August 2009 – Will Clifford
Handle With Care
August 2, 2009, 4pm – 8pm
346 Moseley Road
Birmingham
B12 9AZ
Jerwood Sculpture Prize nominee and member of the RBS, London-based artist Will Clifford’s first solo exhibition in Birmingham was Handle With Care. Alongside some of Clifford’s previous work he created a new site-specific interactive sculpture which was born out of a period of archival research and study into the temporary space, its history and context. Clifford therefore sought to address the ways in which we map and classify the space around us.
Alluding to the space’s history as a factory producing flat-pack furniture, this artwork was be made up of uniform inter-locking elements taken from the site which could be arranged in a variety of different ways to create a unique outcome each time. This allowed the artwork to be continually altered by the artist and audience members over the four-hour period. The constraints of space no longer exist and the impact of the shape within the space created an unusual visual language, the house of cards responding to the architecture as well as the ‘play’ of the audience, ideas that are fundamental within Clifford’s practice.
The work will address not only the history of the gallery but also the legacy of Birmingham’s past as an industrial city. Will Clifford
Handle With Care was organised by Charlie Levine and David Miller (TROVE) with Naomi Gall and Harminder Singh Judge.
