Part of Katie Paterson ‘ s work on Glass Exchange is also being shown in Durham Cathedral .
Part of Monster Chetwynd ’ s glass commission , The Life of St Bede , in Durham Cathedral .
Four major glasswork commissions by leading contemporary artists are open to the public at sites across Wearside .
Artists Monster Chetwynd , Ryan Gander , Katie Paterson and Pascale Marthine Tayou were invited by a panel of artists and curators , convened by Sunderland ’ s National Glass Centre to create a new glass work as part of Glass Exchange , which is open until Sunday , September 11 , 2022 .
Glass Exchange celebrates Sunderland ’ s status as a world-leading centre for artistic practice in glass and draws on Wearside ’ s strong links with glass-making .
The commissions were developed by the artists in collaboration with some of the most highly skilled glass makers in the UK , based at National Glass Centre , and can be seen in and around the cities of Sunderland and Durham , including a vacant shop in Sunderland city centre , Durham Cathedral and National Glass Centre .
None of the artists chosen had a history of working in glass , and Glass Exchange has been two years in the making .
Ryan Gander ’ s commission is a life-sized abandoned betting shop , created in glass , and sited in a vacated tanning salon on High Street West in Sunderland city centre . Ghost Shop has all fixtures and fittings made in clear glass , including details such as an upturned bin spilling out discarded betting slips and a pile of unopened post .
Ryan said : “ It ’ s been a pleasure to work in Sunderland and the team at National Glass Centre – who are just insanely talented . No one else in the UK would have been capable of producing the work . National Glass Centre is a unique place , there ’ s nowhere else with the knowledge , skills or network .
“ I ’ ve been in Sunderland for about three weeks working on the installation and people have been so friendly and interested in what we ’ re doing . People here have time for each other and they ’ re far more approachable .”
His commission , a comment on the state of the UK ’ s High Streets , came about after a lunch with National Glass Centre Head of Arts Julia Stephenson : “ I wanted to aim high and I ’ m used to curators saying it can ’ t
be done , but when I explained I wanted to create a life-sized discarded betting shop , Julia said ' yes ' straight away .”
That conversation was two years ago , and now , after months of planning and 100 days of making , Ghost Shop is open .
Monster Chetwynd ’ s commission , The Life of St Bede , is sited in Durham Cathedral . Her work features four colourful and imaginative dioramas capturing key scenes from the life of St Bede . Chetwynd ’ s commission is on display in the Galilee Chapel at Durham Cathedral until Sunday , September 11 .
Part of Katie Paterson ‘ s work on Glass Exchange is also being shown in Durham Cathedral . She is delivering two inter-related projects which tell the story of earthly existence : a series of hand-blown hourglasses containing material from before the Sun existed ; and a glass urn filled with a dust that spans billions of years including the evolution of humankind over the last few millennia .
Requiem will be exhibited at Ingleby Gallery in Edinburgh until Saturday , June 11 before being shown at National Glass Centre from Saturday , June 18 , until Sunday , September 11 .
A timepiece , from the series , The Moment , will be displayed at Durham Cathedral and National Glass Centre .
Pascale Marthine Tayou presents Colonial Ghost , which invites the viewer to consider connections between colonisation and the
For further details please visit : sunderlandculture . org . uk / glass-exchange
growth of Christianity in African countries . The artwork consists of 32 Christian crosses , each made using five human figures . The nails adjacent to each figure are important to the work , echoing Christ ’ s crucifixion .
Pascale was born in Nkongsamba , Cameroon , and now lives and works in Ghent , Belgium and Yaoundé , Cameroon .
Following its recent display at Sunderland Minster , Colonial Ghost is shown running the full length of National Glass Centre ’ s Balcony Gallery until Sunday , September 11 .
Glass Exchange is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England ’ s Ambition for Excellence Fund , with additional funding from Art Fund , Henry Moore Foundation and the Coastal Communities Fund , and with thanks to the University of Sunderland and Durham Cathedral .
Pascale Marthine Tayou ’ s Colonial Ghost is on display at Sunderland ’ s National Glass Centre .
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