PPP1 Reading Week Tasks -VISIT AN EXHIBITION

Exhibition Visit to Nottingham Contemporary:

JOHN NEWLING 
ECOLOGICAL VALUES 
26TH JAN- 07 APRIL 2013

During reading week I decided to visit the "Nottingham contemporary' situated in the centre of Nottingham by the train station. Not only was this visit convenient in distance, the Gallery itself is one of my most favoured galleries in the Midlands area of the United kingdom, I have visited this particular gallery a fair few times. 

During my visit I particularly found the exhibition 'Ecological Values' by John Newling fairly intriguing and interesting. John Newling is a 'pioneer of public art' who now retired as a Professor of Installation Sculpture at The Nottingham Trent University.

His work at this particular exhibition reflected and explored the natural world and its ecological system (which is stated in the title of the exhibition. Although Newling had two exhibitions on at the Nottingham Contemporary; one them focusing on the subject area of money and religion I felt as though this Ecological Values exhibition was much more touching as it was not something I would normally be drawn too, its organic route and concept in terms of the way that the exhibit was depicted showed the lifespan in the form of nature age'ing in a obscure yet artistic form. 

One of his pieces consisted of a sculpture of over 80 Walking stick cabbages over the lifespan of the exhibition this sculpture was shown to erode and have some what of a physical change in state. I found this fairly interesting to look at and although I do not have photographs of this piece within the exhibition the placement of an outdoor substance showing to be almost declining in an artificial environment was interesting to think about, this   juxtaposed the way it would flourish in the outdoor environment. The connotation that has been created here and the amount of reflection that has been created through responding to this piece is a clear reflection of the power of the pieces exhibited.