part of Liverpool Biennial, explores the effects of conservation, our notions of time and history, and their impact on how we view historical paintings.

Using light, painting, digital images and conservation equipment, Boyd captures a glimpse of the complex relationship between painting, viewer and conservator.

The ‘vanishing point’ theme relates to both the visual and historical perception of time and paintings. Painters create the illusion of depth on a flat surface, often using the horizon to infer either the past or future happenings.

Important paintings at the Conservation Centre “undergo a form of cultural intensive care”. This means that the signs of ageing can be delayed or even reversed, saving the artworks for future generations.

Yet a restored painting can never be reverted to its original state because the social and historical context in which it is viewed has changed. The viewer is bound by a contemporary framework and cannot see the painting as it once was.

Both painting and viewer are subject to the process of ageing, and so every time they meet the relationship alters, even as the conservator strives to preserve it. The conservator’s slow and steady work uncovers previously hidden features or elements, and so the relationship between painting, viewer and conservator evolves.

Vanishing Point is a thought-provoking exhibition that demands the engagement of the visitor, as they themselves become part of this ever-changing process of viewing, changing and responding.

Biography of the artist, Stephen Boyd

Visitors can collect a free catalogue to the Vanishing Point exhibition at the Conservation Centre, (subject to availability).

Events

Artist's talks: Stephen Boyd will be giving guided tours of his work on Wednesday 20 October at 11.30am and 2pm, and Wednesday 3 November at 11.30am and 2.30pm.

Back to the top