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'To Lubberland' - a new exhibition by Matthew Cowan to open at the home of Folk
Exhibition dates:
11 December 2009 - 31 March 2010
Private view and performance with inflatable castle: Thursday 10 December 6.30pm at Cecil Sharp House.
Matthew Cowan has been the artist in residence at Cecil Sharp House, London throughout 2009. As an artist and curator he has been involved in directing and developing the visual arts at Cecil Sharp House (home of EFDSS), and over seventy artists have been involved in exhibitions and live art events during the year. The upcoming solo exhibition, 'To Lubberland' presents works he has made during this time.
This new work draws on the underlying influence of the medieval fantasy-land 'Cockaigne' in the folk consciousness. Topsy-turvy travelogues by quack doctors, plum pudding force feeding by overbearing mothers, and a new take in neon based quite literally on Cecil Sharp House itself, all contribute to this new show. The works serve to literally map a path to Lubberland, exploring the underlying theme of 'inverted place' and its fantastic promise of luxury, whilst referring to the observation first noted in the 1820s that London is itself a version of Cockaigne.
The exhibtion includes a specially created new piece in neon, an anagram of Cecil Sharp House that nods towards the joy of Morris Dancing.
The private view on 10 December 6.30 - 8.30 will host a performance by the artist, involving a Morris Dance and an inflatable Bouncy Castle set up especially in Kennedy Hall.
The show contains a new video piece based on the Cotswold Morris jig, "lumps of plum pudding" from the village of Bledington, made up of hundreds of still images. The film is a literal and contemporary take on the dance, which has an accompyanying song - a sorry tale of lies, plum pudding and death.
The exhibition will continue until 31 March 2010.
The exhibition will be on show at Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent's Park Road, London NW1 7AY
www.efdss.org tel: 0207 485 2206
