24/02/15
Cornelia Parker: interview
The Whitworth, Manchester
14 February – 31 May 2015
Known for her explosive works that cross the line
between science and art, Parker spoke to us at the opening of her exhibition at
The Whitworth, Manchester about why she wouldn’t necessarily call herself an
artist and where her inspiration comes from.
Cornelia Parker’s works derive from
a variety of starting points: a garden shed, The Little Mermaid, Auguste Rodin’s
The Kiss, a sleeping Tilda Swinton, the chancellor’s red budget box and cracks
in a pavement, to name but a few.
To mark the reopening of
Manchester’s Whitworth Gallery on 14 February, she has created a new work,
which she describes as “a Blakean pyrotechnic display and meteorite shower”. Scientist
Kostya Novoselov, who won the Nobel prize for the discovery of graphene, extracted
graphite from the drawings of artists held in the Whitworth collection,
including William Blake, and made it into graphene. Parker then used this to
make the work of art, and a sensor activated by Novoselov’s breath will set off
the “firework display”.
The newly refurbished gallery is
also playing host to her largest exhibition to date, showcasing such iconic
works as Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View (1991) and The Distance (a kiss
with string attached) (2003). Known for her explosive works, crossing the line
between science and art, Parker spoke to us about why she wouldn’t necessarily
call herself an artist and where her inspiration comes from.
To watch the interview, please go to: http://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/cornelia-parker-video-interview-sculptor-installation-artist-whitworth-manchester