This afternoon I finished the preparation of my entry to the forthcoming Great Sheffield Art Show. (It has to be delivered next week, although the show doesn’t open until November.) The process of preparation has been a bumpy ride and bears little relation to my original plans.
“Plan A” was to give a public airing to my “Malta Suite”, the majority of which has not been exhibited yet. Everything was well under way, and I had actually reached the point of filling out the entry form, when I noticed the small print. This year the organisers have (for the first time, I believe) announced a theme for the show, and this bore no relation whatsoever to my planned entry! Ouch!
I considered briefly the possibility that it would simply not be possible for me to take part this year, and then had a flash of inspiration. The theme that was announced was Places of Worship. None of my work matches that description if it is considered narrowly; nevertheless, several years ago I did a series of pictures on the the theme of ancient stone circles.* I could think of no reason whatsoever not to accept a selection of these as fitting quite squarely within the public of the exhibition. That might well come as a bit of a surprise to the organisers, but I reckoned that they might well welcome my broadening of what could otherwise become a rather narrow interpretation of what they were looking for.
So: rummaging through my storage racks it didn’t take me long to find five pieces that seemed to fill the bill, all of which I thought still had merit. In the event I am quite pleased with the selection I have put together, and quite look forward to taking it to Sheffield next week. I may well let you know what happens. Wish me luck.
*Check it out elsewhere in the website, under the title of Holy Stones. Fortunately the organisers of the Sheffield show don’t restrict entry along the lines of the annual Ripon Great North Art Show, which will only accept work done in the past two years.