‘Whales’ Art Installation at Winchester Cathedral – Artists and Makers Members of the Artful Collective.
We have various social meets ups for our members to attend throughout the year. This February we visited Winchester Cathedral (https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/) to see the three monumental sculptures of sperm whales, created by artist Tessa Campbell Fraser.
This large-scale immersive art installation hangs from the cathedral’s Nave.
The whales measure between three and five metres long. They have been made in part from some discarded fishing gear collected at sea by British charity, Ghost Fishing UK. Banners hang alongside the whales to represent the sound these fascinating creatures make, the repetitive pattern of clicks that have fascinated scientists since they were first recorded in the 1950s.
‘Whales’ invites visitors to reflect on interspecies communication and the urgent environmental challenges facing marine life.
After a brief stop for some refreshments, we went on to @arcwinch to see the outstanding Hans Coper: Resurface exhibition, including three ‘lost’ murals that were thankfully saved from demolition.
Also featured are over 20 pots from throughout the artist’s career, plus items rarely, if ever seen before on public display. From early-day incised pots to the later ‘Cycladic forms’ the exhibition presents the largest collection of Coper’s work to be seen in the UK for more than 20 years.
As always, it’s was a very enjoyable day, catching up and seeing two exhibitions. Here’s to the next one!
This time we also had a tour of the Cathedral, taking in the Edward Bryne-Jones stained glass windows and what’s become an annual visit to see the Antony Gormley ‘Sound II’ Sculpture in the crypt. We’ve only seen it flooded so far, but we’d love to come back when it’s dry for the crypt tour!
Artful Collective Membership:
To find out more about Membership to Artful Collective and when it next opens for new applications, please visit our Membership page.