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Just A Few Days Left To Get Beaten & Blocked In Brighton
By Frances Huggett
30/03/2004
Photo: The Upper Fifties, 2000 by Andrew Mockett.
It's big, bold and brightly coloured, but there's only a few days left to see Beaten and Blocked at Brighton Museum - read on to find out what Frances Huggett thought of it.
Just a stone’s throw from Brighton beach is Beaten and Blocked, an exhibition of handcrafted contemporary sculptures and woodcuts on show until April 4.
It contrasts Jon Mills’ impressive and occasionally humorous steel structures with Andrew Mockett’s brightly-coloured and incredibly intricate prints made from woodcuts.
Both rooms are crammed with examples of their work, but what immediately strikes you are the three massive red and white prints that cover an entire wall. Closer inspection reveals Andrew Mockett’s beautifully ornate prints of flowers, leaves, acorns and fruit in a style similar to that of William Morris.
Other prints include the stunning Moths and Lanterns, where insects flutter around orange oriental lanterns. It’s an incredible combination of tangerine orange and cobalt blue, as is a depiction of water lilies and goldfish. Others are vivid pinks, yellows and greens.
Photo: Birds in a Tree III, 2002 by Jon Mills.
"People often think of woodcuts as dull black and white images of things like cats and saucepans but they are actually wood engravings," says Andrew Mockett.
"With woodcuts I can use different colours on the same print and it gives a totally different effect. You can layer the prints and gradually build up a multi-coloured and multi-layered result."
The detail is incredible and making the woodcut by hand requires skill and patience. All of Andrew’s work is made using traditional methods, without the aid of a computer.
"It takes about three weeks to make the simpler pieces and the entire display is about ten year’s work," he says.
Some of the woodcuts and linocuts are also on display alongside the finished products and there is some information on the various processes used.
Photo: Farmland, 1997 by Andrew Mockett.
The selection of prints is quite diverse and next to the aesthetically pleasing nature scenes are more humorous images that feature donuts and bubble gum wrappers and classic cartoon characters like Mr Magoo and Top Cat.
Jon Mills’ work acts as an interesting contrast and consists of various metal sculptures, some 61 cm (two feet) high and some six metres (20 feet) high. Three were made especially for this exhibition.
His work is often quite dark, almost Gothic, and totally distinct from Mockett’s vibrant colours.
In one a tree is so covered by branches it seems to be trapped inside its own elaborate wooden cage, and another represents the untamed spirit of the forest. A more cheerful image is of a boy and girl holding hands as they stride into the future.
Again there is a display on the complicated and time-consuming processes used by the artist. Like Andrew Mockett, Mills could use modern technology but tries to do as much as possible by hand.
Photo: Tree Map, 2002 by Jon Mills.
He goes through a painstaking process of bending, twisting, welding and galvanising. Somehow he manages to create very powerful and striking sculptures from just a few metal sheets and rods.
Stick Man, an enormous and slightly intimidating image of a man striding along, was created by heating steel rods and then beating them into place with hammers. Another shows a man-made industrial landscape that has been colonised by birds.
His sculptures have a fluid and energetic quality, which is pretty impressive considering the rigid materials they are created from.
This is a great exhibition for anyone who appreciates hand-made art, where you can marvel at the sheer skill and patience required to produce these fantastic pictures and sculptures.
…And, if you are particularly taken with anything, most of it is on sale with prices ranging from £200 to £20,000.
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Royal Pavilion Gardens, Brighton, BN1 1EE, East Sussex, England
Open: Tuesday: 10.00am-7.00pm
Wednesday-Saturday: 10.00am-5.00pm
Sunday: 2.00-5.00pm
Bank Holidays 10.00am-5.00pm
Closed: Closed Mondays, except public holidays 10.00am-5.00pm
Closed 23 - 26 December, 31 December & 1 January
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