Haggard Caravan. The collaborative group of artists and musicians features features sculpture, installation, performance, music and video. Evoking and developing the idea of an architecture inhabited by unseen forces, the artists will be installing elements of the facade of a 1960s Swiss ghost-house ride onsite.
This Easter, a collaborative group of artists and musicians make their UK institutional debut
with a new exhibition entitled Haggard Caravan. The installation opens on Good Friday, 18
April and runs until Sunday 1 June at The Calder - The Hepworth Wakefield’s new 600sqm
space for contemporary art.
Co-commissioned with The Modern Institute and part of the Glasgow International Festival
2014, the exhibition features sculpture, installation, performance, music and video, building on
the collaborative practice the Swiss-American group first explored in Drip Event, an
expansive sculpture and sound installation at The Power Station, Dallas, USA in 2013.
Taking direct inspiration from The Calder’s industrial heritage, riverside setting and anecdotal
histories, the collective will be constructing the immersive installation and preparing for the
opening night performance at The Calder.
The 19th century former textile mill is part of the Rutland Mill complex, a series of Victorian
warehouses located in The Hepworth Wakefield’s gallery gardens. Situated next to the River
Calder, the complex has been cited on numerous occasions as a hotspot for paranormal
encounters and hosted the controversial television show Most Haunted in 2005.
Evoking and developing the idea of an architecture inhabited by unseen forces, the artists will
be installing elements of the façade of a 1960s Swiss ghost-house ride onsite. Like the now
empty warehouses in which The Calder is located, the various elements of the installation will
conjure both actual and imagined histories and create an immersive architecture by means of
site-specific sculptural interventions.
The kinetic energy of the adjacent River Calder next will provide another type of force within
the installation. Man-made and electronic sounds from the band’s performance on the opening
night will be translated into a series of automated musical instruments that will effectively
take on the role of the band. Visitors will be encouraged to make connections between the
sculptural forms created in the space and the movement of water in the River Calder directly
outside building.
Haggard Caravan forms part of The Hepworth Wakefield’s extended contemporary exhibition
programme as Andrew Bonacina, Chief Curator explains: “The focus of the programme at The
Calder is on exploring interdisciplinary relationships between the visual arts and other fields
such as music, dance and performance. The space is an important platform for young and
emerging artists to present new work on an international stage. Haggard Caravan brings
together a really exciting group of artists and musicians. It will be an all-encompassing
experience and very different to what our audiences have seen before.”
To commence their European tour Solar Lice will be performing at the opening night of the
new exhibition, with a series of improvised sessions. The free public opening takes place on
Thursday 17 April from 6.30pm until late with official band merchandise available to purchase,
including the group’s new 60 minute LP, Solar Lice.
The artists commented: “On the opening night we’ll be combining guitar, bass and drums with
site-specific vessels and vocals, with references to water from the River Calder playing a key
role. There’s no easy way to define our sound. We’re eight members-strong, with a vast
range of influences and perform instinctively, through improvisation. We hope people will
come down on the night and see for themselves”.
For details of The Hepworth Wakefield’s full exhibition programme and Easter events are
available on the website www.hepworthwakefield.org or by telephoning 01924 247392.
THE HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD
The gallery is at the heart of Wakefield’s regeneration. Designed by the internationally
acclaimed practice, David Chipperfield Architects, it is funded by Wakefield Council and Arts
Council England with additional funding from a number of charitable trusts and private
individuals. The Hepworth Wakefield opened on 21 May 2011. It attracted 512,000 visitors
within the first 12 months and welcomed its millionth visitor on 5 December 2013.
THE CALDER
On Friday 30 August 2013 The Calder, The Hepworth Wakefield’s new contemporary art
space opened to the public. The development of The Calder was announced on 21 May 2013,
exactly two years since gallery opened.
Located on the ground floor of the Caddies Wainwright Mill, a 19th century former textiles
mill, the new contemporary art space is situated adjacent to the main gallery site, on the banks
of the River Calder. The Calder adds 600 square metres of exhibition and event space to the
existing 10 gallery spaces within The Hepworth Wakefield and presents a contemporary art
programme that runs in parallel to the visitor offer at the main gallery.
The development of The Calder is a capital project is funded by Wakefield Council, who own
the building and are the principal proprietor of the waterfront site adjacent to The Hepworth
Wakefield. The development of the new exhibition space at The Hepworth Wakefield forms
part of the Council’s Wakefield Waterfront regeneration plans.
The exhibition and event programme is funded from a number of charitable trusts, corporates
and private individuals and is match-funded in part through the Arts Council England Catalyst
Arts programme and by revenue from ticketed events.
The Calder capital project is funded by Wakefield Council; the on-going exhibition and event
programme is funded through Wakefield Council, Arts Council England and Arts Council
England Catalyst Arts programme.
YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE TRIANGLE
The Hepworth Wakefield, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Henry Moore Institute and Leeds Art
Gallery are four of the UK’s leading visual art organisations, situated within 30 minutes drive
or train ride from one another. They build on West Yorkshire’s unique artistic legacy as the
birthplace of two of the most important 20th Century artists, Barbara Hepworth and Henry
Moore.
Visitor research shows that we all share audiences from Yorkshire and beyond and together,
we are a world-class destination for art-lovers. This long term partnership aims to promote
contemporary art and sculpture as inspirational settings to grow visitor numbers to all four
institutions and to raise the profile of West Yorkshire as the birthplace of Modern British
sculpture.For details on Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle visit www.ysculpture.com
SOLAR LICE:
Formed in 2012, ‘Solar Lice’ is an eight-strong a band comprises musicians and artists: Jeanne
Graff, Tobias Madison, Flavio Merlo, Emanuel Rossetti, and Stefan Tcherepnin with Gregory
Ruppe, William Z Saunders.
Selected projects include: 'Drip Event', The Power Station, Dallas (2013); ‘SOLAR LICE’,
Double LP, recorded at ISSUE Project Room, New York (2013); 'OOO &&& LLL', Kunsthalle
Bern, Bern (2012); 'cut-out bin / apnegative', Kunsthalle Bern, Bern (2012); and 'POMOSHCH
medelst dig hjälp mig? helpers', Galerie New Jerseyy, Basel (2012).
ARTIST INFORMATION:
Jeanne Graff (b. Lausanne, Switzerland); Tobias Madison (b. Basel, Switzerland, lives and
works in Berlin & Zürch); Flavio Merlo (b. Zug, lives & works in Zürich, Switzerland); Emanuel
Rossetti (b. Basel, Switzerland, lives & works in Basel); Gregory Ruppe (b. Houston, Texas,
lives & works in Dallas, Texas); William Z. Saunders (b. Texas, USA); Stefan Tcherepnin (b.
Boston, USA, lives & works in Brooklyn, NYC)
Naomi Roberts, Media Officer
T: +44 (0)1924 247 392 / 07717 807512
E: naomiroberts@hepworthwakefield.org
The Calder
Gallery Walk, West Yorkshire, WF1 5AW
Open Tuesday – Sunday, 12 – 4.30pm
Open Third Thursday of every month, 12 – 8.30pm, as part of After Hours late nights
Open for the Wakefield Art on Wednesdays every other month, 12 - 8.30pm
Closed Mondays (except for Bank Holidays and school holidays)
Free admission (except for ticketed events)