How Big the Bluest Sky
Rhys Morgan
The Wanderers, 2015
Rhys Morgan
The Wanderers, 2015
Photos: Archive materialThe Wanderers was a series of six commissions for early career artists creating temporary interventions and live events. The project was produced by Field Notes and held within the public spaces of Falmouth and The Carrick Roads between August - November 2015. It was intended as an off-site, parallel programme to Newlyn Art Gallery’s exhibition In Search of The Miraculous, a show inspired by and marking the 40th anniversary of a voyage made by Dutch artist Bas Jan Ader. The Wanderers brought together a group of developing artists that go beyond the horizon in pursuit of new experiences and precarious journeys; the final commission, a legacy publication by Medium Rare, was launched in December 2015 to document and extend the projects.
How Big the Bluest Sky, Rhys Morgan, 2015
Sound installation in Falmouth Municipal Building, publications comprising of archive material and texts written by the artist, selection of texts influencing the piece displayed in the library
In 1975 artist Bas Jan Ader went missing at sea during an attempt to sail solo across the Atlantic from Cape Cod to Falmouth, for what became his final work In Search of The Miraculous. The influence of Ader’s work can be felt within the practice of many contemporary artists, from big names like Mat Collishaw and Francis Alÿs to developing artists and recent graduates. Perhaps unsurprisingly, generations of students from Falmouth School of Art, including those commissioned for The Wanderers, have been drawn to the works of this enigmatic and ground-breaking artist, influenced by different aspects of Ader’s practice, from the pursuit of precarious journeys to the poetry of futility.
Rhys Morgan was one of the artists commissioned for the project. He created How Big the Bluest Sky, an immersive sound installation and series of publications that were shown in Falmouth Municipal Building. During August the ground floor foyer of Falmouth Art Gallery and the town’s library played host to a new sound piece that spliced stories, poems, borrowed words and silence with music to tell a story of a man seeking to conquer the insurmountable. The piece reverberated around Falmouth’s town council buildings, filling the hallways of the offices, meeting rooms and library with an audio collage that explored the fragility of masculinity and the futility of misadventure.
Rhys’ books were exhibited in the art gallery and library, which also hosted an ever changing display of the texts that inspired the piece. The library display included texts by Albert Camus, Thomas Mann, Samuel Beckett, Herman Hesse, Boris Pasternak and Allen Ginsberg and was very popular, with a high turnover and lending rate.
Sound installation in Falmouth Municipal Building, publications comprising of archive material and texts written by the artist, selection of texts influencing the piece displayed in the library
In 1975 artist Bas Jan Ader went missing at sea during an attempt to sail solo across the Atlantic from Cape Cod to Falmouth, for what became his final work In Search of The Miraculous. The influence of Ader’s work can be felt within the practice of many contemporary artists, from big names like Mat Collishaw and Francis Alÿs to developing artists and recent graduates. Perhaps unsurprisingly, generations of students from Falmouth School of Art, including those commissioned for The Wanderers, have been drawn to the works of this enigmatic and ground-breaking artist, influenced by different aspects of Ader’s practice, from the pursuit of precarious journeys to the poetry of futility.
Rhys Morgan was one of the artists commissioned for the project. He created How Big the Bluest Sky, an immersive sound installation and series of publications that were shown in Falmouth Municipal Building. During August the ground floor foyer of Falmouth Art Gallery and the town’s library played host to a new sound piece that spliced stories, poems, borrowed words and silence with music to tell a story of a man seeking to conquer the insurmountable. The piece reverberated around Falmouth’s town council buildings, filling the hallways of the offices, meeting rooms and library with an audio collage that explored the fragility of masculinity and the futility of misadventure.
Rhys’ books were exhibited in the art gallery and library, which also hosted an ever changing display of the texts that inspired the piece. The library display included texts by Albert Camus, Thomas Mann, Samuel Beckett, Herman Hesse, Boris Pasternak and Allen Ginsberg and was very popular, with a high turnover and lending rate.
Photos: Field Notes
FUNDERS AND PARTNERS
The Wanderers was produced in partnership with Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange, running in parallel to their international exhibition In Search of The Miraculous. With thanks to National Trust, Falmouth University, Arts Council England, FEAST, School for Social Entrepreneurs, First Great Western, Falmouth Art Gallery, Falmouth Library, Falmouth Town Council, Royal Cornwall Yacht Club, Falmouth Harbour Commissioners, Falmouth and Penryn Sea Cadets and Falmouth Shout Shanty Singers.
The Wanderers was produced in partnership with Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange, running in parallel to their international exhibition In Search of The Miraculous. With thanks to National Trust, Falmouth University, Arts Council England, FEAST, School for Social Entrepreneurs, First Great Western, Falmouth Art Gallery, Falmouth Library, Falmouth Town Council, Royal Cornwall Yacht Club, Falmouth Harbour Commissioners, Falmouth and Penryn Sea Cadets and Falmouth Shout Shanty Singers.
GET IN TOUCH:
info@fieldnotes.org.ukThe development of this website was supported by Cultivator Cornwall
