May 2007 - Thomas Blackah / Situation Leeds

Saint Mark's Church, Woodhouse.
munki
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Joined: Thu 25 Jan, 2007 5:16 am

Post by munki »

Saint Mark's Church, Woodhouse.
'Are we surprised that men perish, when monuments themselves decay? For death comes even to stones and the names they bear.' - Ausonius.

munki
Posts: 929
Joined: Thu 25 Jan, 2007 5:16 am

Post by munki »

This week and next week (14th – 27th May) sees the second Situation Leeds festival of visual art come to our city.Situation Leeds 07 is an independent contemporary visual art festival, bringing together artists and arts organisations to explore art in public places through installation, events, debates, video and publications.Situation Leeds takes art away from more conventional gallery spaces and moves it into buses, pubs, parks, terraced streets, canals, stations, the internet, cafes, the streets, ironmongers, the dark arches, bins, car parks, and abandoned churches.It encourages people to look at the secrets of their city in a different way. It is fun, visual, fantastic, fantastical, sometimes infuriating… But as far as Secret Leeds are concerned, it also gave us the chance to go & take some pictures of an abandoned church!Saint Mark’s Church, Woodhouse, has been out of use since 2001, but for Situation Leeds, it reopens its doors from 14th – 19th May, Mon – Sat from 12.00 to 6.00pm. You too can go see this!
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__TFMF_g1s0n0mdaqlif155mcbtyt45_48a95167-4aef-4b72-8100-598e36299e1d_0_MaintainAspect.jpg (32.01 KiB) Viewed 14984 times
'Are we surprised that men perish, when monuments themselves decay? For death comes even to stones and the names they bear.' - Ausonius.

munki
Posts: 929
Joined: Thu 25 Jan, 2007 5:16 am

Post by munki »

From the Situation Leeds Guide;The Power of TwoRona SmithStretching across the floor of the church, an ephemeral blanket of geometric patterns inspired by Islamic decoration extends down the aisle and up to the altar.
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__TFMF_g1s0n0mdaqlif155mcbtyt45_a370962f-e11c-49e3-bb3b-627576c7dff9_0_MaintainAspect.jpg (43.76 KiB) Viewed 14984 times
'Are we surprised that men perish, when monuments themselves decay? For death comes even to stones and the names they bear.' - Ausonius.

munki
Posts: 929
Joined: Thu 25 Jan, 2007 5:16 am

Post by munki »

My normal Secret Leeds bible, the Pevsner Guide, fails me here, mentioning nothing about St Mark’s. According to Burt & Grady St Mark’s was one of the ‘Million Act Churches’ built between 1823 and 1826, in areas of working class housing, with grants from Parliament’s million pound fund. Other churches built with this money include St. Mary’s, Quarry Hill and Christ Church, Meadow Lane.
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__TFMF_g1s0n0mdaqlif155mcbtyt45_01c87a9e-324e-4316-b649-b3929508be40_0_MaintainAspect.jpg
__TFMF_g1s0n0mdaqlif155mcbtyt45_01c87a9e-324e-4316-b649-b3929508be40_0_MaintainAspect.jpg (31.23 KiB) Viewed 14984 times
'Are we surprised that men perish, when monuments themselves decay? For death comes even to stones and the names they bear.' - Ausonius.

munki
Posts: 929
Joined: Thu 25 Jan, 2007 5:16 am

Post by munki »

From the Situation Leeds Guide;The CongregationSteven AllbuttThis exhibition explores ideas of recycling and repetition of both conflict and history. The artist has collected debris from the battle of Verdun in Northern France which has been melted down and recast into new bullets. The viewer is invited to visit the church and witness the record of the research and development process in the manufacture of this work.
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__TFMF_g1s0n0mdaqlif155mcbtyt45_44a35282-1009-4188-8b70-c9c7f758cdc6_0_MaintainAspect.jpg
__TFMF_g1s0n0mdaqlif155mcbtyt45_44a35282-1009-4188-8b70-c9c7f758cdc6_0_MaintainAspect.jpg (18.31 KiB) Viewed 14984 times
'Are we surprised that men perish, when monuments themselves decay? For death comes even to stones and the names they bear.' - Ausonius.

munki
Posts: 929
Joined: Thu 25 Jan, 2007 5:16 am

Post by munki »

Despite the lack of history in the Pevsner Guide, the building is full of touches of humanity that are gathering dust, but which remind you of the people who worshipped there. It is incredible sometimes how quickly a building will deteriorate once it is locked up, and in some senses it is hard to believe that it has only been out of use for five years.But items like this wreath of poppies below the war memorial remind you of the recent inhabitants, & make 'The Congregation', of ghostly white bullets constructed from battlefield remains, all the more poignant.
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__TFMF_g1s0n0mdaqlif155mcbtyt45_c17f3e19-4c83-489c-b252-efc0bfc64270_0_MaintainAspect.jpg (33.99 KiB) Viewed 14984 times
'Are we surprised that men perish, when monuments themselves decay? For death comes even to stones and the names they bear.' - Ausonius.

munki
Posts: 929
Joined: Thu 25 Jan, 2007 5:16 am

Post by munki »

The tower of Saint Mark's has always, to me, made a more distinctive contribution to the skyline beause the finnial from the south east corner of the tower is missing. Is this its remains, lying between the pews?
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__TFMF_g1s0n0mdaqlif155mcbtyt45_6525c90c-7080-46a4-90cc-fa775ae94e88_0_MaintainAspect.jpg (17.25 KiB) Viewed 14984 times
'Are we surprised that men perish, when monuments themselves decay? For death comes even to stones and the names they bear.' - Ausonius.

munki
Posts: 929
Joined: Thu 25 Jan, 2007 5:16 am

Post by munki »

Other elements of Situation Leeds which might interest Secret Leeds readers... Excerpts are from the Festival Guide, which can be obtained by emailing us at [email protected]. All pictures are still from Saint Mark's Church and the two exhibitions therein.Ghosts of the English RevolutionDavid Honeybone, Jonathan Lindh, Lynnette Willoughby, Terry Wragg and Sue Wray.14 - 26th MayTues to Sat 10am - 3pmThe Church of St John the EvangelistNew Briggate, LS2 8JAPreview: Sat 19 May3pm - 5pmA group installation located inside this historic church, that makes connections between the English Revolution, when it was built, and present day Leeds. Work includes sound, textiles, free shop, mannikins, waxworks and more.
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__TFMF_g1s0n0mdaqlif155mcbtyt45_92e880e9-403d-4938-a7b8-6ea5db07e4e8_0_MaintainAspect.jpg (31.77 KiB) Viewed 14984 times
'Are we surprised that men perish, when monuments themselves decay? For death comes even to stones and the names they bear.' - Ausonius.

munki
Posts: 929
Joined: Thu 25 Jan, 2007 5:16 am

Post by munki »

An' all aboot t'green nobby hillsSteven Anderson14 - 27 MaySt George's FieldUniversity of Leeds LS2 9JTAn installation hidden within the grass of what was once a grand Victorian cemetery, the artist has cut out the words of a poet who is buried somewhere within the landscaped fields.
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__TFMF_g1s0n0mdaqlif155mcbtyt45_bafccb45-5047-43a9-982c-8030f0878602_0_MaintainAspect.jpg (21.68 KiB) Viewed 14984 times
'Are we surprised that men perish, when monuments themselves decay? For death comes even to stones and the names they bear.' - Ausonius.

munki
Posts: 929
Joined: Thu 25 Jan, 2007 5:16 am

Post by munki »

Badge ProjectMonitor with Louise Atkinson, Adam Bridgeland, Simon Canaway, helen Grundy, John Hall, Mike Lewis, Alexander Stevenson and Rebecca Strain.14 - 27 MayVarious locationsPreview:Tuesday 15 May 7pm onwards, Subculture, 66 Merrion Street, LS2 8LWCollect a set of nine pin badges and explore Leeds. Each badge is designed by an artist in response to a particular postcode area. Follow Monitor's suggested route around the postcodes to collect the complete set. See www.monitorleeds.org for full list of venues and opening times.The Secret Leeds team is reliably informed that the arists involved in this project used your information posted up here as inspiration for the design of their badges!!!
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__TFMF_g1s0n0mdaqlif155mcbtyt45_d9970b0b-9bb5-4f68-9f04-f13ac5250b21_0_MaintainAspect.jpg (22.09 KiB) Viewed 14984 times
'Are we surprised that men perish, when monuments themselves decay? For death comes even to stones and the names they bear.' - Ausonius.

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