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Andrew Sneddon Brings Some Order To Leeds Met Gallery
By Becky Taylor
25/03/2004
Photo: In the Order of Things, Andrew Sneddon.
Have a look at what Becky Taylor thought of this intriguing show, but if you want to judge it for yourself, you'll have to be quick - it's only on until April 3.
Inspired by Michel Foucault’s book, The Order of Things, artist Andrew Sneddon investigates our need to form attachments to objects through four different displays of his work at Leeds Metropolitan University Gallery.
Walking into a pure white-walled room the viewer is greeted by multiple stainless steel origami boats seemingly floating down an invisible stream. An audio track of the shipping forecast from BBC Radio Four accompanies the scene and represents the ocean the boats drift in.
Sneddon’s suggestion is that many people listen to the forecast and gaze at the ocean, yet have little understanding of it.
This is juxtaposed against the striking steel of the boats, which demonstrate the land-locked city of Sheffield, Sneddon’s birthplace.
His inspiration for this scene evolved from the discovery of a ticket stub he saw on the floor, which was folded into the shape of a boat. It showed how some things start life in diverse places.
Named The Boat Builder the piece draws upon the viewer’s childhood memories of optimism and wonderment as to where it may end up.
Photo: In the Order of Things, Andrew Sneddon.
Drawing on his time spent in Japan, Sneddon’s second piece, aptly named the Loop displays a projection of the Joel-ji Temple Garden in Yamaguchi, Japan.
The artist and monk Sesshu designed the garden in the 16th century and the projection of it is on a continuous loop, allowing viewers to observe why many make a pilgrimage to the garden to meditate.
Sectioned off from the remainder of the gallery, an instant sense of calm descends on the observer. The shot is so idyllic it is easy to miss the groupings of rocks and shrubs, which represent Mount Fuji in the main shot.
Sneddon manages to continuously highlight emotions, which are part of human nature and are unconscious in his exhibition.
The desire to leave behind a personal mark is displayed through numerous photos, which capture a bench with countless etchings and symbols carved into it.
Many of the messages are personal yet are left in a public place, almost like a declaration to be seen by whoever passes by. Sneddon’s use of pictures represents these memories, as both fade and fragment over time.
Although it is inevitable for memories to be forgotten, the etchings remain on the bench, carrying them from the past into the present.
Confusion at why Sneddon has chosen a glass bench to show this transforms into understanding in the observer’s mind through the explanation stencilled onto it about the souvenir, demonstrating the transformation of the memories.
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