Sinking Towards Wishy Mountain

The Royal Standard, 2 Grey Street (off Windsor Street)
15th September – 25th November 2006

Reviewed by Josephine Raven

Sinking Towards Wishy Mountain has brought together new works by established and emerging artists from Liverpool and Stavanger, Norway, as part of the Independents 2006.

The work is arranged throughout what looks like a former bar. The small room to the left of the entrance contains the work of four artists and for me houses some of the best works of the exhibition. Nicki McCubbing’s playful dog ‘sculptures’ are the most obvious presence in this space, although Marit Victoria Wulff Andreassen drawings are more challenging and also slightly disconcerting. However the work of Sean Hawkridge is my personal favourite and contains elements that are both light-hearted and thought provoking. The artist brought gifts for five couples chosen at random from their online wedding lists with John Lewis, all of which were accessible to the general public.

Through to the main bar area, artworks are dotted throughout the space, mainly containing video pieces; Torbjorn Skarild’s ticking watches, the weird and wacky work of artist Marcus Coates and Sean Hawkridge documentation of his dinner party atop of Bybruna Bridge, Stavanger. Moving behind the bar and leading us into the final room are various text pieces by Oystein Aasan, the final work Borders of Paradise - from shades of blue to black, white, pink or purple by fellow Norwegians Anne Lise Stenseth and Leif Gaute Staurland. This short film documents the advantages and disadvantages of the regeneration of Liverpool, using individual cases to add a human element to such changes.

If you like your art a little less conventional, this is the exhibition for you.

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