Bluecoat welcomes trio of spring exhibitions

The Bluecoat unveils a trio of new exhibitions next month as part of its ongoing season of events and shows under the title But Does it Speak?

Joanne Masding, Rowena Harris and Veronica Watson are all exhibiting work at the School Lane venue from April 4.

But Does it Speak? aims to explore connections between writing, speech and the visual arts.

Masding presents The Moveable Scene of the Page between April 4 and May 11, with what is being described as her “playful” exhibition investigating how images, objects and words link together.

She will showcase sculpture, fictional writing and typography to transform the Bluecoat gallery into a space “where language can mingle, collide and flow.”

The Birmingham-based artist, who previously exhibited at The Bluecoat in 2017-18, works in clay, plaster, plastics, metal, as well as using text and image as materials for making objects.

The Moveable Scene of the Page will feature her new ceramic alphabet sculptures inspired by, and in the shape of, Monster Munch snacks, and created by forcing soft material through a hole in a flat disc.

Above: A still from Rowena Harris's Long Covid and the Culture of Disbelief. Top: Joanne Masding's Monster Munch-inspired alphabet sculpture.

Rowena Harris’s installation Long Covid and the Culture of Disbelief also runs from April 4 to May 11.

The installation is a single-channel film, using captions, that explores the socio-cultural context of Long-Covid and ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis).

The film, made over several years, draws on the artist’s personal experience of these related health conditions. It emerged as a film about ME before the pandemic, and then responsively evolved as Long-Covid emerged and took hold in the world and Harris’s body.

In it, the artist uses a combination of found footage, CGI, and a soundtrack of rhythmic beeps and clicks, reminiscent of MRI machines and medical equipment.

Above: Veronica Watson presents All Together Now.

Meanwhile Veronica Watson is a founder member of Blue Room – the Bluecoat’s inclusive art project, creating work at the arts venue since 2007, and has many years’ experience as a self-advocate, speaking out for the rights of learning disabled people.

Now for the first time, the Blue Room artists’ collection of portraits is set to be shared in a limited-edition book, All Together Now, while this accompanying exhibition – running from April 4 to May 4 - features a selection of portraits of people connected with Blue Room and the Bluecoat, along with archive images of Watson’s long engagement with the arts centre.

All three exhibitions open at The Bluecoat on April 4. More details HERE