taking our culture forward

Magical, mythological exhibition from Manx and Cornish artists in Lorient, Brittany this summer

Wed, 24 Jun 2015

film maker and free runner, Will Sutton

Eight artists from Cornwall and the Isle of Man will present a major exhibition of contemporary art in Lorient’s Galerie du Faouëdic this August as part of Europe’s largest Celtic festival, Festival Interceltique de Lorient.

Centring on the theme of mythology – heroes and legends, past-present – the exhibition will showcase the work of four Manx artists: Juan Moore, Julie Roberts, Eileen Schaer and Will Sutton. Their work was selected to complement that of four Cornish artists James Eddy, Leo Sharp, Sophie Capron and Zenna Tagney.

Together, their work explores the ‘past-present’ of mythology, heroes and legends, bringing a rich palette of colours, shapes and forms which are complementary in terms of theme and spirit, playing with the universality of myth. The exhibition reveals the figures and landscapes from the mythological beginnings of their nations whilst asking where are the modern-day heroes?

The four Manx contributors to the exhibition are well-known artist, illustrator and animator, Juan Moore, who recently completed the Image a Day project for Island of Culture 2014, artist and illustrator Julie Roberts, whose recent work depicts characters and scenes from Manx folklore with a palette inspired by the hills and glens, highly intuitive painter, Eileen Schaer whose magical paintings depict a dreamlike world, and talented free-runner and film-maker, Will Sutton.

The exhibition will be jointly curated by Vivienne Gillard and Nicola Dixon, both established artists in their own right who have exhibited at previous festivals in Lorient. Nicola commented: “It is rare that we as artists get the opportunity to truly represent our nation under the Manx flag, to exhibit alongside Celtic cousins in a large and imposing gallery, to be seen internationally. Often we are the creators of the images of our nation that travel around the world, on paintings, stamps, cards and in minds after seeing our work, but rarely so overtly and at an event of this size. This is an opportunity and a privilege and I am excited to be working with these talented artists, so they can represent themselves and their nation to their highest ability. It is shaping up to be a memorable and magical show that will give the essence of our Celtic nations to the festival visitor.”

Festival Interceltique de Lorient is Europe’s largest Celtic festival. Taking place over ten days each August, it attracts between almost 800,000 visitors from across Europe, North America and Australia. The festival is a celebration of the rich and diverse cultures of the Celtic nations, and includes the Isle of Man as an equal partner. It provides the opportunity for promotion of culture, tourism, produce and industry of each nation through performances, cultural pavilion/trade stand and extensive media coverage, with over 300 journalists and millions of TV viewers.

This year’s joint presentation by the Isle of Man and Cornwall is being supported by the festival, Culture Vannin, IOM Arts Council, Tourism/DED, DEFA, local businesses and Cornwall Council.

For more information about the festival, see: www.festival-interceltique.bzh

For a promo film about the IOM’s involvement, see: https://vimeo.com/118132853

Check out Will Sutton's work here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S14QAAURZU4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL1pYqDCN38