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Pulling the Lever - Recent Sculpture by Pete Ellis1 October 2005 - 8 January 2006Lady Lever Art GallerySomething has changed at Lady Lever Art Gallery. Visitors to the opulent and luxurious surroundings will find the usual fineries interspersed with seemingly everyday objects. The surprising additions, including parsnips, rubber gloves, and gigantic socks, are not unwelcome interlopers, but the work of sculptor Pete Ellis. Taking commonplace objects and elevating them to high art, Ellis aims to unlock 'the potential anarchy that an object might have'. Vegetables and sausages are cast in bronze, poking fun at the 'noble' status of sculpture. His work is humorous and emotive, challenging our expectations of both the gallery environment and our own everyday surroundings. The exhibition is in two parts:
The Odd CoupleThe Odd Couple, created in response to Lady Lever Art Gallery and its collections, is made up of two differently coloured 9-ft socks. Deftly created using the laborious 'rag-rug' technique, the pieces echo the huge tapestries that adorn the walls of the Lever. The epic size and scale of these banal objects provokes bemusement and bewilderment - do socks become art when they are so painstakingly created and in such grand proportions? Is 'The Odd Couple' a reference to the mandatory odd socks that dwell in almost every sock drawer in the country? Ellis' sculpture solves that age-old problem - the socks have been created so ridiculously large that they will never become separated or lost. SleepwalkersIn Sleepwalkers, Ellis creates a touching and unsettling exhibit from three pairs of pyjamas belonging to his late father. Usually symbols of comfort, security and perhaps intimacy, the pyjamas have become associated with mortality for Ellis. Delicately embroidered with the words of the French Surrealist poet Robert Desnos, the pyjamas touch on the themes of sleep, night, and dreams. Desnos was an active member of the French Resistance and spent time in a Nazi concentration camp where the uniforms worn by the victims resembled striped pyjamas. The humble 'pjs' are thus transformed - simultaneously intimate and universal in their symbolism. The boundaries between dreams, memories, sleep and death are beautifully merged in this haunting piece. InterludesDrawing upon family photographs, memories and nostalgic tunes, Ellis has created his own video 'interludes'. Inspired by the musical TV intermissions of the 1950s and early 1960s, his videos respond to paintings in the Lady Lever collection that show the whimsical side of the English Landscape.
About the artistPete Ellis was born in Prestbury, Cheshire. He trained at Manchester, Wolverhampton and at Chelsea School of Art where he was taught by the renowned sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi. Ellis has completed fellowships and residencies in the UK and abroad. He has taught extensively and has a long track record of exhibitions and awards. He is Associate Senior Lecturer in Fine Arts at Leeds Metropolitan University. CreditsThe Odd Couple: Cilla Cameron, The Rug Studio, Oxton Sleepwalker: Embroidery by Amanda Crewe, Velvet Stitch, Bristol. The Robert Desnos (1900-1945) extracts are taken from the poems:
© Editions Gallimard, Paris, 1953. Translated by Professor Mary Ann Caws, CUNY Graduate Centre, New York, in her book The Surrealist Voice of Robert Desnos, 1977. Interludes: Music credits
All images: copyright Pete Ellis. Photography: Nick Dunmur, Nottingham |
