A Study of Imaginary Chasms
Curated by Lungs Project
Featuring Ella Ray Barnes // Fang Qi // Jill Tate
21 April 2018 - 30 June 2018
@Gosforth Civic Theatre
Regent Farm Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 3HD
A Study of Imaginary Chasms
Featuring Ella Ray Barnes // Fang Qi // Jill Tate
21 April 2018 - 30 June 2018
@Gosforth Civic Theatre
Regent Farm Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 3HD
Gosforth Civic Theatre
Gosforth Civic Theatre is a fringe arts venue located just north of Newcastle, and it opened its doors in autumn 2016. It is run by Liberdade Community Development Trust, a charity and social enterprise that gives people with learning disabilities the opportunity to belong, work, and get involved in the arts and their community. Gosforth Civic Theatre is a truly inclusive venue at the heart of the community which aims to break down the misconceptions of learning disabilities while bringing people together through a programme of quality theatre, music, cinema, and events.
www.gosforthcivictheatre.co.uk
Tel: 0191 284 3700
Lungs Project is pleased to announce a cross-disciplinary group exhibition developed in collaboration with Gosforth Civic Theatre. A Study of Imaginary Chasms brings together the work of three women artists: Ella Ray Barnes, Fang Qi, and Jill Tate. All three are connected to the North East through unique pathways. The exhibition thematically responds to The Class Project, a one-woman play written and performed by Rebecca Atkinson-Lord.
The series of works featured in the exhibition correspond to the overlapping anecdotes within The Class Project. Each artist's body of work expands on the themes underpinning the play, presenting personal commentaries on identity, home, and belonging as embedded within historical, socio-economic, and contemporary narratives. The exhibition is conceived as a reflective study of the power dynamics that drive a wedge between individuals and communities within the U.K. It aims to examine the dominant narratives influencing our public and personal relations. In doing so, it wishes to reveal the cultural judgement systems that shape and maintain social stratification, dividing us into our economic class, regional identity, and status, creating ‘imaginary’ chasms that often seem impossible to overcome.
In the exhibition, you will find paintings and photographs by Jill Tate reflecting on worlds that are alien to us and structures that keep us in isolation. Meanwhile, Fang Qi's animations create poetic landscapes as an homage to the North Sea and capture people's fading memories of village life in North County Durham. Finally, Ella Ray Barnes presents narrated illustrations exploring the Miners' Strike of the Thatcher era and the socio-economic consequences of mine closures.
