Water Works Go on Display

By Tony Henderson

FOUR ponds in a remote area of Northumberland will become the platform for artwork displays which explore the nature of water and the surrounding countryside.

The ponds were dug in a field at Donkleywood near Falstone in Northumberland National Park around 20 years ago to improve the area for wildlife.

They feed into each other through underground pipes before their waters empty into the North Tyne River, near Kielder Reservoir.

Now artists Julia Barton, Karen Rann, Julie Livsey and Susan Grant will each take a pond for the exhibition, called Flow, which opens on Saturday, September 1 and will run until October 28.

The field is owned by Julia, who lives in Donkleywood.

Her work, called Rain Harvester, is based on the storage of water for irrigation and plants and its use in the environment.

Julia is using a series of funnels and clear pipes to catch and transport water, with vegetable dye marking the progress of the flow.

Karen Rann, who lives between Gunnerton and Wark, is staging The Littoral Zone on her pond.

Karen worked with Newcastle University, whose students carried out an analysis of the algae in her pond.

The microbes which make up the algae were photographed on microscope slides and their shapes form the basis of Karen’s work.

“They are beautiful to look at and it is a case of making the invisible visible,” said Karen, who will be using versions of three types of algae forms as part of her display.

“They may be the shapes of the simplest life forms but they are stunning and really inspiring,” she added.

Julie Livsey, who staged the successful Allotment Day exhibition at the Buddle Arts Centre in Wallsend and worked an arts residency at St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay, now lives at Haydon Bridge.

Her pond work, called Drift, will feature 15 floating grass islands which will be placed on the water in grid formation.

Each 2ft by 2ft island will have five floating spheres to help chart how the flow of the water and the action of wildlife move the islands.

“We know there are otters around the ponds, and wildlife could colonise, destroy or move the islands. Water also behaves in an unpredictable way,” said Julie.

“One minute it can be calm and gentle and the next it can be violent.”

Susan Grant’s pond will feature a project called Dispossession.

During an artist’s residency at nearby High Green Manor arts centre at Greenhaugh, Susan explored the theme of the homes and other features, such as the Borders Counties railway line, which were lost when the Kielder Reservoir was flooded.

Her pond will reflect that interest, with Susan using small wax houses which will descend into the water and re-emerg e.

“The ponds are a man-made feature in the landscape as is Kielder Reservoir,” said Susan.

Karen also undertook a residency at High Green, which is run by Cynthia and William Morrison-Bell.

High Green Manor is William’s family home and the couple have converted old outbuildings into bases for organisations such as Bloodaxe Books and Visual Arts in Rural Communities.

The annual residency scheme allows an artist to experience and be influenced by the surrounding Northumbrian countryside and its seasons. Current artist Gavin Thorogood’s exhibition at High Green will coincide with the September 1 opening for Flow .

Cynthia, who is also director of Art Circuit Touring Exhibitions, is curator for the Flow project.

She said: “I am thrilled by the project and I hope that visitors will enjoy the art in this environment and the surrounding landscape. The landscape is the walls of this outdoor gallery in a very exciting way.”

Visitors can park at Falstone and enjoy a one-and-a-half mile walk to the ponds, or there is parking at the site itself.

(c) 2007 The Journal – Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.