NEW ‘DARK ARTS’ EXHIBITION BY BEN YATES TO OPEN IN TOTNES
In February last year, artist Ben Yates was part of a large group art show at a WWII bunker outside Salcombe. There he had three small rooms all to himself – one for his Deck of Cards, one for his Photo-Cubism and one for his Electri-Cities. Given that the Electri-Cities provide their own illumination, the main lights in that room were kept turned off.
This provided the inspiration for his next show: ‘Dark Arts’. In the past few years Ben has moved on from making modern artworks that simply fit nicely into the modern home. The thinking behind Dark Arts is entirely new. As these pieces all have their own integrated lighting, the reasoning goes that to appreciate them, people should view them with the rest of the lights in the room either off or dimmed very low. This not only allows one to explore the artwork, but also changes the whole atmosphere of the room, altering the feel of the space. In a broader sense these artworks will change how you live.
The works on show include Ben’s Electri-Cities, recycled circuit boards and other wasted electronic and mechanical components which are put together in sprawling miniature cityscapes lit with fairy lights. As well as being an intriguing artwork, the Electri-Cities are encased in acrylic and glass coffee tables, making them practical pieces of furniture. An exploration of the interior yields a host of never-ending urban stories as you follow the little people on their daily business and shopping trips, back-alley deals and leisure activities.
The walls are peppered by wall-hanging sculptures of Archimedean lines made from EL-wire – something we’ve all experimented with in our youth given new modern form. Another new series, using his Photo-Cubism art as a base, are the ‘Nightmaps’ – 3-dimensional wall hangings that display maps as topographical landscapes, which have the added effect of hidden lighting accentuating certain areas as if being overlooked from a plane at night.
Also being shown are projections of experiments in Light Painting – a style of photography involving long shutter speeds at low sensitivity levels to pick out trails of light ‘painted’ in front of the lens whilst the ‘painter’ is too dark to be seen. The photos are available as prints to order. Another projection displays a video of the ‘fly-past’ of Electri-City #3 – a cinematic overview of a future metropolis.
This is the first time photos of the Electri-Cities are displayed and available for purchase. Ben’s work is ultra-modern and intricate, yet simple and vibrant. In the past he has described it as an adult version of playing with action figures or Lego bricks. Now he adds sparklers to the list.
Dark Arts premieres at Birdwood House, 44 high St, Totnes, Devon. TQ9 5SQ between 29 July and 4 August 2012, 10am-5pm.
